A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard

Titan Books, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1785656408

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Alice Blanchard drags the readers into the darkness with A Breath After Drowning. This psychological thriller dives down into the characters’ psychology, their trauma, and the deep pits that therapy and grief can dig, in a story that is as close to perfect as it can be in the thriller genre.

Our protagonist is child psychologist Katie Wolfe, whose sister was brutally murdered. Henry Blackwood sits on death row for the murder, yet his family remains in town. The opening chapters, which involve the suicide of a tortured teen, will rip a wound in the reader’s mind that is never given a chance to heal. Almost immediately afterwards, Katie is given another case, a teen whose troubles might lead Katie into waters too deep and black for her to survive. Every character seems to be tied somehow to Katie’s past: either the murder, or her turbulent upbringing. How she teams up with the retired detective who still lives with the case is worth the price of the book itself.

To reveal more would give away one of the many serpentine plot twists that deepen as the story unfolds. Blanchard chisels characters that darken with each layer.

Reminiscent of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, with the rawness of Stephen King’s suspense novels, this one’s highly recommended for anyone craving a thriller that will leave a scar. Blanchard is definitely an author to follow.

Reviewed by Dave Simms