A Breath After Drowning - Alice Blanchard

A Breath After Drowning is the third book from author Alice Blanchard.

Kate Wolfe is a child psychiatrist. A teenager is dropped off by her mother at the hospital Kate works at. During her inteviews, the girl reveals that she knows unsettling details of Kate's personal life - notably the fact that Kate's younger sister was brutally murdered. The man who perpetrated the murder is on death row awaiting execution - and still proclaiming his innocence. Kate is then contacted by the police detective who solved the case - he too is now questioning the man's guilt.

Whew, lots going on. A Breath After Drowning has a busy plot. Blanchard moves her story along with many clues and developments being added. I did find some of those clues to be just a tad too fortuitous and convenient. I forgot, I just found, I remembered. For this reader, the story seemed to bog down in the middle and started feeling repetitive. Things do pick up closer to the end. Blanchard does provide numerous other suspects along the way, but the final whodunit wasn't overly surprising.

I really never engaged with the lead character. I found her insecurities at odds with the profession she has chosen. And I questioned the hospital and therapy sessions - they don't seem to be realistic or follow protocol. Kate's personal life with her fiancé seemed forced and didn't make her any more sympathetic or likeable for me. They both seemed like cardboard cut outs to me.

For this reader, A Breath After Drowning was just an okay, middle of the road read - I had hoped for more. Read an excerpt of  A Breath After Drowning. I'm in the minority on this one - check out what others thought on Goodreads.