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Can you call yourself a victim if you've managed to escape?

A year has passed since tragedy ripped through the Yorkshire town of Alderton, in which the River Alder claimed the lives of eight women in separate incidents.

Detective Chief Inspector Ingham took the guilt to his own watery grave, but as Drowned Voices reveals, the guilt was not solely his to bear.

Cleared of all involvement, Sergeant Will Potts plans for a renewed way of life with his wife Eva. But as more drownings occur and the town resumes its panic, it seems that the ripple effect of being a victim is more far-reaching than first suspected.

The police investigation explores not only the who, but the why? And how can it be ensured that the whole truth finally finds its way to the surface?

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2023

89 people are currently reading
114 people want to read

About the author

Maria Frankland

101 books559 followers
Maria Frankland has a dubious internet search history and a very worried mother-in-law. However, neither of these things can stop her writing gripping psychological thrillers in which you’ll never find a happy-ever-after.

Her novels are mostly set in Yorkshire where you’ll hear the accent through all her characters. These are people you could live next door to, or closer still… don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Maria’s novels are fast-paced, down to earth and realistic. You never know what’s around the corner…

Find out more about Maria at https://www.mariafrankland.co.uk. Whilst you’re there, you can download your free novella – The Brother-in-Law.

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5 stars
145 (62%)
4 stars
65 (28%)
3 stars
19 (8%)
2 stars
1 (<1%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah Sutherland.
125 reviews10 followers
February 1, 2022
I think we all know how much I love Maria's work by now! I love her writing style and the way that she draws you in with the characters and storyline. This book was a bit hard to read at times because some of the characters were just SO unlikeable! She does such a great job with the twists and turns and knows how to leave you at the end with the cliff hangers that you just NEED the next book in the series! I will say, that this is the second book in the series. I think that you could possibly read it without having read the first one, but I do think that the first books adds so much more to all of the character development and storyline. Maria You did it again and I cannot wait for the third book in this series to come out!!
Profile Image for Donna Mallery.
958 reviews90 followers
October 11, 2023
This is the second book in the trilogy, and you must read them in order to get that emotional depth permeating throughout. I’m still in shock and sad about the events in the first book, Undercurrents. We know we have a serial killer (or two), and we are led more into the past so we can learn the why. The personalities have more depth in this book, and it seems to reach a conclusion, but, nope, we have another cliffhanger at the end. Then, which I’ve already read, we are driven to read the final book in this riveting series.
180 reviews5 followers
April 4, 2022
Bring on book 3

This book is the second in series of three. It's equally as good as the first. Although you know who the guilty party U.S. it keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen next. It ends on a real cliff hanger and unfortunately I now have to wait for the third story to be published. Really looking forward to reading it

Profile Image for Alessandra.
81 reviews
February 28, 2022
Intriguing

Yet another dark psychological thriller that keeps you hooked right until the end. It's very interesting and gripping also. Would definitely recommend.
55 reviews1 follower
February 9, 2022
What a fantastic follow up to the first in the series, I didn’t think the story line could get any better.
703 reviews3 followers
March 23, 2022
Utterly brilliant

Dead god,what a read,marvellous characters developing more as the story unfolds.keeping you turning the pages to the end bring on book three
Profile Image for Charlotte Baddeley.
292 reviews14 followers
January 10, 2022
This is the second book of a trilogy. I have not yet read the first book, Yorkshire Dipper, but that did not affect my enjoyment of this book. It just made me even more determined to read the Yorkshire Dipper.

I loved that Will, the villain, narrated the first part of the book. His thought processes and justification for his terrifying behaviour made fascinating reading. The second part is narrated by his long suffering wife Eva and this worked brilliantly as we got to know the woman and empathised with her predicament. Maria Franklin does domestic dramas so well and Eva is a classic abused wife, knowing her husband is a monster but terrified to let go.

The end is such a gripping climax and cliff hanger I cannot wait for the third book in this thrilling psychological series.
Profile Image for Pheadra.
1,064 reviews56 followers
March 11, 2022
When I read this I hadn't realized it was the second book in a trilogy about a corrupt traffic cop Will, who is also a serial killer. When he and his brother are the victims of a hit and run accident in which his brother dies and he manages to escape comparatively unscathed he blackmails the husband(another bent cop) of the driver of the vehicle to keep his secrets in return for not outing the driver. The story became too tangled with several members of Will's family key in the story including his mother, sister , other brother Mark, wife Eva, deceased to have been sister-in-law, and best friend of deceased sister-in-law. The characterization didn't ring true for me and the plot became non-credible. 3 stars
534 reviews2 followers
August 15, 2024
WOW I really enjoyed Drowned Voices book 2 of the trilogy of The Dark Water Series a 'whodunit?' 'Whydunit?' by Maria Frankland.

A year has passed since DCI Ingham succumbed to the River Alder taking his own life and secrets into the watery grave with him.

Eva's husband Will Potts has been exonerated over the women's deaths until sadly more drownings have occured in the river Alder and Eva is finding life unbearable with Will's controlling behaviour.

