The Drowning Girls

by Veronica Lando

One simple sacrifice is all they need. 'Eerie, atmospheric and addictive, The Drowning Girls shimmers with gothic tension' Candice Fox
Cast a stone. Aim true. Let her sink. Nate can't believe he's dragged himself up to this backwater town. Port Flinders would have fallen off the map years ago, except for one thing. Tourists flock to its mangrove-lined shores for the annual Drowning Girl sacrifice a girl at sea, and the fishing hauls that keep the town afloat will prosper. Or don't and the whole town will sink. But it's just a legend, a gimmick. Everybody knows that. As fireworks light up the night sky, a woman's body is pulled from the inky waters of the gulf. Shock waves threaten to tear Port Flinders apart when she's identified as Kelsey a local teenager thought dead for twenty-five years. As Nate tries to find the truth about what happened to Kelsey, he uncovers a string of deadly accidents over the decades. All women. All drowned. And always during the festival. In his search for answers, the legend of the Drowning Girl begins to take hold of Nate, weaving its way into his head and threatening to pull him under, and he begins to question which sacrifices are truly necessary. ' Lando grips and holds the reader underwater - the characters' nightmares of the drowning girl are palpable and the story is claustrophobic, despite the vast ocean nearby. This novel is for readers who love to delve into Sarah Bailey or Chris Hammer's mysterious, complicated histories, or swelter in Candice Fox's oppressive Queensland heat.' Books+Publishing ' The Drowning Girls weaves superstition, small-town tensions and past deeds into a close, suffocating tale infused with the heat and humidity of far north Queensland.' Maryrose Cuskelly 'A haunting Australian novel that strikes right at the reader's core with its moving storytelling. Featuring a unique mystery in an evocative setting, this is a great read from a rising Australian star.' Canberra Weekly 'Tropical Noir is a thing and Veronica Lando has it in the bag! A twisted tale of a desperate town, buried secrets, superstition, folklore, and murder set against a vividly realised Gulf Coast landscape that pulses off the page .' Dinuka McKenzie 'Sophisticated prose, a setting that felt like I could reach out and touch it, and more twists and reveals than I could imagine - Lando's writing sucks you in and doesn't let you go.' Mercedes Mercier

Genres: Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery, Australia, Fiction, Crime

Paperback

First published July 1, 2023

About the author

Veronica Lando is an Australian author who won the 2021 Banjo Prize for her then unpublished crime fiction manuscript, The Whispering. She brings a fresh twist to the genre and has been described as an unmissable new voice on the Australian crime fiction scene.

As a child, Veronica grew up above her parents’ Melbourne bookshop, living and breathing other people’s stories. Now, as an adult she resides in Townsville, Queensland, and enjoys using the uniquely wild and sometimes dangerous landscapes of the far north to shape her stories.

Reviews

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for an Australian book with a difference, The Drowning Girls is for you. It is rich in atmosphere and setting and has characters that you will keep thinking about long after you turn the last page. This book made my head spin with its twists and turns, you will never figure it out I assure you. I am kicking myself for not having read Veronica Lando’s first book but shall be rectifying that mistake.

How to describe this book. It is the story of a fishing town, far far north in Queensland. A town that lives for its Drowning Girls Festival each year. It brings the tourists, it brings the money. And if you believe the legends, it brings the fish. But this year, a body washes upon shore, a body of a woman. Who is she and what happened to her?

The story jumps back and forth between the present day and the same week 25 years ago. We learn how the people of this town think, how the tourists change the landscape for that week. And will the fish come? a well you have to read it and see.

The author has such an amazing way with words. Her vivid descriptions make you feel as if you are in Port Flinders, having a drink with the locals and hearing the stories of the girls. A must read from a fantastic writer.

Thanks to Harper Collins Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on July 5th.

[Brooke - Brooke's Reading Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

*www.onewomansbbr.wordpress.com
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The Drowning Girls by Veronica Lando. (2023).

