The Swimming Pool

by Louise Candlish

'I can't take my eyes off the water. Can you?'

It's summer when Elm Hill lido opens, having stood empty for years. For Natalie Steele - wife, mother, teacher - it offers freedom from the tightly controlled routines of work and family. Especially when it leads her to Lara Channing, a charismatic former actress with a lavish bohemian lifestyle, who seems all too happy to invite Natalie into her elite circle.

Soon Natalie is spending long days at the pool, socializing with new friends and basking in a popularity she didn't know she'd been missing. Real life, and the person she used to be, begins to feel very far away.

But is such a change in fortunes too good to be true? Why are dark memories of a summer long ago now threatening to surface? And, without realizing, could Natalie have been swept dangerously out of her depth?

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2016

About the author

Hello and welcome to my page... You may already know my domestic noir thrillers or perhaps you're curious and not sure which to try first - either way, you're in the right place!

My latest is OUR HOLIDAY, a Sunday Times bestseller, WHSmith Richard & Judy Book Club pick and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025 nominee. It features my favourite ever love-to-hate characters Perry and Charlotte, second home owners in the idyllic English beach resort of Pine Ridge. It's now in development for the screen - I'll share news on that as soon as I can.

Next up is A NEIGHBOUR'S GUIDE TO MURDER, published in July 2025 (UK) and 2026 (US), available to pre-order now.

Last year I celebrated my 20th anniversary as an author with the news of two prestigious awards for my 90s-set thriller THE ONLY SUSPECT: the Capital Crime Fingerprint Award for Thriller of the Year and the Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction. Stay tuned for TV news on that one too - it will be the next of mine to hit our screens!

OUR HOUSE is the one you may know me for as it's now a major four-part ITV drama starring Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton (watch the full series free on ITVX). This is the novel that turned my career around, winning the 2019 British Book Awards Book of the Year - Crime & Thriller and shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Best Crime Novel of the Year Award​, and the Audible Sounds of Crime Award. It was also longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award and the Specsavers National Book Awards. A Waterstones Thriller of the Month, it recently received a Nielsen Bestseller Silver Award for 250,000 copies sold.

A bit about me: I live in a South London neighbourhood not unlike the one in my books, with my husband, daughter and a fox-red Labrador called Bertie who is the apple of my eye. Books, TV and long walks are my passions - and drinking wine in the sun with family and friends. Authors I love include Tom Wolfe, Patricia Highsmith, Barbara Vine, Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh. My favourite book is Madame Bovary.

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Reviews

[Richard (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choosing a decent psychological thriller from the thousands out there is not always easy but I’m beginning to think that Louise Candlish is a particularly safe pair of hands.
The Swimming Pool starts with a jarring image.
A naked woman, battered and terrified, runs desperately through the middle of an unknown town, on a busy weekday afternoon - escaping something very frightening.
We then cut to meet the family at the centre of the novel. Natalie and Ed are teachers and lead an orderly, unremarkable life with their daughter Molly in a small rented flat in an affluent suburb of London.
A lido has opened up nearby ....... an ancient, long derelict swimming pool, that has been trendily renovated and has become a major community focal point.
Natalie, a little jaded and dissatisfied with her life, is drawn toward Lara, an exotic local woman and the driving force behind the lido renovation. Lara, ex championship swimmer and actress is beautiful and rich and is the de facto leader of a small group of monied and glamorous friends.
Nat is soon seduced by a whiff of decadence and danger and finds her life, and her family’s, becoming more and more entangled with Lara’s family and her vaguely immoral social set.
As is usual there are mysterious back stories, surprising twists, elements of misdirection and as the breathless, hot summer of the story comes to a end you know there is an explosive climax approaching, a climax I couldn’t second guess.
The Swimming Pool is an easy but intelligent read. The plot is well constructed, the characters believable and the gradual ratcheting up of tension is impressive.
I recommend this thriller and am very much looking forward to my next Louise Candlish novel.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[ReadAlongWithSue recovering from a stroke★⋆. ࿐࿔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This authors works are well loved by me.

