What do readers think of Palace of the Drowned by Christine Mangan? Write your own review.

Palace of the Drowned was a moody, creepy gothic thriller. The author did an excellent job evoking the damp, dark, medieval city of Venice. The tension mounted as the water rose in the crumbling city. A perfect setting to lose oneself. November in Venice is not for the faint of heart. . I felt like I was running down the narrow streets with the main character... Pure escapism. It was reminiscent of Mexican Gothic.
Well worth your time.

I was excited to read this book primarily since most of it takes place in 1960s Venice and Mangane did such a great job making Tangier come alive in Tangerine. Fortunately, unlike Tangerine, this novel has an intriguing plot and some fairly interesting characters. I enjoyed the story from the perspective of a mentally unbalanced novelist who forms a love/hate friendship with a very perplexing younger woman who not surprisingly, is an aspiring writer herself. I found the ending to be a bit unsatisfactory but it was consistent with the tone of the book. All in all a well written mysterious tale with interesting dark psychological undertones.

Frances (Frankie) Croy is 42 and a novelist with a somewhat declining reputation after publishing four books. Upset by a particularly scathing review and a rather public outburst Frankie escapes to Venice where she is staying in a borrowed residence— Palazzo d'Affagata (translated as Palace of the Drowned). Her best friend Jack has recommended this domicile and assured Frankie it would be empty and available as it was every winter.

Shortly after arriving in Venice, Frankie encounters a young woman who professes to know her. Gilly is the daughter of the wife of one of the editors at her publishing house. Something about Gilly seems off from the outset and it gets even stranger as Gilly inserts herself into Frankie's life.

Strange noises in the palazzo, the atmosphere and the feel of the city are almost palpable as Frankie's instincts tell her things just aren't right. I really admire a writer who can capture this sense of place so vividly on the page. Mangan did this brilliantly in her first novel Tangerine also. This is an intriguing character study of dark and twisted emotions that gradually accumulate in the reader's mind as the pages turn. I was so engrossed in the events being described and couldn't wait to see how these characters would emerge from this psychological maze.

I almost gave away the finish! It turned out the way I anticipated. Very predictable. If Frankie had not met Gilly, but she did. I love Venice, have been there several times. I did not feel the author captured it...as other reviewers noted. Not my Venice. However, getting lost is so easy. She got that right.

I'm sorry to say that I found Palace of the Drowned more depressing than compelling. Frankie is recuperating in Venice after a very public breakdown caused by a poor review of her latest novel. I felt sorry for her but didn't find her very sympathetic or interesting. Venice in winter doesn't raise the cheerfulness level. The book is well-written, with interesting parts, but the reader needs to be prepared for an emotional downer.

I have often wondered what exactly an "unreliable narrator" was; and I have avoided books using this method because I didn't think I would like them. I discovered I don't like unreliable narrators. I will say there is suspense as you wonder if the protagonist is going mad.
I chose this book because I have been to Venice in November and loved it. The author's descriptions were "spot on". I also chose it because I enjoy literary thrillers; but this did not qualify as a thriller. I almost quit reading it half way through because it was so slow. The pace did pick up and now I want some friends to read it so we can discuss it. The author did manage to create a very unique narrative. After reading comments about her first book, I would like to read that one now.

I like thrillers, and requested this book for an early review because it is described as a thriller. The author, Christine Mangan, has a PhD is gothic literature and she has written a 21st century gothic novel here which does not thrill, but does have scary, gloomy, "something terrible is about to happen" moments throughout the book. The protagonist, a writer, is a lonely, disturbed, "weak" woman who does not undergo any arc of transformation, nor find any hero to rescue her. The writing is good but the plot is not strong enough and the story does not ever lift out of the gloom. It wallows for far too long. As you can tell this book is not my cup of tea, but fulfills its intention and will please those who like the endless twists and turns of gothic mystery and despair.

In my opinion Palace of the Drowned fell a little flat compared to Christine Mangan's first novel Tangerine. (This thought ironically mirrors the plot line of Palace of the Drowned.) And yet, while I didn't like it as much there were definite elements in it that kept my interest throughout. These include descriptions of Venice in the 60's, the haunting/eerie tone of the story as well as the build up of tension that instills in the reader a keen desire to find out how it resolves. I am glad to have read it!