Drowning in Secrets

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

Against her father’s wishes, 16-year-old Chloe Griffiths travels from
Edmonton to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, to visit her grandmother and
Aunt Anna, her mother’s twin. Chloe recalls nothing about her mother,
Roz, who drowned when Chloe was 5. Anna explains that Roz suffered a
mental breakdown, and was hospitalized, but later escaped and presumably
drowned, although her body was never found.

The novel opens with Chloe’s recurring nightmare in which a woman
dressed in white floats below the surface of the water. Chloe suffers
from panic attacks having to do with water—attacks that threaten her
burgeoning romance with gorgeous but shy Danny, for whom swimming,
fishing, and boating are commonplace. Having finally accepted his advice
that she face her fears, she recalls that her mother had tried to drown
her as a child.

Chloe develops a satisfying relationship with Anna, but not with Gran,
who often mistakes her for Roz. The mysterious sculptress next door adds
tension and suspense to the plot, as does Chloe’s impression that
someone is watching and following her. In a chilling climax, Chloe
discovers the truth about her mother and resolves the impasse with her
father.

Chloe is an appealing heroine in a book that successfully combines the
genres of coming-of-age novel and thriller. Recommended.