From the cover:Critically acclaimed author of The Mourning Hours and The Fragile World, Paula Treick DeBoard returns with a tale of dark secrets, shocking lies and a dangerous obsession that will change one neighborhood forever.
Liz McGinnis never imagined herself living in a luxurious gated community like The Palms. Ever since she and her family moved in, she's felt like an outsider amongst the Stepford-like wives and their obnoxiously spoiled children. Still, she's determined to make it work—if not for herself, then for her husband, Phil, who landed them this lavish home in the first place, and for her daughter, Danielle, who's about to enter high school. Yet underneath the glossy veneer of The Palms, life is far from idyllic. In a place where reputation is everything, Liz soon discovers that even the friendliest residents can't be trusted—and almost everyone has secrets they'd do anything to protect. So when the gorgeous girl next door befriends Danielle, Liz can't help but find sophisticated Kelsey's interest in her shy and slightly nerdy daughter a bit suspicious. But while Kelsey quickly becomes a fixture in the McGinnis home, Liz's relationships with both Danielle and Phil grow strained. Now even her own family seems to be hiding things, and it's not long before their dream of living the high life quickly spirals out of control… Read an excerpt of THE DROWNING GIRLS here. |
Foreign editions:
Praise for
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"In Paula Treick DeBoard’s latest breathtaking thriller, she paints a stark and chillingly real portrayal of a family torn apart by teenage transgressions. Gritty and inauspicious from the start, THE DROWNING GIRLS left me awestruck, revealing DeBoard’s true brilliance as an author. Spellbinding."
--Mary Kubica, NYT bestselling author of The Good Girl and Pretty Baby “In THE DROWNING GIRLS, DeBoard pulls you right into her world and holds you in her grip until the book’s final twist. Fans of THE GOOD GIRL and THE LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, and really anyone who enjoys great suspense, have found their next must-read. Sure to be the book everyone is talking about in 2016, I could not put it down.” --Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of Hidden and Smoke "The Drowning Girls by Paula Treick DeBoard is cleverly plotted, full of twists and turns and so well-written that it pulls you in from page one. Genuinely suspenseful, Treick DeBoard delivers a disturbing, multi-layered, provocative novel that is impossible to put down." --Heather Gudenkauf, NYT & USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence "The Drowning Girls casts a spell as brilliant and alluring as the gated community of its setting. Paula Treick DeBoard maps this world of privilege and secrets with a deft hand, and from the novel’s terrifying opening pages reveals a family’s tragic unraveling. These characters long for love and happiness, but the trail of duplicity that ultimately ensnares them creates a suspenseful and compelling page-turner I couldn’t put down." --Karen Brown, author of The Longings of Wayward Girls "A heart-pounding look at what lies behind the deceptively placid veneer of the well-to-do suburbs. The kaleidoscopic view of innocence, danger and malice shifts and twists as it races to a shattering conclusion." --NYT bestselling author Sophie Littlefield |
Starred review in Library Journal!
"VERDICT: Give this tale of domestic suspense, with its pitch-perfect pacing, to Gillian Flynn and Mary Kubica devotees." Read the full review here.
The Drowning Girls is Killer Nashville's Book of the Day!
"From the first few words until the novel’s close, DeBoard reimagines the wheel with this suspenseful, family-oriented drama that sucks the reader into the psyches of the McGinnis family members.... The Drowning Girls is an exceptionally well-executed novel, full to the brim with plot twists and believable dialogue." Read more here.
RT Book Reviews says...
"DeBoard’s excellent psychological drama is haunting. It’s within the realm of possibility, which is even more frightening. She has an uncanny talent for taunting her audience with minute details. What seems obvious in the first chapter becomes the most unusual twist of all." Read the full review here.
Elsewhere on the Web:
Judith D. Collins gives THE DROWNING GIRLS 5 stars+! Read the review here.
Quixotic Magpie says, "It is impossible to read this book without getting sucked in." Read more here!
My So-Called Book Reviews said, "DeBoard’s writing is flat-out phenomenal; there’s this understated quality to it that really allows the story to ebb and flow." (Wow! Thanks.) See the review here.
I stopped by Book Stop Corner to chat with Aditi Saha about THE DROWNING GIRLS. Thanks, Aditi!
Such a thrill to chat with Leslie Lindsey about THE DROWNING GIRLS. And very fun to confess to an addiction to Sporcle, strings of numbers and anything narrated by Bill Curtis in the 1990s.