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The Drowning Girls
The Drowning Girls
The Drowning Girls
Audiobook10 hours

The Drowning Girls

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

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.…

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 26, 2016
ISBN9781501201349
The Drowning Girls
Author

Paula Treick DeBoard

Paula Treick DeBoard is the author of The Mourning Hours, The Fragile World and The Drowning Girls. She divides her time between reading, writing, teaching composition at the University of California, Merced, and enjoying the antics of her husband Will and their four-legged brood. She is a resident of northern California.

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Reviews for The Drowning Girls

Rating: 3.9154929549295776 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    felt rushed in the end... the female narrator was horrible at voice overs which made the listening experience challenging
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A book that is had to put down! This is a suspenseful psychological novel which raises questions about obsession, denial, truths and lies.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 stars.

    The Drowning Girls by Paula Treick DeBoard is a compelling and thought-provoking novel that is suspenseful and slightly disturbing.

    Liz and Phil McGinnis and their fourteen year old daughter Danielle have just relocated to The Palms, an affluent, exclusive and tight-knit subdivision. Phil is the newly hired community relations specialist for the neighborhood while Liz is a counselor at a nearby high school. Although they feel like they are living in paradise due to the many amenities and lavish surroundings, Liz is slightly intimidated by her wealthy neighbors and she is plagued by insecurities when dealing with the other families. Hoping to ease her daughter's transition to the new neighborhood and her new school, Liz eagerly accepts Sonia Jorgesen's offer to introduce her daughter Kelsey to Danielle. The two girls soon become tight friends, but it quickly becomes apparent that Kelsey is deeply troubled and after Liz makes a disconcerting discovery, her once happy family becomes to fall apart.

    Liz is uncomfortable and feels out of place in their new neighborhood. Their sumptuous and expansive home is part of Phil's salary package and she is somewhat astonished by her neighbors' extravagant lifestyles. Feeling like she is out of her league, she tries to keep to herself as much as possible and to some extent, she manages to remain under the radar. At first happy that Danielle and Kelsey have become fast friends, Liz is not exactly thrilled with some of the changes in her daughter nor does she like having Kelsey under foot all the time. Her disenchantment in the situation grows when Danielle is caught in a lie and Liz begins to have doubts that she can trust her daughter. At the same time, Liz suspects that something is going on with Phil and their marriage grows strained as circumstantial evidence seems to support her suspicions.

    Phil is pretty laidback and easygoing and he is a good fit for his new job. He is not exactly happy to have Kelsey at their house day in and day out especially since she has developed a disconcerting habit of dropping by his office as well. He makes a concerted efforts to put an end to her flirtatious behavior but these attempts usually backfire. By the time Phil realizes the depth of Kelsey's obsession with him, he fears it is too late to go to Liz with his concerns. As his problems with Kelsey worsen, Phil desperately searches for options to get himself out of the untenable situation before he loses everything he holds dear.

    Kelsey is an extremely disturbed young woman whose behavior quickly grows out of control. She is extremely devious and manipulative as she insinuates herself into the McGinnis's life. When her schemes fail, she resorts to rumors and lies to try to achieve her goals. Kelsey is quick to retaliate when things do not go her way and her destructive behavior soon begins to escalate. Her parents are frequently away on business and despite an earlier incident, they are completely blind to their daughter's faults.

    With the chapters alternating between Liz and Phil's points of view, The Drowning Girls by Paula Treick DeBoard is a darkly captivating novel of obsession. Weaving back and forth in time, this spellbinding mystery is fascinating yet sometimes unsettling as it thunders to a conclusion that is utterly shocking. An absolutely riveting novel that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was an great premise along the lines of Fatal Attraction and I really enjoyed it. The writing style was good, the characters were well written, and the story moved along nicely. So why did I give it only 3 stars?

    The ending. The ending could have been so much better. There are books where an open ending works and it lets you formulate your own ending and those books are usually pretty great. This was not one of those books. Dont get me wrong, I loved this book and would have given it 4 or even 5 stars, but I just could not get over that ending.