**Thank you to Harlequin Australia for sending me a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review; published 5 July 2023**

Nate can't believe he's ended up in this backwater town of Port Flinders where the only thing it has going for it is the annual Drowning Girl festival: sacrifice a girl to the sea and the town will prosper from fishing; don't, and the town will sink. It's just a legend, a gimmick. But then a woman's body is pulled out of the sea. Shockingly she is identified as Kelsey Webb: a local teen thought dead 25 years ago. As Nate tries to find the truth about what happened to Kelsey, he uncovers a string of deadly accidents - all women, all drowned, always during the festival...

I very much enjoyed this author's debut fiction novel ('The Whispering') so was looking forward to this. Happily it didn't disappoint. With a creepy undertone, the narrative moves along at a slow pace which allows readers to get the full sense of uneasiness and tension in a small town full of superstition and 'accidents". Bit odd for a town to consider its big draw a festival where they pretend to drown a woman; wouldn't be something I'd be keen to celebrate but each to their own. With a few well-played twists and turns, this is a read that will suck readers in completely.
Overall: highly recommend this Australian crime mystery novel.

[Damo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the small coastal (fictional) town of Port Flinders in Far North Queensland, The Drowning Girls provides us with a strange tradition, a community utterly invested in its success and a mysterious death.

We pick up the story as Nate Bass, a teacher who has been assigned the job of taking up a teaching job in the tiny community, hits town. The town is known for its Drowning Girl tradition of offering the statue of a woman up to the ocean each year, setting her afloat and then tossing stones on her body until she sinks. The legend is that the offering will result in a bumper fishing season in the coming months.

During a night of celebration the body of a real woman is discovered in the water. She’s pulled out but can’t be revived. It becomes apparent the dead woman was thought to have drowned in the same waters 25 years earlier.

It’s at this point that the story very much becomes a slow-burn mystery as we begin to switch back and forth between the present and the events of 25 years earlier. Through this process it begins to become apparent that we’re uncovering facts about, not one but two deaths, each somehow connected to this unusual drowning girl tradition.

From the sprawling ensemble of characters to the sense that the town is slowly in decay, there is an eeriness about the town of Port Flinders. It’s atmospheric to the point of gothic with a sort of brooding darkness surrounding the place, quite a chilling feeling, actually.

There are some similarities between this story and Lando’s first novel, The Whispering. Both are set in small North Queensland towns, both involve someone returning to a small town after being away for years, both returning men are haunted by events that took place in the town in their pasts and both feverishly try to solve a murder. And both are intricately plotted mysteries that uncover secrets that are assiduously held and jaw-dropping in their revelation.

I did have a couple of problems with The Drowning Girl and the first was the clumsy way in which the unreliable narrator device was used. I felt it was done in such a way that we were essentially being lied to through the first third of the book. My other problem was with the pacing of the story. At times I found myself disengaging with the story as the narrative drifted along to no conceivable goal.

Fortunately, a nice save is executed with an ending that left me somewhat gobsmacked with surprise. The ethereal image of the dark haired woman in the white shift drifting in the dark waters of Port Flinders will stay with me for some time.

My thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC to read, enjoy and review The Drowning Girls.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Harper Collins Australia for sending me a copy of this book for review.

For this one I feel its better to go in blind and not know too much.

This was a slow burn mystery set in Queensland , Australia. Its about a small town which is a fishing community, and some people are determined to uncover the truth of what happened 25 years ago , whereas some people are determined to hide it and not let it be revealed. There is alot of secrets and blackmailing going on.

Who do you trust? Very much a character driven story and there is alot of them to keep track of. I loved the short , sharp chapters. With so many twists and turns, it will keep you guessing right up until the very end . The ending was what made the book for me.

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Harper Collins for sending us a copy to read and review.
A town clinging to survival needs it’s annual festival to survive economically and socially.
The morbidly named Drowning Girl Festival is one where a life like woman sculpture is pushed into the sea.
It’s a sacrifice that ensure the local fishermen secure a nice haul.
As the fireworks blast a body washes up on shore.
Who was she?
It’s not just an effigy that drowns in this town.
A history of drownings does not seem to bother the residents.
Nate has to come to the town under sufferance and is mystified and curious about the drowning and discovers a shady history of female death in the water.
Flitting between two time periods the reader is taken on journey of intrigue and spoilt with rich descriptions of region that sounds beautiful.
It captures the heart and soul of a small town and how tourists can change it’s landscape.
This author has a voice in this genre that is a standout and I look forward to what’s next.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extra slow,boring,far fetched. Except for two notable exceptions,I'm done with Australian crime fiction.Tried several, they're all bad. I'll stick with Disher and Hammer.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com

A slow build mystery story that is dripping in sultry heat, superstition, small town tension, suspicion and urban legend, The Drowning Girls is the second novel from Australian author Veronica Lando. After enjoying this 2021 Banjo Prize winning author’s debut, The Drowning Girls seemed to call my name.

