The Drowning Lesson by Jane Shemilt

Emma and Adam are doctors at the top of their fields and so when they are offered the chance to take their three children to Africa for a year for a research placement it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. It's going to be an experience they'll never forget. 

But for all the wrong reasons. 

When Emma arrives home one night to the sickening sight of an empty cot, their family's dream adventure turns into their worst nightmare. 

Thousands of miles from home and from anyone who can help, they must discover the truth. Is this a random abduction, a tragic accident or something far more sinister?

Having loved reading Daughter by Jane Shemilt earlier this year I was excited to read another thrilling read by this author so as soon as The Drowning Lesson arrived through the door I started it straight away.

Emma and husband Adam are both in the medical profession and when Adam gets an opportunity to go to Botswana on a research post for a year but Emma is reluctant to uproot their family for a year and the competitive side in her wants to push her work and research and the thoughts of a year out is not what she wants but the family all make the trip which is about to throw their life upside down as they go out as a family of 5 only to return as a family of 4.

The opening chapter grabbed my attention straight away as we discover at the beginning about the missing child, the storyline then alternates between the time before the abduction and the events following the abduction which works really well with this storyline as it helps us build a picture of the family and others around them and yet manages to keep the suspense as to what happened to the missing child.

The reason I have given this book only a three star rating rather than a four is because I really didn’t take to any of the characters in this book as they were all rather cold characters and where I felt like I should have utter sympathy for a family who is going through what the Jordan family were going through I found that I wasn’t really eager for them to find their child to reunite their family because  although Emma was going through the motions of trying to get her child back the determination and devastation couldn’t be felt through the pages it seemed like she had lost an item rather than a child. I just fell if I could have connected to Emma more and had the emotion present then this could have been a much stronger read.

There is suspense, intrigue and the author has an easy flow to her writing which I love it is so easy to read one of this authors books in one sitting. She has created a family who had a lot of flaws and who have struggled to find a balance which unfortunately is quite often the case in working families.

I had my suspicions who could have been involved in the disappearance but the author put enough little turns and arrows pointing at other people to keep me on my toes and still question other characters so I feel like she done a great job in keeping the suspense running throughout the book.

The author brings the setting of Botswana to life with her descriptive writing, it was easy to visualise the surroundings.

Although Daughter is still my favourite by Jane Shemilt I would still say that The Drowning Lesson is worth a read I just found it was missing that little something for me this time but I could still appreciate the authors skilled writing style.

Paperback               Kindle