NEW ON THE LIST AND IN PUBLISHING

The Hawkins express:

Paula Hawkins is back at a familiar spot: No. 1. Her latest thriller, Into the

Water, rises to the top of USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list, after making its debut last week at No. 4. Hawkins initially had tough competition, with Water (out May 2) going on sale the same week as 16th Seduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, No. 1 last week, and Rick Riordan, No. 2 with The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy.

Hawkins spent 16 (nonconsecutive) weeks at No. 1 on USA TODAY’s list in 2015 and 2016 with her blockbuster hit The Girl on the Train. Into the Wa

ter is set in an English town plagued by the mysterious drowning deaths of local women. I gave the book out of four, noting that, while the author makes “perplexing ” choices early on “that threaten to sink (the novel) in a sea of confusion,” the various “plot currents eventually converge, and when they do Into

the Water takes off with a rush.” Janet Maslin in The New York Times was less forgiving, finding Water a murky mess. But, she wrote, “Hawkins could have published a book of 386 blank pages and hit the best-seller lists.”

The British author told USA TODAY during a #BookmarkThis video chat that Train’s mega-success created “pressures” for her new book.

“Obviously I’ve had a voice in my head saying, ‘Are you doing the right thing? Are you doing something that’s too similar (or) too different?’ ” Hawkins said. “But you have to shut that out and write the best book you can write at this point in time. That’s what I’ve tried to do, and I hope that readers will respond to it.”

Based on her No. 1 position, it seems they are. Whether Water is in for a non-stop, Train- like thrill ride remains to be seen.