The Drowning Game: A Novel

LS Hawker

Sept 2015 · HarperCollins

About this eBook

They said she was armed.
They said she was dangerous.
They were right.

Petty Moshen spent eighteen years of her life as a prisoner in her own home, training with military precision for everything, ready for anything. She can disarm, dismember, and kill—and now, for the first time ever, she is free.

Her paranoid father is dead, his extreme dominance and rules a thing of the past, but his influence remains as strong as ever. When his final will reveals a future more terrible than her captive past, Petty knows she must escape—by whatever means necessary.

But when Petty learns the truth behind her father's madness—and her own family—the reality is worse than anything she could have imagined. On the road and in over her head, Petty's fight for her life has just begun.

Fans of female-powered thrillers will love debut author LS Hawker and her suspenseful tale of a young woman on the run for her future…and from the nightmares of her past.

Ratings and reviews

Well, mark me down as yet another that blew through this amazing story in one sitting. This chilling story draws you in and does not disappoint. Every twist and turn gives you another piece of the puzzle, except that with every new piece you realize that you must be working on a puzzle of the Beatle's White Album because you really haven't actually put anything together yet. The story is mystifying and captivating, with characters that do not disappoint. Hawker's writing is brilliant and vivid with a story that packs a punch. Now, I don't have a Kindle or eReader or anything, so I was just staring at my desktop for several hours. I can't say that I recommend doing that to your eyes, but I definitely can't say that it wasn't worth it.

I just finished... WOW! What a great story, and so well written. Truth be told, I was supposed to be working these past two days - while I sat here at my desk, reading on my small monitor tucked in close so that no one realized that I was reading and not actually working... but that's our secret. (That's how good this book is!) Like I said, very well written. I thought I could see where the story was going two or three times, only to see it go in a different, exciting direction each time. The characters, the story-line, and the pace were well developed and I couldn't wait for the next page. I don't remember ever enjoying a book so much that, after reading the Epilogue, I continued to read (and somehow actually enjoy) the acknowledgements - but I did this time. Maybe I was hoping the story would continue somehow... some clue or reference to the next chapter in the lives of Petty and Dekker? I can only hope that they'll show up again someday, and if they do, I'll be reading that book as well! I'll be following this author!

Although this book seemed to start off a little slow for my taste, once it grabbed me, it grabbed HARD, and now here it is... 2:46AM and I just finished reading it! I had to finish this book TONIGHT even though I have to be up at 6 am to get my daughter off to school! Definitely worth losing sleep for!! It didn't disappoint! I haven't looked yet... but REALLY hope she has written a follow-up story to this one :-).

About the author

LS Hawker grew up in suburban Denver, indulging her worrisome obsession with true-crime books, and writing stories about anthropomorphic fruit and juvenile delinquents. She wrote her first novel at 14.

Armed with a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas, she had a radio show called “People Are So Stupid,” edited a trade magazine and worked as a traveling Kmart portrait photographer, but never lost her passion for fiction writing.

She’s got a hilarious, supportive husband, two brilliant daughters, and a massive music collection. She lives in Colorado but considers Kansas her spiritual homeland. She is the author of The Drowning Game, a USA Today Bestseller, and Body and Bone. Visit her website at LSHawker.com.