But to read this book from my backlist challenge I thought I’d listen to it on audio.

Oh my. That was the worst mistake I made. The narrator got on my nerves and her voice grated in the end. The pitch, power was so mundane I got bored.

I managed until halfway. Then when home I picked up the book. It was better to read it myself but by that time my interest had waned somewhat.

So 3* from me. Which does disappoint me.

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Was a little drawn out but it really picked up the last portion of the book- loved the twist at the end (thought I had it figured out but I honestly didn't).

[Bryony Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie, I skipped chunks of this because otherwise I would've just given up. The whole story just dragged on so much and was so boring. Yeah, there were some okay plot twists but nothing worth putting up with the rest of the story for. I didn't even like the characters or the setting. The whole thing was a bit of a disaster to me really.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Malia]

I feel bad about this, because I usually like this author, especially her book The Sudden Departure of the Frasers, however, I have to abandon this one. I am listening to the audiobook, and the narrator is just awful. I have listened to four hours and just can't do any more. It's quite new to me that I let myself stop reading books, if I don't like them. I used to feel a strong urge to finish every one I began. However, the more I read, the more I realize I know what I like and I'm not going to make myself feel guilty when I don't like something. People seem to enjoy this book, so maybe it is much better without the audio narration, but as matters stand, I think I will just have to accept that some books are not for everyone.

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God! THAT ending! Louise has bowled me over with yet another very cleverly written novel with twists that are outstanding. Full gushing review to come but put this on your to-read list and grab it from NetGalley.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the characters in this book and just know that I am going to be coming back to them in my mind in the future. Not always likeable people, they are extremely entertaining to read about in this story of what can happen if you “friend upwards”. I think a lot of us can relate to that desire of the ordinary “woman or man in the street” batting out of their league with regards to a new friendship and that’s partly what made the character of Natalie so appealing to me. Natalie and Ed are teachers, they lead ordinary lives which are neat and ordered. The only real concern they have is their daughter Mollie and her deep rooted phobia of being in water and it is this that concerns them when they realise that a disused local lido has been renovated and is due to open. That is, until Natalie meets Lara, local “it” girl and chief campaigner for the lido. She is gorgeous, rich and glamorous and pretty soon Natalie falls under the spell of that glamour.

The story is based over the course of a summer around the lido and also takes us back 30 years ago to when Natalie was a teenager and spent a summer with her grandmother, a lot of it also being spent around a local swimming pool. Now, in the present day, we know that something dreadful has just happened at the lido, something which will only be revealed in its entirety at the end of the read and we also become aware that something happened during that long ago summer which Natalie is deeply ashamed of.

Throughout the read there is an underlying sense of menace, you just know that something from Natalie’s past is going to come back to haunt her. It really is a fabulous, multi-layered read with characters whose lives you really become immersed in. Well worth picking up. Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the review copy.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gripping read with some excellent characters and a decent plot.

Happily married couple Natalie and Ed and their teenage daughter, Molly have a reasonably quiet life. Natalie is very insecure and is not only over protective to Molly but also seeks constant reassurance from her friends. Following an incident at a pool Molly is very anxious by water leaving Natalie a nervous wreck and fearing the worse whenever at the lido.

Largely due to a campaign started by Lara Faulkner the lido re-opens and Natalie starts up a surprising friendship with Lara. The two women are total opposites, Lara is a wealthy glamorous confident woman where Natalie is insecure and struggles to make ends meet.  The two get very close and enjoy a lot of times at the lido which puts a strain on Natalie's  relationship with husband Ed.

The book is a page turner and standard of writing is very good causing the suspense to grow and grow. The novel builds up towards the climax that we get a sneak at with the opening of the book. 

Highly recommended and guaranteed to keep the reader frantically turning the pages to the very end.  