Will feels he is the black sheep of the family as his own Mother dislikes him since his early childhood and still does which makes Will feel inadequate compared to his siblings including his dead brother Dean. Will has something bubbling within him and he hears voices inside his head from time to time and he becomes like the character Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Will absolutely detests women who drink alcohol including his Mother who was once a heavy drinker.

Eva and her daughter Heidi's lives are going to be put in danger when Eva stands up to Will and he does not like it. Eva finds some weird search history on Will's computer which makes her think who on earth she was married to these last eight years.

Unbeknown to Eva Will and DCI Ingham are both corrupt. I felt for Pat Ingham wife of DCI Ingham when she was incarated in prison for Dean's road accident in which she was the designated driver as her husband insisted that she took the wheel even though she was over the limit as he did not want the repercussions if anything was to happen as his job would be at risk.
Profile Image for FeedMyReads.
374 reviews21 followers
July 14, 2023
Warning of potential spoilers!

After the loss of so many lives to the River Alder and the attack on Lauren and others it is finally time to get back to some normality in Alderton. Will has been cleared of any involvement and has decided it is time to take his wife and daughter on holiday to Disney World so that he can recover from the ordeal but when women start to turn up drowned in the River Alder again it is surely too much of a coincidence after what happened so recently. Is this a copycat killer? Is the original killer back at it? Were these accidents? Can the police stop more deaths?

This is the second book in the series and once again Maria Frankland has delivered a well written, excellently developed story and the fact she has been able to do this over a series is something which I feel really suits her writing style and enables her to bring the very best to the reader.
114 reviews8 followers
March 23, 2025
Another fantastic read by Maria Frankland! This book is the second in a trilogy. The beginning of the book is narrated by Will and this allows the reader to get to see why Will is the way he is. The psychological analysis of Will is very interesting and hearing about Will’s past from his point of view allows the reader to understand, yet not sympathize with his character. The second part of the book is narrated by Eve, his wife and through this we get to see the pain, isolation and frustration she suffers through domestic violence. The author is a master at this issue as I have witnessed in her other books.

The book is fast paced and full of twists and I couldn’t stop reading this one either. And what an ending!! You definitely don’t want to miss out on this book so do yourself a favor and grab the whole 3 book trilogy! 5 star read!
Profile Image for fred jones.
1,789 reviews11 followers
March 26, 2025
Superb

A really superb book. I really like this series. A nice twist that the,first half of the book is told from the killers POV. He is an unlikable character but his struggles keep you reading . The writing is emotional, gritty but entertaining, with some great twists and a stunning ending. The characters are strong with depth and emotion. I have already started the final book. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Sarah Bloomfield.
216 reviews15 followers
August 15, 2023
This book is the second in the dark water series and had me hooked from the first page until the very last. It picks up from the previous book wonderfully and is Will and Eva's story.

I absolutely loved the character development in this book as well as the dark plot and look forward to reading many more by Maria 😊
Profile Image for SKP.
1,214 reviews
January 18, 2025
I didn’t think it was possible for this book to be as good as the first book, but…

…this was a fabulous read! I can’t say I like it better or worse than the first book, because really, it is a continuing story and they were both awesome. I could not put it down, and I am ready to immediately dive into book 3!
240 reviews7 followers
August 13, 2022
Heart Stopping

Part 2 of the trilogy is Will and Eva's story. It's disturbing and not knowing the ending is brilliant. I'll start Emergence as soon as I finish my review. What a terrific roller coaster ride this was.
129 reviews2 followers
November 2, 2022
Wow

This is second book in the series I loved the first and couldn't wait to read second . Now I'm looking forward to the third . The characters are so realistic and the story as had me gripped . If you want a series of books for dark nights try this series
39 reviews1 follower
May 31, 2022
Drowned voices

Omg 😲 what a book absolutely fantastic, gutted when it finished and gutted got wait till August😪 if you want a good thriller this is what you need to read
2 reviews
July 23, 2022
Exciting read

This is an excellent insight into the mind of a serial killer . I can't wait for the final book in this trilogy to become available.
58 reviews1 follower
April 18, 2023
a great book

This book is a well paced riveting read a great ending with justice without a soppy end please read it
Profile Image for Dan.
607 reviews3 followers
July 25, 2023
Fantastic series 👏 👌
598 reviews9 followers
July 17, 2024
Book 2 - amazing. I don’t have much time to write a review I MUST start book 3 now! Love this trilogy
Profile Image for Kasturi Pillay.
325 reviews2 followers
February 7, 2025
Drowned voices

The first book was good second book even better can't wait to read the 3 book a good thriller keeping me on the edge of my seat I enjoy Maria Frankland books
Profile Image for Lucy Abbey.
242 reviews1 follower
August 4, 2025
Listened on audio really enjoyed. Looking forward to 3rd book
Profile Image for C.A. Powers.
Author 2 books73 followers
June 7, 2023
A great wrapup to this trilogy! Book 3 was amazing and I loved how everything was handled at the end. This book was intense and full of don't do its, lol. What a shocking ending! I really enjoyed this trilogy and recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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