    Nevertheless, I still recommend this book and am open to reading more from the author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Paula Treick DeBoard is a master and keeping you on the edge of your seat. The whole ride through the lives of Liz, her husband Phil and her daughter Danielle, you never knew what was coming around the corner. Every step of the way, there was another curve ball headed straight for them.The story begins when Phil gets a dream job that comes with a dream home for him and his family. They would be living in paradise. Everyday would be a vacation. The Palms is a gated community that looks to be exactly like an all inclusive resort. The golf course, pools, running trail, club house and everything else is there for their use.Liz has a job that she loves and the commute isn't killer. Danielle even finds a friend, Kelsey, who changes Danielle from the sweet geeky middle school girl that is so loved to a full blown teenager with the attitude to boot.Kelsey finds her way into every second of the McGinnis's lives. Liz seems to never find a moment when Kelsey isn't hovering somewhere in the shadows. At home, Kelsey and Danielle are always hanging out at the pool or munching on snacks in the living room. They are in separable. Even at work, Kelsey is one of Liz's charges as a guidance counselor.Phil feels the same way. Kelsey is always there when he looks up from his desk at The Palms. He is supposed to keep the residents happy and safe. Kelsey becomes obsessed with Phil. She follows him around all summer making life hard while Phil can't wait for her to go back to school so she can busy herself with things other than him. Of course that doesn't happen since Kelsey comes home with Liz and Danielle everyday.Phil finds himself in some crazy, surreal vision of his life that he can't control. The only one who seems to have any control is Kelsey. A crazy kind of wild, human tornado that will certainly destroy his life.Kelsey sees herself as in love with Phil. She will do anything to keep him by her side. She has done this before, Phil isn't the first. The last was a teacher that ended up losing his job because the school decided to keep it quiet instead of living through the scandal. Phil's life does topple, one piece at a time.The end hurts! You can only wish that Phil, Liz, and Danielle will be able to put the pieces back together. Keep wishing!Happy reading!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a pretty quick read so for that, I liked it. The portrayals of the inhabitants of The Palms was pretty well done and even though narrated through first person POVs still made me feel like an anthropologist watching the goings on inside a paddock. That is to say that I felt removed from this story and its happenings. I was curious how this would all turn out but I can't say this is a story that'll stay with me. I wished for more on Danielle and Kelsey more than anything to get deeper insight on the teens. I think this is just the read for an engrossing poolside or travel read and is satisfying as such. I was just looking for something with a little more twist & darkness. I'd definitely read more by this DeBoard & recommend this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was thoroughly entertained by this book and caught myself walking away at the end to atop from crying. Surprisingly a great read for me and quick.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Paula Treick DeBoard has written another great psychological suspense novel. This contemporary thriller reminds us that things are not always what we think they are, nor are people the way they present themselves.Liz’s dreams were coming true. She was happily married to Phil. They would live in a prestigious inclusive community. His new job as the Community Relations liaison for an elite gated community promised them paradise. Liz was also happy that her daughter, Danielle, would be attending a safe high school with good students. As a country club community, “The Psalms” had it all. There was a huge, fully equipped center for parties and events, a full golf course, swimming pools, exercise and yoga programs, a walking trail, as well as the picturesque “mini-mansions”. Phil’s job was to keep the community organized and the residents happy.As Phil and his family settle into their new community, reality also begins to set in. Behind the lovely doors of these gorgeous homes are some ugly secrets. As these secrets come to light, Liz quickly feels that she does not belong here. Her concerns for her family and marriage prove to be founded.As a high school counselor, Liz never felt she quite fit in with her neighbors. They are always dressed in the newest, trendiest designer clothes. Disposable incomes are very apparent and a way of life. Competition may be silent, but is an obvious element in "The Psalms".The children are obvious reflections of their parents. They seem to be always texting on their new phones or using social media to better their own status among their peers. Cyber-bullying becomes a serious problem for Danielle. When a someone she trusts doesn’t get her way, she holds Danielle responsible.Things become even worse, however, for Phil and Liz when Danielle’s friend, Kelsey, develops a crush on Phil. Bored, over-privileged, and deeply disturbed, the girl-next-door is anything but harmless. Her infatuation quickly turns to obsession. There will be consequences for her rejection, and the entire community will pay.Paula Treick DeBoard writes stories about families and communities facing many issues of the world today. Her meticulous attention to detail is notable. The author weaves dark elements of the human psyche into her storytelling of these families in crisis. I highly recommend The Drowning Girls. However, do not stop there. I strongly recommend that you read The Mourning Hours, and The Fragile World, too. Paula Treick DeBoard never disappoints. She is one of my favorite authors.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.In this book full of masterfully-spun psychological suspense, DeBoard brings to light what hides under the surface of paradise. When Liz and her daughter, Danielle, move to The Palms with her husband Phil (who has been hired as the head of community relations), everything seems perfect. The women are gorgeous, the men are rich, and the homes are beautiful.But Liz never feels like they quite fit in. After all, they don't own their home-it was part of the job package Phil received-and they certainly aren't wealthy. So she encourages shy, bookish Danielle to attend a pool party for the neighborhood teens.And there Danielle meets Kelsey, and everything begins to spiral out of control.The Drowning Girls is a tale of obsession, manipulation, secrets, and lies. It's about how nothing is ever what it seems, and questions how well you can ever truly know someone. Using flashbacks and flashfowards, DeBoard builds a tension that makes it impossible to put this book down.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The entire time I was reading this book I felt like I had read it before, but thats not possible. So what was it. I guess perhaps because I've seen movies just like it. New family moves in, young beautiful unhinged Lolita takes and interest and befriends the daughter and things go downhill from there. I found the book to be a bit predicable with no real ending. The rich and bored were cliche and Phil, Liz and Danielle a bit too naive. I could see how this would make good summer reading, but it just didn't do it for me. I wanted the characters a little more developed and a little less stupid.