In The Drowning Girls, a man named Nate returns to his home town, a small fishing community called Port Flinders. Barely a speck on the map, this tiny town is known only for its annual festival. Once a year Port Flinders plays host to a bevy of visitors to the area who are there to witness the Drowning Girl festival. A long standing and eerie celebration, this festival sees a girl sacrificed to the sea. Legend says that if this festival does not go ahead the fishing season will suffer and the whole town will be impacted. As the town looks to the sky for the fireworks display that comes with the celebration, they do not expect to find a body floating in the water. The local community is floored when they learn that the remains of a local girl named Kelsey Webb have been pulled out of the waters surrounding Port Flinders. Kelsey was thought to have disappeared over two decades ago. Nate is a man who is on a search for the whole truth and he begins to investigate a series of incidents linked to the women of the town over a period of time. It seems all have perished due to a drowning incident. Disturbed by these connections and unnecessary loss of life, Nate allows this local crime wave to consume him. Will Nate get to the bottom of this local home town mystery or will another woman die?

The first aspect of The Drowning Girls that caught my eye was the dreamlike and watery cover of Veronica Lando’s second release. I am quite the cover lover, so this follow up title to Lando’s The Whispering made a quick entrance into my reading zone. I had an immediate feeling just based on the cover art and my previous experience with Lando’s work that I was in for a creepy and unsettling kind of read, but I was more than ok with this!

It was very easy to fall back into the writing style of Queensland based author Veronica Lando. This 2021 Banjo Prize winner has a unique flair for writing narratives that are rapid but also somewhat trance like. Much like Lando’s debut novel The Whispering, a strange sensation washed over me while I made my way through The Drowning Girls. I felt perplexed, challenged, rattled and surprised. The mystery and crime element is presented to readers in a kind of teasing fashion, so you are compelled to simply continue turning the pages of this book. I particularly enjoyed the festival elements, along with the tight knit community protection feel to this Australian crime tale. I think Lando nailed it yet again. With themes of long-standing secrets, community safeguarding, trust, speculation, innuendo, bribery and intimidation, this is a compelling tale. The emphasis on fishing and small-town politics is potent in The Drowning Girls. It also drives much the story and the twists in this gripping Aussie crime mystery. I’m still not sure how I felt about the close of The Drowning Girls, it was definitely a little loose in my eyes. However, the overall storyline does make a full orbit by the end.

A thick, persuasive and spectral mystery tale, The Drowning Girls is full of conjecture, which is set perfectly to a sultry Queensland backdrop. Veronica Lando’s second novel gets the green light from me.

*Thanks extended to HarperCollins Books Australia for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.

[Theresa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 winner of the Banjo Prize, Veronica Lando, has returned with her second novel, The Drowning Girls. From its eerie cover onwards, readers are treated to a story that walks a fine line between creepy and strange. It’s enormously addictive, despite my initial reservations about the main character, Nate. He wasn’t particularly likeable at first, but he grew on me, especially after a certain twisty reveal within the story that I am not going to further allude to, so that you can experience the same ‘ah-ha’ moment that I did.

The Port Flinders setting within The Drowning Girls is a place I’d not want to visit. It’s creepy, with its annual Drowning Girl festival, whereby an effigy of a girl is sacrificed at sea to keep the fishing hauls going. And yet, it seems it’s not only effigies of girls drowning; the town has a history of actual women drowning down through the decades, and no one local seems to think this is sinister.

