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.

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Daughter by Jane Shemilt

THE NIGHT OF THE DISAPPEARANCE
She used to tell me everything. 
They have a picture.
It'll help. 
But it doesn't show the way her hair shines so brightly it looks like sheets of gold. She has a tiny mole, just beneath her left eyebrow. She smells very faintly of lemons. 
She bites her nails. 
She never cries. 
She loves autumn, I wanted to tell them. She collects leaves, like a child does. She is just a child. 

FIND HER. ONE YEAR LATER
Naomi is still missing. Jenny is a mother on the brink of obsession. The Malcolm family is in pieces.
Is finding the truth about Naomi the only way to put them back together?
Or is the truth the thing that will finally tear them apart?

When I read the synopsis for Daughter my curiosity was already piqued and I was hoping that this was going to be a truly gripping read.

Every parent’s worst nightmare is for their child to go missing and this is what happens to Dr Jenny Malcolm. Daughter Naomi has not come home from her theatre but no one knows if she was kidnapped or went willingly or if she is dead or alive. As Jenny works with the police to try and find some leads to help with the case other secrets are uncovered but will these leads help to find Naomi?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it did take me a few chapters to get used to the layout of the book where it keeps jumping back and forward to the time of the disappearance to a year later and it is the structure of the book that loses a star for the rating because I thought this was a gripping read but it had the potential to be so much more as I feel that the suspense could have been heightened if it was to have just been told from the time of the disappearance and gradually built up to a year later.

What the author manages to do so well is to conceal the real story behind the disappearance and even though she feeds us small clues it's not until you find out what actually happened that you then look back and see that certain events held clues and this just shows what a talented writing skill the author has. I was suspicious of everyone and it wasn’t until I was about a third of the way through that I had a strong suspicion that I knew who was involved and what had happened but I hold my hands up and say I was completely off track and reading the last chapter I resembled a goldfish with mouth wide open in surprise.

The author managed to deliver this book at a perfect pace with no feeling of the book being drawn out at all through the book it was subtly eventful the whole way through so I found the storyline held my attention the whole way through.

I made the mistake of starting this book before I went to bed and needless to say I had read 276 pages in one hit because I was so engrossed in the storyline. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes the challenge of guessing the “who did it” I would be surprised if anyone worked this one out. I look forward to this authors future releases.

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