Book Review! The Remains in the Pond by Ann Swann

The Remains in the Pond by Ann Swann

Genre: Young Adult (Mystery w/ a touch of Paranormal)
Date Published: November 13, 2017
Publisher: 5 Prince Books

Senior prom is the happiest night of Gabi’s life. Her crush has just revealed that he is every bit as infatuated with her as she is with him. When he has a car wreck and is transported to the hospital in a coma, Gabi feels as if she’s taken a knife to the heart. But his jealous cousin, Rose, sees her chance to give the knife an even harder twist. She convinces Gabi to meet her at a local parking spot outside town. It's a night that will change several lives forever. One of the girls will return, and one will become known as the remains in the pond.

The Remains in the Pond by Ann Swann was a Mystery with a touch of Paranormal thrown in. This book started off great. It really grabbed my attention at the prom with all the drama that came during and close after. After the Rose incident, we follow Gabi to California, Vegas, and Switzerland. The issues, including those she is unaware of through some of these travels, are put on hold. Aside from a few ghostly happenings, the story really slows up during this time. You don't get to know Matt too well for obvious reasons, but after crushing on Matt for so long, then being "in love" with him, how could Gabi turn around and be "in love" with Reece so quickly? I liked Reece's character a lot. It was just very insta-love, and kinda hard to believe. The mystery aspect picks up again towards the end, when Gabi goes back to Texas. The answers came fast at this point. It felt rushed, and I still have so many questions. What was Rose's deal? Was it really just jealousy? She was Matt's cousin for Pete's sake. Was Matt's accident really an accident? The story asks that same question, but never answered it. I was drawn in to these characters' lives, and I liked different things about most all of them. It brought back many memories from the 90's too, which I loved. Ultimately, it reads mostly like a YA Contemporary Romance with a little bit of mystery.

The Remains in the Pond by Ann Swann was kindly provided to me by I'm a Reader for review. The opinions are my own.

I've been a writer since junior high school, but to pay the bills I've waited tables, delivered newspapers, cleaned other people's houses, taught school, and had a short stint in a rock-n-roll radio station scheduling commercials. I also worked as a 911 operator and a police dispatcher.

I won a few awards for short fiction in college. Some of my winning entries have been published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, The Binnacle, Timeless, an anthology, The Rusty Nail, The Sandstorm, Reflections, and Blue Mountain Review among others. My Middle Grade Phantom books (Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot, Stevie-girl and the Phantom Student, and Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Crybaby Bridge) were published by a small press in 2011. My Women's Novel, All For Love, was published in 2012. Stutter Creek, Lilac Lane, and Copper Lake, (Suspense trilogy) were all published by 5 Prince Books. Stutter Creek remains my bestseller.


I recently jumped into the self-publishing pond with my speculative novel Takers: Apocalypse in Eden. After all these years, I finally came to the realization that for me, writing is the cathartic pause in an otherwise stressful life. Most of the time, it even keeps me sane.

To learn more about Ann Swann and her books, visit her blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.