I’m not a huge reader of crime fiction, maybe one every couple of months, and when I do select one, I’m a bit fussy on what I choose and what I pass on. The cover drew me in with this one, it’s eerie, yet strangely compelling. I read this novel quite rapidly as it really draws the reader in and keeps you turning the pages with increasing urgency. The ending has shock value, I can see it dividing readers, but I thought it was terrific. Bold and unexpected.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

[Meegz Reads]

*DNF*

Copy kindly received from Harper Collins Australia for an honest review.

I tried a couple of times to get into this book, as the synopsis is really intriguing. I found it was not my kind of writing style and my mind was constantly wandering because of this. I hope others find this book enjoyable as it does sound good, unfortunately just not for me.

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[Deborah (debbishdotcom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Drowning Girls by Veronica Lando is reminiscent of her first novel, The Whispering as it offers up vivid imagery and again Lando manages to place readers in the north of my state of Queensland. And I was very much reminded of a trip I had earlier this year to Weipa (further north than the setting of this book), where we were welcomed to the ‘west coast of Queensland’. It was surreal to most as we tend to forget that my states’s entire west isn’t landlocked and there’s a whole coastline in the tropics – offering a dichotomous view of red dirt reminiscent of outback Australia against palm trees and blue sea.

Lando offers us complex characters and it's hard to get a read on some as - as in real life I guess - they're not good OR bad - there's shades of grey and though we're offered a villain (or two), I finished this feeling that some of our players received fates they didn't entirely deserve. And others... did not.

That said, Lando's writing is beautiful particularly as the story nears its end and there's a poignance to her prose. Long descriptive sentences balanced with short sharp phrasing. I got a little lost at the very end, but think that was because I too was swept away by what was real and what was not.

Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...

[Lisa Anybookanytime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a richly layered, gothic story with a pervasive sense of dread and a strong sense of place. 

Nate's arrival at Port Flinders, a dying, remote seaside fishing town, coincides with the annual Drowning Girl festival—part myth, part symbolic sacrifice for good fishing, and definitely part tourist attraction. But real girls have disappeared over the years. And after his arrival, one of them is found—only recently drowned! Coincidence? Collective madness? Or conspiracy?

I genuinely didn't know what to expect when I started reading, and the cleverly developed plot kept me unbalanced and guessing right to the end.

Reading each chapter was like looking through a kaleidoscope. Shift it this way, and it seems there's a criminal element at play. Twist it that way, and there's more to the superstition of the Drowning Girl than just imagination. 

There were many characters to suspect and analyse, and while some were lightly sketched, I still felt strongly about every single one. 

Plus the imaginary North Queensland town of Port Flinders was an atmospheric character in its own right, from the sunbleached houses and pervasive humidity to the dark, malevolent mangroves.

Full disclosure: For a while I struggled with certain chapters and characters, particularly where the casual cruelty of children was chillingly depicted. But be assured that every aspect of this book has been crafted with care, and while parts may be hard to read (see content warnings below), everything is relevant.

I haven't yet read this author's first book, The Whispering, but I plan to now.

Disclaimer: this book was gifted by the publisher in return for an honest review.

CW: (may be spoilerish)
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*bullying, sexual assault, sexual relations with a minor, death of a child, animal death/cruelty

[Wendy Palmer]

It’s an eerie and atmospheric but slow-moving mystery/thriller, and I suspect your feelings on it will very much depend on how much you tolerate a POV character withholding information, whether it’s fair play to an unreliable narrator, or whether it’s just outrageous cheating… Found a few things near the end too coincidental, and some abrupt twists at the very end to be entirely unnecessary, though I did like the epilogue.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl.

[Arina · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok. a bit confusing, couldn’t tell when there was flashback/memory scenes. and too many names and nicknames to keep track.
but concept was alright, and liked that it is an Australian novel

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

✍️ Nate has arrived in Port Flinders to work as a Teacher. The town has its annual Drowning Girl Festival about to start which brings in all the tourists and where a girl is supposed to be sacrificed at sea or so the legend says. When a woman's body is pulled from the waters she's identified as Kelsey who was supposed to be dead twenty five years ago. As Nate tries to find out what really happened to Kelsey, he uncovers a string of incidents over the decades and if the legend is actually true.

This book was ABSOLUTELY UNSURPASSABLE!!

