A good idea gone south

I realize that, once again, it's been a long time since I've offered a review. Honestly, it's been quite a while since I've taken the time to sit down and just immerse myself in fiction. I decided over this summer that I would do so once again, when I saw a spot on my employer's homepage allowing employees to offer book reviews/recommendations.

"Into the Water" begins with the drowning of a local woman at a place by the river where many women, including a 15-year-old girl earlier in the summer, have gone to 'end it all'. But was it really suicide? Was it murder? And was the girl's death actually a murder rather than the suicide it was ruled? And why are the townspeople rather relieved, joyful even, that the woman has died? And what secrets are they all hiding? And why do they hear laughter when no one is there?

The book is described as a "addictive new novel of psychological suspense about the slipperiness of the truth". What it actually turns out to be is a hodgepodge of brief glimpses into the lives of the dozen or so characters we meet in the book. None is particularly deeply drawn, but what bothered me more is that none really has enough redeeming qualities to make the reader truly care about him or her and what happens. Reminiscent of the film "Dunkirk", the reality was greatly disappointing to my expectations.

I did read through the entire book, and was only mildly satisfied with the ending, which had several unexplained untied loose ends. I suppose if it had been shorter, I might feel less let down, but at nearly 400 pages it should have been more gripping.