The Season of Sinking
Author: Daphne Woolsoncroft
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Format: eARC
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5 stars)
Synopsis
When Imogen Bly's mother unexpectedly drowns in Lake Blair, the official verdict is simple:
A tragic accident.
Returning to her hometown alongside her twin sister Amelia to settle their mother's estate, Imogen can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. Her mother knew the lake better than anyone, so why would she venture out alone during a storm, and in her pajamas?
As strange events begin unfolding around her childhood home, Imogen starts questioning everything she thought she knew. Old memories begin resurfacing, a local disappearance refuses to stay buried, and the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her search becomes.
Sometimes the past isn't as forgotten as we'd like to believe.
My Thoughts
I was genuinely excited to see Daphne Woolsoncroft releasing another novel.
I really enjoyed her debut, so I went into The Season of Sinking with fairly high expectations—and thankfully, it completely delivered.
From the very beginning, the mystery pulled me in.
Imogen returns to her hometown after the sudden death of her mother, who supposedly drowned in Lake Blair during a violent storm.
The problem?
Nothing about the situation feels right.
Her mother loved the lake.
She knew it better than anyone.
And yet, according to the official explanation, she decided to head out in the middle of a storm... wearing her pajamas.
The more Imogen thinks about it, the less believable it becomes.
As soon as she arrives back home, strange things begin happening around her. At first, it's easy to dismiss them as coincidences or grief playing tricks on her mind.
But before long, those unsettling moments begin escalating into something much more difficult to ignore.
One aspect I particularly enjoyed was the uncertainty surrounding Imogen's memories.
Throughout the novel, I constantly found myself asking the same question she was:
Is she recovering memories she's buried since childhood?
Or is trauma making her question reality?
That psychological uncertainty added another layer to the mystery and kept me second-guessing what was actually happening.
The atmosphere also deserves a mention.
Lake Blair almost feels like a character in its own right. The quiet lakeside setting, combined with the lingering sense that something terrible happened there years ago, creates an underlying tension that never really disappears.
I also loved Rory.
Watching Imogen reconnect with her childhood crush while they slowly pieced together the mystery was such a nice counterbalance to the darker moments of the novel.
Their relationship never overshadowed the investigation, but instead complemented it naturally, and I genuinely enjoyed watching them work together.
As for the mystery itself...
It kept me invested from beginning to end.
Every new revelation made me question another character, another memory, or another version of the truth. I never felt entirely certain who could be trusted, and that's exactly what I want from a suspense novel.
Final Thoughts
The Season of Sinking is an atmospheric mystery that blends family secrets, psychological suspense, and a compelling investigation into a story that kept me turning the pages until the very end.
Between the eerie lakeside setting, the uncertainty surrounding Imogen's memories, and an engaging mystery filled with long-buried secrets, this became another standout thriller from Daphne Woolsoncroft.
I'll definitely be reading whatever she writes next.
⭐️ 4.5 stars
Also by Daphne Woolsoncroft
If you're new to Daphne Woolsoncroft's work, I also highly recommend checking out her debut novel, Night Watcher. It was one of my favorite thrillers from last year, and it's the book that made me eager to pick up anything she wrote next. (you can find the review here, on my blog)
ARC Disclaimer
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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