[Review] The Deepest Lake - Andromeda Romano-Lax

Summary: Rose, the mother of twentysomething aspiring writer Jules, has waited three months for answers about her daughter’s death. Why was she swimming alone when she feared the water? Why did she stop texting days before she was last seen?
 
When the official investigation rules the death an accidental drowning, the body possibly lost forever in Central America’s deepest lake, an unsatisfied Rose travels to the memoir workshop herself. She hopes to draw her own conclusion—and find closure. When Rose arrives, she is swept into the curious world created by her daughter’s literary hero, the famous writing teacher Eva Marshall, a charismatic woman known for her candid—and controversial—memoirs. As Rose uncovers details about the days leading up to Jules’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that this glamorous retreat package is hiding ugly truths. Is Lake Atitlán a place where traumatized women come to heal or a place where deeper injury is inflicted?
 
The Deepest Lake is both a sharp look at the sometimes toxic, exclusionary world of high-class writing workshops and an achingly poignant view of a mother’s grief. (Pub Date: May 07, 2024)

 

As well as there were loved parts in this book, some were equally worth of eyerolls.

The beginning is heartbreaking. Rose's daughter Jules is full of life, happy she's gotten her favorite author/idol to be her mentor while she's struggling to find what to write for her own memoir. And then she drowns in the lake, never to be found. Rose is compelled to visit the place, learn more of the last days of her daughter, and for that, she disguises herself as one of the students that same author takes once in a while. 

Usually I can tell with books around where they went wrong, but I'm not even sure if this book went wrong, or if it wasn't that good and somehow it saved itself? It is an okay read. But some parts are much more than just okay. And other parts were weird, when they weren't cringe-worthy. My verdict is that I liked it after all, despite how it unrolled. 

Both Rose's and Jules's parts were pleasing to read, although they tended to have a similar voice. However, I did like how those characters built, the drama part of this thriller was probably what made it good. Meanwhile, the actual events, not so much.

This story actually reminded me of Lisa Jewel's Then She was Gone. Not that it was copied from there, but the way the mother feels about her daughter being gone, the building of their relationship, the wanting to know how the daughter met her fate. There are multiple differences, but the feeling was similar, in case you liked Lisa Jewel's work, this may interest you.

That said, I do want to read more of this author. There's something gripping about the way she writes that makes me want more. This book was a case of, I had a good time, but I'm aware of many reasons I wouldn't normally.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.