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The Swimming Pool cover art

The Swimming Pool

By: Louise Candlish
Narrated by: Gabrielle Baker
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Summary

It's summer when Elm Hill lido opens, having stood empty for years. For Natalie Steele, it offers freedom and leads her to Lara Channing, a charismatic former actress who seems all too happy to invite Natalie into her elite circle.

Soon Natalie is spending long days at the pool, basking in popularity. But is it too good to be true? Why are dark memories of a summer long ago now threatening to surface? Could Natalie have been swept dangerously out of her depth?

©2016 Louise Candlish (P)2016 Recorded Books Inc

Critic reviews

"Exquisitely written and addictively dark, The Swimming Pool is sheer perfection." (Clare Mackintosh, author of I Let You Go)
"Gripping from start to finish, it wrapped itself around me and swept me along in its wake. I loved it and simply did not want it to end." (Rosanna Ley)

What listeners say about The Swimming Pool

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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Brilliant

Read it in two days. Absolutely loved it. A great holiday read. Would highly recomend.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Good enough

This was a good enough story to keep me entertained on my holiday. At first I was irritated because it read like some kind of cautionary tale for wives and mothers on the perils of daring to occasionally put yourself first or disobey your husband. I found Ed to be a joyless twit and a passive aggressive bully. Natalie is a wet blanket constantly questioning herself and feeling guilty and this is all very frustrating. Also the story was a bit slow sometimes. However I'm glad I kept going because the final chapter was a joy.

The narrator was lovely. She has a lisp which I quite enjoyed. Sometimes her emphasis was a bit wrong but it didn't bother me much.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

you won't sit beside a pool & feel the same again

excellent from page one. totally refreshing storyline & plot. narration was first class. loved it.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

The story never quite took off

I had high hopes for this book, after reading many of LC's other work. However, although the story started of good, the mysteries and the conclusions never really developed. Left me dissatisfied and disappointed with the ending.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Throughly entertaining and beautifully written

I am fast becoming a devotee of Candlish this is my third of her books and I seem to enjoy each one more. There is a similar premise behind all I have read and that is portrayed in the characters Glimpsing some alternative existence that is both seductive and toxic. I love the way candlish uses buildings and neighbourhoods to create this and the way she populates her books with such exotic and ordinary characters juxtaposed together to play off each other. This book was very clever and the end twist totally unexpected. I also enjoyed the narration which was perfect in tone and intensity. I would easily recommend this book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Holiday listen

What did you like most about The Swimming Pool?

I enjoyed this as a holiday listen but I found the ending was a bit longwinded. The rest was good though and well narrated.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

I Just loved it! A nicely Different take on the genre, the characters were very compelling :) it kept me guessing till the very end.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A very obvious lisp from the narrator

The narrator has a very pronounced lisp and it’s very distracting. Ruins the book for me.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

disappointing

I wasn't impressed with the narrator, that annoying posh voice. I'd rather hear an authentic regional accent. All the main characters were very unlikeable except for Natalie's longtime friend Gail who is level headed and honest. All the others were obnoxious. The story could have been improved if I hadn't had to listen to Natalie's constant thought processes which tended towards flamboyance and really grated on me. Because of this the story was overlong and became tedious.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Abysmal

The ‘story’ never took off. Completely ridiculous and unbelievable. Found myself saying ‘as if’ throughout and only used it to put me to sleep at nights. Amazing that it ever made it to print.

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