The Trouble with Drowning

by Heather Hach

Overview

Corrosive comparisons and beautiful lies

When author Eden Hart floats into Tucson’s Antigone Books in all her dazzling perfection to give a reading, Kat, a struggling writer, can’t help but compare herself. Professionally, physically, socially—Eden is Kat’s aspiration. Thankfully, Kat’s life starts to take on its own Eden-like glow when her literary future takes shape and she falls madly in love with Jacob, the effortlessly charismatic son of her literary hero. Kat’s life is finally her fantasy realized: a burgeoning career, mentoring from her idol, and a wildly fulfilling relationship. But how long can she keep this up? And when will disappointment tap Kat on the shoulder yet again?

​As demons from her past begin to surface, Kat’s mental health craters, and this halcyon dream slips through her fingers. Obsessed with reclaiming her idealized life, Kat develops an insidious plan to not only bring Jacob back into her world, but also punish anyone who dares to replace her.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798886451252
Publisher:	Greenleaf Book Group Press
Publication date:	10/17/2023
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Heather Hach Hearne is a screenwriter (Freaky Friday and What to Expect When You're Expecting) and a Tony-nominated and Olivier-winning librettist for Legally Blonde: The Musical. She just adapted Allison Winn Scotch's novel Time of my Life for Sony. She is also the author of the YA novel Freaky Monday with Mary Rodgers.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“I picked up The Trouble with Drowning intending to read a few chapters. Instead I was walking around reading for the whole day—on the subway, walking down the sidewalk—I ended up finishing it in a day. A fun, twisty ride of a book!”
—Rachel Dratch, former Saturday Night Live member; author of Girl Walks into a Bar . . .

“Tony-nominated Heather Hach, an accomplished writer of stage and screen, makes her adult fiction debut with The Trouble with Drowning, a splashy, twisty psychological thriller about a troubled young writer who intertwines herself with her ex-boyfriend’s family and refuses to let go. You’ll be on the edge of your seat as Hach expertly twists the screws tighter and tighter, building to a chilling, cinematic finish. A page-turning debut crackling with tension and personality.”
—Kristin Harmel, New York Times best-selling author of The Paris Daughter

“The fastest-paced slow burn you won’t be able to put down! Obsessively readable and beautifully observed, The Trouble with Drowning has it all—chills, laughs, and timely themes. It’s full-out fun!”
—Laura Bell Bundy, Tony-nominated actress for Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical

“The Trouble with Drowning is a delicious and delightful blast from start to finish! A page-turner filled with chills and laughs, it’s got it all. Hach puts up a magnifying glass to our social media–obsessed world, exploring big issues through characters who are layered and relatable. It’s a hit in all the ways you want a book to hit you!”
—Annaleigh Ashford, Tony-winning actress for Broadway’s You Can’t Take It with You

“The heat is turned way up on this writer’s tale of passion and the desire to belong. The Trouble with Drowning brilliantly proves we are all capable of writing our own story. The question is, will anyone believe it?”
—Jerry Mitchell, Tony–winning director and choreographer of Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde: The Musical

“Expertly crafted, Hach’s psychological thriller will have readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. Her novel also serves as an insightful commentary on the double standard for women today, whose narratives are deemed either sympathetic or crazy.”
—Amanda Brown, author of Legally Blonde

Editorial Reviews

10/23/2023

The accomplished stage and screenwriter Hach (Freaky Friday, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Legally Blonde: The Musical) will keep readers off balance and turning pages as they enter the disturbed mind of Kat Lamb. Hach’s fiction debut is a psychological thriller of obsession, jealousy, mental health, and the drive to do anything to belong. Bestselling author Eden Hart is the definition of perfect, and when she flies into Tucson to give a reading at Antigone Books, struggling author Kat can’t help but compare herself to her—professionally, physically, and socially—she’s everything Kat wants to be. Years later, Hart is a distant but distinct memory when Kat meets Jacob Walsh, the charismatic son of her true Tucson literary hero, Carol Walsh. Kat falls for Jacob, and her obsession with their relationship—and the idea of joining Carol’s family—grows more intense, to the point of sickness. It’s clear that Kat’s mind is unwell and that she will not handle setbacks well.

But setbacks define many writers’ lives, and Kat’s demons begin to surface as she faces the dissolution of the relationship and the failure of her debut novel—she’s absolutely consumed with the life she “could” and “should have.” The heat between lovers and the desire to belong are major themes in this captivating story, as Kat’s need to be perfect goes far beyond the norm. The suspense comes from how far she’ll go, how much she’ll lie, and who she’ll dare to hurt, even when she’s treated with surprising empathy by some she has wronged.

The Trouble with Drowning is full of twists and turns, stirring sympathy for Kat even as readers gape at what’s revealed beneath her mask. Hach’s prose is sharp and engaging, with memorable dialogue, and as it builds to a satisfying ending and jolting cliffhanger the story offers insightful commentary on mental illness, double standards for women, the tragedy of tough childhoods, pressure to succeed in one’s career, and taking the idea of “perfection” too far.

Takeaway: Gripping, suspenseful story of a woman writer’s obsessions taken too far.

Comparable Titles: Britney King’s Her, Maria Dong’s Liar, Dreamer, Thief.

Production grades Cover: A- Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: A

BookLife Reviews