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The bestselling author of The Party returns with a deliciously twisted story of friendship, retribution, and betrayal about a homeless woman fleeing a dangerous past—and the wealthy society wife she saves from drowning, who pulls her into a dark web of secrets and lies.

Domestic abuse, suicide attempt, physical abuse, murder, infidelity.

Lee Gulliver never thought she’d find herself living on the streets—no one ever does—but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla.

Parked in a secluded spot by the beach, she sees a sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface but, instead of appreciation, she is met with fury. The drowning woman, Hazel, tells her that she wanted to die. She’s trapped in a toxic, abusive marriage, and is a prisoner in her own home. Lee has now thwarted her one chance to escape her life.

Out of options, Hazel retreats to her gilded cage. Lee thinks she’s seen the last of her, until Hazel unexpectedly returns the next morning. The women strike up an unlikely friendship and then, one day, Hazel makes a shocking request: she wants Lee to help her disappear. It’ll be easy, Hazel assures her. But Lee soon learns that nothing is as it seems – and that Hazel may not be the friend Lee thought she was…

Don't just take our word for it...

“As twisty and pacey as it gets, The Drowning Woman is a dark and wild ride of redemption, betrayal, and friendship between two complex women caught in a tangle of secrets—a total page-turner.”
– Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

“With deceitful characters who are not what they seem, a myriad of unexpected twists and turns, and a story that moves along at high speed, The Drowning Woman is everything I love in a thriller. Robyn Harding keeps readers hooked until the end.”
– Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing

“This edge-of-your-seat thriller combines wildly intricate plot twists and turns with complex, carefully developed characters—and reading it made me wonder if there’s anything Robyn Harding can’t pull off! I had no idea where I was headed, but knew I definitely wanted to be on this propulsive, suspenseful, often shocking ride that explores the ways in which we betray ourselves and others—and just how far we’ll go for redemption.”
– Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky

Taste the very first page

In sociological terms, they call it the fundamental attribution error. Basically, it means that when people see someone in a bad situation, they tend to believe that individual brought it on themselves. Of course, there are always external, situational forces at play, but it’s human nature to think it could never happen to you. You’d fight back differently if attacked; crawl your way out of the burning building; wouldn’t fall for that online scam. And, of course, you’d never end up sleeping on the streets. Those people have drug problems, mental health issues, no work ethic.

What did I think of the homeless before I became one of them? Not much, is the short answer. Each year, I donated to a local shelter that served Thanksgiving dinners. I occasionally tossed coins into hats or empty coffee cups, but I didn’t meet their eyes, I didn’t ask their names. Sometimes I’d even cross the street to avoid them. I was not without compassion for the displaced, but they were just so separate, so other. There was no way I’d ever become one of them.

I pull the sleeping bag up to my chin and stretch my legs out under the steering column. The back seat would be more comfortable, but I’m too on edge to sleep there. Instead, I doze…

July 2023