[Rachel (not currently receiving notifications) Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Swimming Pool was a disappointing read for me, as Is so often the case in the psychological thriller genre the story made its intentions far too clear from the outset and whilst this novel had an appetising premise, there was very little substance over the course of the following 450 pages to fulfil the early promise. The reopening of a long neglected lido undoubtedly worked well as the backdrop for a dark and taut thriller, with its comparisons to the stage, where danger and pleasure lie side by side; but no matter how good the setting, the story needs to deliver, something which The Swimming Pool failed to do.

The arrival of the summer holidays signals a blissful break from full-time education for thirteen-year-old Molly and parents Natalie and Ed Steele, both of whom are teachers. Living in a flat in leafy Elm Hill the opening of a renovated lido awash with the summer sun holds an excitement and appeal for forty-five year old Natalie, feeling discontented with her lot. Meeting the glamorous Lara Channing on her first visit and quickly falling under her spell and into the louche lifestyle of her clique, Natalie is unwittingly drawn into a a toxic friendship which not only threatens her, but also her child and husband of sixteen years. The moneyed and carefree Channing family are everything that the conventional Steele family seemingly eschew but pretty soon Natalie is drawn into the world they occupy. Living a conventional and pretty ordinary life, "casual on the surface but orderly, strictly managed", after an initial meeting with Lara, Natalie quickly falls to her charms, flattered by the attention and suddenly willing to jettison her family and her principles. That daughter, Molly, has the chronic and debilitating condition of aquaphobia might be a reason for Natalie to hold back from her journeys to the lido, but with a gulf in teen and adult relations she is no longer feeling like her family need and appreciate her and seeks a last shot at the excitement which she feels has always passed her by.

The novel opens with Natalie and Ed Steele sitting beside the bedside of Molly who has clearly been involved in an accident on some kind with big implications. Natalie is stricken with guilt and full of regrets in the wake of this latest incident and Ed's thinly veiled accusations, evident anger and obvious devastation are the stick with which she beats herself. The Swimming Pool is told over three time frames, breaking from the vigil by Molly's bedside to see just what happened over the course of the summer with the occasional return to Natalie as a teen in 1985 where she also fell under the thrall of an equally dangerous new friend. The friendship with Lara brings to the surface the ominous memories of Natalie's 'summer of delinquency' with Mean Mel and the occasional glimpses of were tantalising snapshots of a former rebellious streak. The largest component of the novel however are the details of the summer that has led up to the incident in question, and this was overly lengthy. With numerous tales of Natalie making either a fool of herself or being wilfully blind in realising that there might be an ulterior motive behind why Lara has chosen her as 'the special one', the illustration of this dragged. My major disappointment with The Swimming Pool was how much is resembled a lightweight chick-lit read, and with little realistic build up to the friendship with Lara, simply going from introduction to living in each other pockets overnight, the novel descended into tales of a debauchery and heavy drinking females all with a shimmering pool as the backdrop. Pretty soon the story lost sight of the bigger picture and the attention turned to the trivial jokes and risqué behaviour of Natalie and Lara seemed like Candlish for an easy laugh. Scant attention was paid to the rest of the Steele family or their family life together and as a consequence this always felt a little flimsy.

Natalie is a needy woman who I suspect is simply guilty of feeling neglected, cast aside by her husband occupied in private tutoring and increasing losing her connection to a stroppy teenage daughter. Undoubtedly Natalie's attitude to Molly's aquaphobia has contributed and reinforced her problem with water. Does Molly want to get better, and might she have conquered the problem if Natalie had not made such an issue of it? As a educated teacher, the apparent lack of suspicion about the motives of Lara for pursuing the friendship also seems unlikely, but in the wake of her home life crumbling perhaps this is more understandable. Natalie's feelings regarding Lara remain a moot point, but whether the attraction is sexual or not, the appeal of a new friend and the heady emotions that accompany an intense friendship are every bit as mesmerising as a romantic love interest.