Riveting, Eerie and Enigmatic, "The Drowning Girls" had me Absorbed in the Mystifying and Strange town of Port Flinders and its annual Drowning Girl Festival with its myths and legends behind it. I relished the chilling connotations of the storyline. I couldn't put it down.

The more I read the more I was in shock and astonishment and intrigue at the clever way the story was materialising and progressing. It all unfolded in a way that was so unexpected and so surprising.

The storyline was unique, thought-provoking and appealing and had me hooked. I was held in constant suspicion and suspense about the plot and the setting and the characters who were cleverly portrayed, until the end. I savoured it!

The past and present narratives were completely thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat in suspense.

Highly recommend! Released July 5th

[Alexandra Bishop · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing follow-up to Lando’s stellar debut, “The Whispering”. Far-fetched, unnecessarily convoluted and at times difficult to follow.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of The Drowning Girls from Harper Collins Australia to reivew.

Rating of 4.5.

Rising Australian crime fiction author Veronica Lando presents a particularly intense and captivating read in her latest gritty release, The Drowning Girls.

Port Flinders in the north of Australia is a desperate town, suffering from depleted fishing and a poor economic future. The only thing that is keeping the tiny town going is its infamous Drowning Girl Festival, which draws vast crowds of tourists to the town’s mangrove-lined shores each year. The festival honours a statue that is symbolically dropped into the water in a seemingly harmless bit of fun, recognising an old legend that a woman must be sacrificed each year to revitalise the town’s fishing. But not everyone thinks that the legend is untrue, especially as a tragic drowning of two girls 25 years earlier seemed to save the town.

As the new festival beings, Nate Bass arrives, set to temporarily fill in as the town’s sole teacher. Forced to take the job after an incident at his last school, Port Flinders is the last place Nate ever wanted to come back to, as he has history with the town and its sinister festival. However, the past has a way of coming back to haunt everyone, and soon a new development in the towns infamous history emerges.

A dead woman is pulled from the water at the height of festivities, but is she the victim of an unfortunate drowning accident, or has someone sacrificed her to the ocean? As Nate finds himself drawn to the case, he is forced to dive back into his tragic childhood to events that have haunted him for 25 years, especially when the identity of the drowned woman is revealed. To discover the truth, the past and present will need to come together, but is Nate ready to reveal his biggest mistake to the world?

The Drowning Girls was a very distinctive and captivating bit of Australian fiction by Lando which deeply impressed me when I checked it out. Set around a compelling rural Australian setting with some major baggage associated with it, The Drowning Girls has a great story to it that features an excellent blend of mystery, emotional dives into the past, and some major character moments that really drew me in.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2023/08/14/...

An abridged review of this book also ran in the Canberra Weekly on 27 July 2023:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2023/08/14/...

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

[Lee at ReadWriteWish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely adored Lando’s debut, The Whispering, and was keen to read her follow up, The Drowning Girls. But perhaps a little Second Book Syndrome has crept in.

The Drowning Girls has a fabulous premise. A small coastal town offers up a sacrifice in the form of a ‘drowning girl’ statue each year to keep the fishing gods happy. One year, however, instead of the statue, a young girl is actually drowned and another goes missing, also presumed drowned. Despite putting on appearances for the tourists who flock to the town each year for the festival to celebrate the sacrifice, the locals are still affected by the girls’ deaths some 25 years later and, when Nate, our leading man, arrives in town he also starts to become affected and begins investigating.

I wanted to love the setting. The north Queensland fishing town somewhere in the vicinity of Karumba, I would assume, sounded like it should have been right up my alley. However, I just found it all too odd that kids were playing in amongst the mangroves, often knee deep in the water, and yet no one was ever mentioning crocodiles or stingers. I also had trouble with understanding the size of the town in general. So small only one teacher was employed and yet large enough for a ferris wheel?

I actually think that Lando was so intent on creating an atmospheric setting that she forgot to focus on presenting a plot. None of the characters made me really care about them and, not to be all PC and everything, they were all very white for a place where, surely, there would be a local Indigenous population.

Another thing I really struggled with was the whole teaching storyline of Nate’s. I work for the Department of Education and nothing about Nate’s teaching placement is realistic, from Lando’s incorrect terminology to the ridiculous idea Nate would not be provided with suitable housing in a remote location.

