This Is the Water (Murphy)

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) [O]bscenely suspenseful.... Murphy...known for her stylistic experimentation, tries out a second-person perspective and a continual “this is” structure...that works... [I]n Murphy’s hands, the structure becomes almost hypnotic—and when the story hits full speed in the final quarter, the suspense becomes almost excruciating. (Aug.)
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) [A] propulsive, psychologically lush, witty, and unpredictable novel.... Murphy’s evocation of feverish competition, stressed marriages, and the shocking banality of a serial killer’s inner life coalesce in a novel of acute observation, penetrating imagination, and rare agility that is capped by a resounding denouement.
Booklist


An offbeat thriller.... Countless sentences begin “This is,” as Murphy assumes the voice of a preschool teacher.... Murphy also presents the thoughts of swim-mom Annie in what for this woman is the aptly self-conscious “you” of the second person.... [A] different sort of murder yarn that boasts twists in both the style and the plot.
Kirkus Reviews