Whilst I was very impressed with Louise Candlish's writing and her eye for a incisive and pithy summation of the tensions between all parties in The Swimming Pool, I needed more substance and depth to connect with the story and characters involved.

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never read any Louise Candlish books until last year when I picked up the wonderful The Sudden Departure of the Fraser's after a recommendation. Now though, after reading The Swimming Pool I can confidently add her to the list of authors that I trust impeccably. Enough so that I will pre order her next book without even reading the blurb! I loved this book! It had to be a 5* review, not only was it a fabulous read for me but it also contained possibly my favourite line in any book I have read so far this year! I'm still chucking to myself about it now!

Based in a leafy London suburb, The Swimming Pool has at its centre the opening of a new lido at the start of the school summer holidays. Ed and Natalie, both teachers, live close by with their daughter Molly, who unfortunately suffers from aquaphobia. Soon after the opening of the lido Natalie meets the enigmatic Lara, ex actress, model and competitive swimmer, and quickly falls under her spell. The charismatic Lara introduces Nat into her inner circle of rich and glamourous friends. But is the long hot summer of parties and lazing about drinking champagne by the Lido about to end in a massive storm when tensions and dark secrets eventually come together?

This book was so wonderfully layered from the start that I enjoyed every minute of it. The build up commences right from the prologue where you cringe as the author describes a fear that so many of us have, happening to an unnamed character. You realise that something terrible is going to happen right from reading chapter one but not exactly what. But the thing is, with a Louise Candlish book that it isn't totally about the "big secret" it's actually the journey up to it that's as enjoyable if not more so! She builds up the layers of the plot slowly and carefully, wracking up the tension and making you want to devour and savour every single word. I adore a domestic noir with dark tormented characters like Natalie, who is hiding her secrets from the past but still having to live with them everyday.

Told in three time frames, this novel twists them all together like making a big stick of rock until all the pieces come together in a climax crackling with tension and you then are left with that strange calm following a storm. I would certainly recommend reading this on your summer holidays this year. I can imagine it would feel even more atmospheric stretched out by a swimming pool, cocktail in hand but failing that out in the garden, grabbing that British summertime as and when it appears!!

Highly recommended from me and if you want to know what my favourite line was....then you will just have to read the book! I will only say that whenever I look at a cockapoo in the future, I will always remember Lara's description of Inky! So for that alone, a huge thank you to Louise Candlish!

I received a copy of this book via netgalley in return for an honest review.

[Paula Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boy, was this one dull!

Billed as a psychological thriller with plot twists, it's absolutely nothing of the sort.

The plot is basically following the lead-up to a pool party where a possible tragedy has occurred. We get snippets of the aftermath, where Natalie and Ed Steele's aquaphobic 13 year old daughter Molly has suffered some sort of trauma at a pool party, and then it's a looooooooooooooong process as we keep hopping back into the past to get the full facts. We follow Natalie as she falls in with the enigmatic Lara Channing, a glamorous former actress who has campaigned to reopen the local lido (swimming pool, basically). For some reason, super-rich people don't put a nice pool in their own home, they open a local one. Anyway, for some bizarre reason, everybody is completely obsessed with this new pool, particularly Natalie, even though her daughter is absolutely petrified of water after a childhood incident.

Speaking of childhood incidents, Natalie has one of her own! Of course. It's difficult these days to get a modern psychological thriller of suspense drama that doesn't involve that frustratingly common trope of the White Woman With A Secret.

I didn't like this. Pure and simple. Nothing was happening. It's the sort of book that requires all the important information to be withheld until the very final pages of the book because, well, otherwise we wouldn't have a book! I got bored of learning about what all the houses and their rooms looked like and what the characters were wearing, and how everybody's lives seemed, for some bizarre reason, to totally revolve around this bloody pool. While Natalie is a well-rounded character, it was difficult to care about her, because she was so willing to throw away her trusted friends in exchange for shinier, better, newer ones. Who wants to spend time with a shallow twit like that?