The one redeeming factor for me was the climax and how well Lando wrote the action scenes from then until the end. There was a bit of a twist and I lamented that, again, I wasn’t more invested in the characters and their outcome.

I will still be keen for more from Lando but this one was only a 3 out of 5 for me.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nate Bass (Tack as a teenager) has returned to Port Flinders, a fishing village where he and his mother had spent two weeks when he was a teenager. The town is pretty insignificant, the waters have been overfished and with trawlers now restricted to certain areas and limited catch quantities are having a pretty difficult time. The town is in a far flung place in North Queensland, the language and slang reflects the type of townspeople, tough exteriors but mental health issues so apparent, hard drinking.

Nate, now a schoolteacher has returned against his better judgment but given the small incident he was accused of at his past teaching position, a school for posh rich kids, the short term stint he will have to make at Port Flinders seemed the obvious way to reinstate his reputation. The previous teacher had left abruptly leaving the town without a teacher.

The problems he experienced when he first spent time with his mother quickly re-emerge and Nate finds himself dragged back into those memories and the horror that had transpired then. The townsfolk have the belief that if a girl is sacrificed, drowned the following year the fish catch will be bountiful. As a consequence, the event has created wide interest with visitors from everywhere filling the town’s hotel and caravan parks. The macabre event is due to happen at this time forcing Nate to relive his nightmares.

All that he believed happened as a teenager, a young girl drowning all of a sudden twenty-five years later re-emerges alive and well but who reveals herself only to Nate with a cryptic note. He can't help himself, determined to find the truth he pals up with Irena, who had come for a few weeks' work and never left. She is a dedicated photographer and along with information left behind from the other teacher, Irena's photos and more digging they discover the real truth of the events twenty-five years ago which given the time of the year look like repeating.  

Nate, the adult, has to face the same fears he had when young but the consequences loom for him in conquering them.


 

[Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this to review!

The Drowning Girls follows the story of Nate Bass, a teacher who recently moved to the small fictional town of Port Flinders in Queensland, Australia. This town should have fallen off the map a long time ago but is saved by one thing, their annual Drowning Girl festival where they offer up a statue of a woman to the ocean each year in the hope of having a better fishing season for the following year.

However, this year is different. When the body of a young woman is pulled out of the water during the festival, the small community is shocked, especially when this woman is someone who allegedly drowned 25 years ago. Nate is determined to find out what really happened to this woman all these years ago and discovers that something more sinister might be afoot.

This slow-burn thriller kept me hooked right up until the very last chapter and kept me guessing the whole way. The multiple POVs flowed so well together to give a nice twist that links everything back to this mysterious festival. The characters had great depth and were well-developed, I felt such a connection to Irena. This one was so atmospheric and immersive, I really felt like I was right there in a little rundown Aussie town.

I did have a few errs with this one which is why I haven't rated it higher. There were points where I felt disconnected from the story where it was too slow and didn't really feel like it added anything to the plot. At other points, I felt like the story was repeating itself and just not going anywhere. I felt this was most apparent in Tack's story and how this related to everything else that was happening.

That all being said, the ending had me so shocked! I was on the edge of my seat and could not put it down! I highly enjoyed this one and would recommend it to Jane Harper fans or just fans of thrillers in general. Off to read The Whispering now.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Port Flinders (think Gulf of Carpenteria).
Where the fish just ain’t biting. And local lore strongly recommends you shove a women in the sea (preferably with floaty long brown hair and adorned in a white nighty). Sacrifice a lass to bring the fish back. Then there will be many fish and much prosperity. Hurrah!
Nate, teacher with a dark secret, has taken a last minute teaching post in Port Flinders, fortuitously arriving just as the annual Drowning Girl Festival hits off.
And hit off it does, when a women’s body washes up on the shore day one (sad but hey …. Wooo for incoming fish!)
What is going on in this town!? What dark mysteries lurk not-so-far beneath the surface?
It’s atmospheric. Like many Aussie thrillers, the landscape and the climate become characters in and of themselves.
Be prepared for it to be stifling hot a lot of the time.
I found this book to be creepy but ‘good creepy’.
It was not a page turner for me; more of a leisurely stroll. Which meanders its way to a cracking grand finale.
The middle third mostly rotated between pre teens running through the mangroves and our sprightly narrator Nate partaking in his ever consistent cardiovascular exercise regime, so this did slow things down.
The narration style was an interesting decision. I didn’t quite get why it was utilised and it’s hard not to drop any spoilers discussing it. I think normally that decision would come with some motivation or goal or deception on behalf of the narrator and that wasn’t the case here.
I had some thoughts reading this.
Why does the drowning girl effigy not have feet? Why are the collected stones cold to touch?
And where are all the crocs? All these people running around mangroves and beaches and coves and where are the giant man eating salties!?

[Rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Nate went to Port Flinders on a short assignment. The place would’ve fallen off the map years ago, if not for its annual Drowning Girl festival that attracted tourists: sacrifice a girl at sea, and the fishing hauls would prosper. But it was just a gimmicky legend, and everybody knew that. This year, a woman’s body was pulled from the inky waters, and her identity shocked the town. In his search for answers, the legend began to take hold of Nate, and he began to question what was real and what wasn’t.

This book was one of my highly anticipated releases last year. I was so excited for it, but once I got the book, I sat on it for a year 😁. Has that happened to you?

Long story short, it was everything I had expected it to be. After loving Lando’s debut, I had high expectations on this, and it didn’t disappoint. While I still liked The Whispering more, this wasn’t far behind. It was dark and disturbing, and really enjoyable!

Right from the start, the story was so atmospheric I felt chills down my spine. The concept of ‘drowning girls’ itself was so wrong, and I couldn’t believe the Port Flinders town folks didn’t see it (that was the entire point of the story, of course).

I couldn’t guess at all where the story was going. I managed to guess some minor twists, but as a whole, it managed to surprise me nicely. While some of the conversations felt a bit repetitive in places (when discussing about the festival itself), in the end this was a solid one for me.

I’m excited to read Lando’s next book.

(Thanks to HarperCollins Australia for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)

See my bookstagram review.

[Despina O’Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to receive and read The Drowning Girls. But I don’t know if it was the writing or if it was me, but I really struggled to love it as much as the reviews on here say I should’ve 😅

Within the first couple of pages, I was hooked. I thought ‘yep, we’re on here’. But as I kept reading, that feeling went away and I was left a little confused (read why below) and slightly bored to be honest.

The ending did wrap up nicely for me, so that kept me going and I think I read more pages in one sitting towards the end, than I did the entire book!

In Port Flinders, there’s an annual festival that happens, bringing tourists from all over to spectate and be part of the traditions. The legend of the Drowning Girl is set to help all the local fisherman have a successful year. Someone must sacrifice themselves to the sea in order for this to happen! Otherwise, the town will sink. Though everyone knows this is just fiction, it doesn’t still a few from wondering whether it’s the truth or not, based on previous accidental deaths.

The Drowning Girls is told from one person’s POV - in past and present tense. It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was the same person eventually however, the way this was weaved in at the beginning had me re-reading pages multiple times before I got it. I’m not here for that! 🤣 The entire concept also had me feeling confused 😅

