SOLVED. Adult Mystery. Scene with young girl not saving drowning boy at the beach; accused of killing husband. Read 2022-2023. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Candirocks]

Read in late 2022 or 2023. Female protagonist accused of killing husband; book plot goes over her life and the various people she has killed; early scene in book is her as a child swimming in a lake or ocean with another little kid who is drowning…she does nothing because he picked on her at school so she lets him drown. She gets a thrill out of it. Scenes are past and present. In present tense she is being interrogated by police.

[Kris]

Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild seems to match your description.

Google Books preview:
https://books.google.com/books?id=eiM... There are different cover images.

Kirkus Review:
- "People keep dying around Ruby Simon, but she insists that doesn’t mean she’s always guilty. Should we take a confessed killer at her word?
Readers horrified by the opening scene, in which 5-year-old Ruby murders her 7-year-old schoolmate Duncan Reese, will soon be assured that it wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Duncan was spoiled and mean and bullied Ruby’s sister, so her actions were excusable, if not heroic—at least in her eyes. The same can later be said of her friend’s predatory father and an awful therapy client nicknamed “the Witch,” both of whom meet their unfortunate demises with Ruby’s assistance. When Ruby’s husband dies, however, she insists she had nothing to do with it. Detective Keith Jackson disagrees..."

Google search of Goodreads:
site:goodreads.com "mystery" doesn't save drowning boy beach accused killing "her husband" interrogated police

[Candirocks]

Thank you!!

[Kris]

You're welcome. Glad you found your book, Candirocks.