The fact that the prologue designed to pique your interestall turns out to be a dream only goes to show how fucking little actually occurs in this snorefest. The twists, when they come, don't really feel like twists. More like, "Oh, is that it? 400 odd fucking pages just to learn that???"

If you're going to bill your book as a thriller, or suspense, or psychological suspense, or domestic noir, or whatever they're calling these endless White Woman With A Secret books, something interesting needs to be happening . You can't pull the crap this tosh does and blather on pointlessly for 400 pages before throwing out some half-assed twists in the final pages, and expect people to believe they've just read a thriller.

Toss this trash in the deep end.

[Tracy Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Swimming Pool is one of those books that you know something awful has happened in the opening chapter but have no idea what or to whom. This then becomes a nerve-wracking, tension filled journey to find out. Similar to The Sudden Departure of the Frasers I personally found the main character a strange combination of needy and unlikeable but this only enhances the story imo.

[Wendy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off seductive, gets messy and fairly predictable, but then concludes with a pretty great ending.

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Swimming Pool gets my recommendation as a must-read novel of the summer, preferably by your own swimming pool, the sounds and the smells enhancing the wonderful backdrop to this scary tale about female friendship.

When previously staid, middle-aged teacher Natalie Steele hears that the swimming pool near her home has been renovated, she’s anxious. Her daughter Molly has an extreme water phobia after all and a pool isn’t going to help. But, all too soon she is drawn to it, to the exclusion of pretty much everything and everyone else, well everyone that is except her new best friend Lara. Lara Faulkner is confident and glamorous as befits her former life as an actress, and the more sceptical in Natalie’s circle wonder what the attraction is? The fact that from Natalie’s perspective that there is an attraction is not in doubt! As the summer holiday unfolds Natalie begins to question all that she held most dear and for a while, wishes that the summer could last forever!

Natalie is a compelling character, she is typical of her generation, living in a rented apartment because following an early marriage to her husband Ed they didn’t manage to get on the property ladder at the right time. Theirs is a typical family, hard-working if a bit earnest they have adapted their early ideals to make a comfortable and safe life for their daughter Molly. Molly’s phobia has obviously become a huge issue, particularly for Natalie and the scenes where Natalie realises that Molly no longer needs her protection in the way she used to really resonated with my experience of parenting an early teen.

This is a clever tale that slowly unfolds in front of us over the course of one summer holiday. The way that Natalie is drawn to Lara obviously foretells something awful but quite what is the question. This feeling is mirrored by the writing which is nothing but foreboding with the heat and the tension rising of each and every page, I really felt myself pulled into the story. Like the onlookers in Natalie’s circle including her husband, fellow teacher, Ed, I was wondering what is behind the friendship and what the autumn would look like for all concerned.

But this book isn’t just about this summer, we know that Natalie had a summer of madness many years earlier and as the tale of a different more murky natural pool, the setting for adolescent life in the 1985. The mystery is what does this long ago summer have to do with anything, except the haunting of Natalie as she relives her actions from that time.

The dénouement is brutal as the secrets that have been half-hidden are revealed following an explosive end of summer party held at the Lido and by the time it came I wasn’t quite sure what to believe. A truly captivating end to a wonderfully readable novel.

Louise Candlish takes a believable situation and clouds the underbelly in shadow. So I suggest that you go set up your sun-lounger and prepare to be entertained by the characters, setting and a plot that swirls like a whirlpool!

I was lucky enough to receive my copy for review from Lovereading, The Swimming Pool will be published on 5 May 2016 by Penguin UK

[Bookread2day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the different characters and the very last chapter. But I didn't find it a compulsive psychological thriller that will give you the Shrivers like it says at the back of the book. Sorry but I have read much more better compulsive psychological thrillers than this.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last April, I read and reviewed Louise Candlish's last novel; The Sudden Departure of the Frasers . I really enjoyed that book, a mix of darkness and suburban living. In The Swimming Pool, the author has continued that theme, and this really is a gripping story that cleverly looks at friendships and taking risks.