Thank you @harpercollinsaustralia for gifting this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Don Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry, even though I have lived in Queensland for over twenty years, I did not take to this book, set in the far north, the Gulf of Carpentaria.
A small coastal town has for many years a legend that when a young woman drowns, the following fishing season will be great, and conversely, years of meagre catches can only be rectified by the sacrifice of a similarly young female. This fable attracts many visitors at this special time of year, so they make a festival of it. Hmm, parts of Queensland (some may say lots) may be somewhat redneck, but I found this difficult to believe. Still, must soldier on, as Nate arrives in town to teach at the primary school to replace a young woman who has suddenly departed. Nate happens to have a memory of this place as he had a summer here with his mother when he was about twelve. This flashback story is interspersed with the present day.
Needless to say, some of the poor women’s deaths were suspicious to say the least, and guess what, Nate will investigate and eventually solve the mysteries. Second hmm.
So many things happen to and around Nate in the couple of weeks he is here that my suspension of disbelief faded away. The end of the story is even more ‘fabulous’. A good premise for a story, but the compressed timeline didn’t make sense to me. And poor old Nate didn’t even finally get into the classroom! Make that rating 2.5/5.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second crime novel by Aussie author Veronica Lando, The Drowning Girls is a mystery surrounding a drowning death. The town of Port Flinders on the Gulf of Carpentaria holds a yearly festival, celebrating a sacrifice of a girl to the sea in order to ensure a plentiful fish bounty. Nate returns to the small coastal town to teach having been sent there due to the trouble he caused at his last school. Nate holidayed in Port Flinders when he was a child and is well aware of the girl who disappeared in the sea all those years ago. On the night of the festival, a woman’s body is found dead in the sea near the pier, but it’s considered an accident. As Nate settles into town, he finds the coincidence between the two drownings odd and decides to investigate. A slow burn of an intricate mystery unfolds, with building tension and many secrets to be revealed. Once again with the atmospherics of Tropical North Queensland and small-town darkness, comes a most enjoyable Aussie noir with a four stars read rating. With thanks to HarperCollins Publishers Australia and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

[Cj Reads Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Drowning Girls by Veronica Lando was equally great quality as Veronica’s debut novel The Whispering.

In this book The Drowning Girls it features a town that sacrifices girls in order to keep the business afloat, plentiful fish in the ocean and I think it’s safe to say with “Lando's signature style” it makes you question yourself is there something out there or is it all just legend. 🤨

I’m on the fence about the characters in this book, I didn’t love them but I didn’t hate them either. I think because the book was more based on setting and storyline we weren’t given fleshed out characters which I didn’t mind I just would have loved a bit more depth as to who the characters were.

Much like the mangrove roots described in this story (twisting and turning), Lando gives little snippets of reveals and yet it keeps you second guessing as the story progresses. Which I did love because the story kept going and that ending had me thinking.

Overall a fantastic read, and if you loved The Whispering be sure to check out this book too.

Thank you Veronica Lando, Netgalley and HarperCollinsAus for the digital copy of The Drowning Girls for reviewing purposes.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a great Aussie novel. Nate has arrived in Port Flinders, a back water town that he plans on only staying at for a few weeks until he can getgt a better teaching position. However his arrival has also coincided with the local Drowning girl Festival that legend has it requires a local girl to be drowned so that the town can continue to prosper. It is meant to be a fun gimmick and a way to put the town on the map for a few weeks however when a girl turns up dead Nate starts to dig deeper into this legend and the more he digs the less the legend sounds like a gimmick as time and again girls have turned up dead due to drowning. The townsfolk themselves are weird and at times creepy their behaviour seems to be accepted by the other locals no matter how strange.
Although at times the story dragged a bit for me the ending was surprising and overall I really enjoyed it. I will also be looking at reading the authors debut novel.

[Jay Dwight · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read.

The story is set in the north Qld coastal community of Port Flinders. A town struggling with it's key boost coming from the annual "Drowning Girls" festival. Legend has it that when a drowned girl is sacrificed, the fishing catch improves an the town is more prosperous. So each year at the festival, a mock Drowning Girl is sacrificed.

However 25 years before, a teenager was swept out to sea trying to save another girl. Now, days before the festival, the body of a woman is pulled from the water. Events 25 years earlier are called into question.

Whilst I enjoyed the story, I marked it down because of the way the "unreliable narrator" method was used. I found the narrator giving no inkling of certain aspects of the story which, when we find out more, we learn he obviously knew at the time, a little bit like cheating.

[Renae Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book pulled me in and made me read every word!
Set in a small coastal town in far north Queensland, The Drowning Girls is the annual festival that attracts tourists from all over and is essential to the town of Port Flinders survival. But the drowning girl is just a legend, right? Just a story told to scare children about the need to sacrifice a girl to the back currant each year to keep the fishing prosperous? Or is it? When new teacher Nate Bass arrives in town as a body is pulled from the water, he too gets pulled into the untold secrets of the decades old mystery. Can he solve them before the sacrifice countdown?
I found this book to be so atmospheric and having been to the north of the Sunshine state before, it captured the humidity and setting perfectly. It also held all the twists and turns you expect from a mystery that keeps you guessing about the who and the why.