The Drowning
Fiona Lowe
Reviewed by Helen
What a fabulous one this is, wow I could barely put it down MS Lowe knows how to bring families to a head and she does this so well with her newest, come along and meet this family get to know the beach front house known as The Shack.
CC Cilento is a doctor, still single, she is an only child with Italian heritage she was privileged to have spent the summer and Easter holidays with her cousins James, Ollie, Lily and Felix Friend those days were some of the happiest of her life she loved the family and felt so close to them like siblings there was so much fun surfing, swimming running through the dunes, the older Friend family have since passed but still they normally spend the summer together when they can and now some with children of their own.
When CC is invited by Ollie for a special weekend at the Shack and the wills of Bert and Leo Friend are bought up and The Shack has been left to the four siblings but there is now a fifth share as CC has been included, CC is thrilled about this it makes her feel even closer to her cousins but maybe they are all not so happy about this will. James is a lawyer and executor of the wills and puts strict rules in place with how they can use The Shack and with a couple of them wanting to change things totally and some wanting to keep it as Bert Friend had built it originally for his wife Rosa and their family this of course leads to disharmony and CC is starting to wonder who she can trust.
Then a secret is revealed and this just hypes up the tension in the family tempers are flaring things are being said and CC really doesn’t know who to turn to and when a body washes up on the shore and this is going to change everything.
This is a story of family dynamics, trust, and power and is a page turner in my opinion how on earth will it all work out, what will happen to The Shack and how will CC go forward?
I do highly recommend this mystery, it had me on the edge of my seat so many twists and turns, don’t miss this one, thank you MS Lowe for another brilliant story.
My thanks to HQ Fiction for my ARC to read and review.
CC Cilento is a doctor, still single, she is an only child with Italian heritage she was privileged to have spent the summer and Easter holidays with her cousins James, Ollie, Lily and Felix Friend those days were some of the happiest of her life she loved the family and felt so close to them like siblings there was so much fun surfing, swimming running through the dunes, the older Friend family have since passed but still they normally spend the summer together when they can and now some with children of their own.
When CC is invited by Ollie for a special weekend at the Shack and the wills of Bert and Leo Friend are bought up and The Shack has been left to the four siblings but there is now a fifth share as CC has been included, CC is thrilled about this it makes her feel even closer to her cousins but maybe they are all not so happy about this will. James is a lawyer and executor of the wills and puts strict rules in place with how they can use The Shack and with a couple of them wanting to change things totally and some wanting to keep it as Bert Friend had built it originally for his wife Rosa and their family this of course leads to disharmony and CC is starting to wonder who she can trust.
Then a secret is revealed and this just hypes up the tension in the family tempers are flaring things are being said and CC really doesn’t know who to turn to and when a body washes up on the shore and this is going to change everything.
This is a story of family dynamics, trust, and power and is a page turner in my opinion how on earth will it all work out, what will happen to The Shack and how will CC go forward?
I do highly recommend this mystery, it had me on the edge of my seat so many twists and turns, don’t miss this one, thank you MS Lowe for another brilliant story.
My thanks to HQ Fiction for my ARC to read and review.
5 stars
February 24, 2026 by HQ Fiction
