Publication Date: 5th May 2016 from Penguin (Michael Joseph)
Source: Netgalley
It’s summer, and for teachers Ed and Natalie Steele this means six weeks off work with their young daughter Molly. Their lives are predictable and uncomplicated — or at least they were until they meet the Channings.
Suddenly, glamorous Lara Channing, a former actress leading an eccentrically lavish lifestyle, is taking Natalie under her wing and the stability of summer takes an exciting turn.
But are there hidden motives behind this new friendship? And when the end-of-summer party at the lido is cut short by a blackout, Natalie realizes that she’s been kept in the dark all along.
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers was one of my favourite twisty tales of last year, one of those impulse purchases that turns into a favourite, so I was REALLY looking forward to “The Swimming Pool” and boy was that one addictive. And twisty. And distracting because when the end came I was “really?” – so caught up had I been in the lives of these characters.
Therein lies the rub really – Louise Candlish does characters with such a sharp eye and authentic wit that they bounce off the page and you really do get so involved in the intricacies of their interactions that any eye you might usually have towards guessing a solution stays firmly on whats happening now right in front of you. Its clever for sure and add to that a twisty plot full of nefarious intention and you have a real corker of a summer read.
The Swimming Pool – where the neigbourhood gathers – is a shiny glistening character in its own right here, whilst the ebb and flow of human nature dances around it, there it sits. You know from the start that something disastrous is coming and that the pool will play its part which gives it a gorgeous sinister aspect whilst sounding like the most fun place in the world to be.
I loved the “underneath” parts of the story -a long term, steady marriage shaken at its foundation by some seemingly glamourous and exciting new friendships, the ironies of parenting teenagers, the way our history can define us and how we can all become entirely selfish at the drop of a hat – also just the sheer depth and feeling in all the relationships. The very definition of a page turner with some beautiful writing and intuitive insight.
Using a bit of the past and a bit of the future and whole load of here and now, Louise Candlish spins an evocative and often haunting web around a group dynamic that is entirely fascinating. From Ed to Nat to Lara to Miles to the daughters and the sons and the friends (and the dogs) you will come to know them all. Or at least think you do. Then you may find that not everything is as it appears….
LOVED it. An entirely enjoyable and intriguing read. No complaints here. More please.
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Welcome to Lime Park Road. A picture-perfect street with a secret at its heart.
When Joe and Christy Davenport step behind the Oxford Blue painted door of their ‘for ever’ home, they believe their dreams have come true.
Yet the boxes aren’t even unpacked before a series of events leads Christy to become obsessed with the previous occupant, the glamorous, enigmatic Amber Fraser, whose departure from Lime Park Road is shrouded in mystery.
What happened to her? And why are Joe and Christy’s attempts at friendship with neighbours met with an unnerving silence?
As Christy unravels the shocking truth about the Frasers and the place she now calls home, she discovers that behind the closed doors of even the most desirable postcodes, terrible secrets lurk
Reviewed HERE
Purchase HERE
Happy Reading Folks!
