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The Drowned Village cover art

The Drowned Village

By: Kathleen McGurl
Narrated by: Maggie Mash
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Summary

Beneath the surface lie forgotten secrets....

A village destroyed

It’s the summer of 1935, and 11-year-old Stella Walker is preparing to leave her home forever. Forced to evacuate to make way for a new reservoir, the village of Brackendale Green will soon be lost. But before the water has even reached them, a dreadful event threatens to tear Stella’s family apart.

An uncovered secret

Present day, and a fierce summer has dried up the lake and revealed the remnants of the deserted village. Now an old woman, Stella begs her granddaughter Laura to make the journey she can’t. She’s sure the village still holds answers for her, but with only days until the floodwaters start to rise again, Laura is in a race against time to solve the mysteries of Stella’s almost forgotten past.

Haunting and evocative, The Drowned Village reaches across the decades in an unforgettable tale of love, loss and family.

©2018 Kathleen McGurl (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The Drowned Village with its dual timelines is a compelling story which drew me straight in and kept me hooked until the past met the future in a satisfying ending. Look forward to reading more from this author." (Linda Finlay, author of The Flower Seller)

"Really touching, a gently gripping mystery. Made me desperate to visit the Lake District!" (Kerry Barrett)

What listeners say about The Drowned Village

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Yet another winner from Kathleen McGurl.

Another compulsive, easy listening story. Narrated very well, my only critiscm being that Laura's and all the male characters voices were unconvincing, but enjoyable, nevertheless.

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Fabulous

I was hooked straight away and found it a fascinating story of love, tragegy and betrayal. I found the narrator a little slow at times but it didn't put me off. It was detailed so I could almost picture how the village would look.
It's a story about Stella who's life was ripped apart when she was just 11 years old. Set in the Peak District in 1935 just before the little village of Brackendale Green had to be evacuated to make way for the new reservoir and lost forever. Fast forward 80 years and a hot summer drought exposes it's remains.

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enjoyable

loved the story and the characters. very sad for the story to fish.thought some of the characters voices could have been better

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The Drowned Village

Thoroughly enjoyed this book by Kathleen McGurl. I have read quite a few books by this author and have enjoyed them all but this has to be one of my favourites.
They way the author writes between two timelines is clever as always. I highly recommend this book as a good read.

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Lovely story...

I really enjoyed this book and was sorry when it ended....
The characters really came to life and the story was beautiful. At first I was slightly irritated by the narration but warmed to it later. A moving book.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Cosy romantic mystery

I enjoyed this book, easy to listen too if a bit twee at times! Storyline good but twee voice from narrator as though she were reading to a child. Also, I realise that swearing and bad language are the norm these days, it seemed out of place in this story especially coming from this narrator. (Twee voice!) So only four stars.

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Very good read

Brilliant as usual
The authors books are fantastic
Never failing to make you want to keep listening

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Couldn’t put it down!

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read/listened to. Wonderful story and beautifully written. A story of love, loss and family struggles and secrets. Brought me to tears. Brilliantly narrated. Highly recommended.

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Loved it, as usual.

Very hard to put down, just keeps pulling you back in.
Great story, great narration.

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Very good

I enjoyed it very much, narration was quite good, story interesting. First book by this author.

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