Drowning Ruth (Oprah's Book Club)

'A gripping read' Choice magazine - Choice

'A compelling mystery' The Times - Play (The Times)

'Assured and dense debut...Schwarz's real achievement is in matching the complexities of her plot with vivid characters' The Scotsman - The Scotsman

'Austere, tense, painful and rewarding, this book keeps you reading until the vertebrae sulk - and the aftertaste has the bitterness of a linctus whose sharpness conveys its benefit' Frank Delaney - Frank Delaney

In [the] assured last stroke, Ms Schwarz affirms the psychological underpinnings of a book that would have worked page-turningly well as a straightforward mystery alone. She gives it the extra wisdom that marks DROWNING RUTH as the chilling, precociously good start to a bright new novelist's career - New York Times

'This is a book that really ought not to be missed' Sentinel Sunday - Sentinel Sunday

A strong sense of portent and unusually vivid characters distinguish this mesmerizing first novel about horrifying family secrets and nearly annihilating guilt. DROWNING RUTH is a complex and rewarding debut - Anita Shreve

A riveting first novel... A very suspenseful tale, one that will keep readers up shivering in the heat of an August night - USA Today