Natalie Steele is looking forward to spending the long summer holiday by the pool at the newly opened lido in Elm Hill, the only difficulty and danger that she can foresee is her thirteen-year-old daughter Molly's intense fear of water. Molly has suffered with aquaphobia since she was just eighteen months old when she was involved in a terrifying incident at the local park. Natalie and her husband Ed have explored every available type of therapy and counselling to try to help Molly, but so far, nothing has helped. Natalie also feels an overwhelming feeling of guilt about what happened to her daughter all those years ago.

The opening of the new lido also opens up new and unexpected opportunities for the Steele family. Natalie meets Lara, the beautiful, rich, glamorous woman who was the driving force behind the re-opening of the abandoned pool. Lara and her friends inhabit a new and totally alien world, one that Natalie always scorned before, but there is something about this bright, glittery woman and her bohemian lifestyle that draws Natalie in, and it's not long before she is basking in Lara's shadow, teetering on the edge of the group, abandoning her old friends, and appearing to betray her long held beliefs and principles.

Simmering under the surface of what appears to be a long, hot and glorious summer is a darkness and brooding feeling that affects the reader almost immediately. Louse Candlish chooses to tell this story in a very clever way. We know that the date of 31 August is very important, we know that something terrible has happened, but we don't know what. Every so often, throughout The Swimming Pool, the author hurls us back to 31 August, to remind us that despite the outward appearances, things are not going to turn out well. We accompany Natalie as she tentatively enters her new friendship circle, often wondering how a seemingly intelligent and down to earth woman could be entranced by such a shallow, albeit entrancing woman. The reader is also privy to events that happened many years ago, when Natalie herself was a teenager, events that she has kept hidden from everyone, things that she feels ashamed of and is desperately trying to forget.

Louise Candlish is a huge talent. The Swimming Pool is beautifully written, with a pull that grips and does not let go. I was convinced that I'd worked out exactly what was happening, and who people really were, only to have the wind knocked out of me as this author expertly throws in the most unexpected of twists, turning the whole story on its head.

At its heart, The Swimming Pool is about friendships, especially female friendships. It looks at how women can compartmentalise their friends, putting them into different slots of their life, depending on who else is around, and where we are. Louise Candlish explores how this behaviour can backfire and especially examines the conflicting thoughts of a woman who is torn between steady and familiar, and new and exciting. Natalie is a complex and interesting character, events in her teenage years have shaped her later life, but in The Swimming Pool she appears to be replicating the heady, dangerous days that she tries to forget, yet on reflection, seem very alluring.

Louise Candlish is a fabulous writer and The Swimming Pool is quite addictive. So dark, yet so perceptive, I loved it.

http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox...

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book was good it was slow at times, I felt it dragged on in bits and there was parts of the story unneeded. However I did like the story and would recommend this and the author. It should come with a TW for water and aquaphobia.

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller set at a South LONDON Lido

This review first appeared on our blog, where we also chat to the author about writing, lidos and more... http://www.tripfiction.com/thriller-s...

There are a surprising number of outdoor pools – lidos – dotted around London, and as Louise Candlish demonstrates in her latest novel, a lido is a perfect setting for a pacy read. It is the sultry Summer in South London in 2015.

“A swimming pool is a great stage. It’s such a symbol of pleasure and yet you can never escape the potential for danger”

Natalie is a vexing but likeable lead in the story as she stumbles from one ill-judged decision to the next. But essentially she is a little hapless, where one move is compounded by the next, all under the radiant benevolence of her new found friend, Lara Channing, a cut above in beauty and class. It is Lara, a swimming champion in her day, with a minor film to her credit, who has spent two years masterminding the renovations at the derelict lido near her house. She is a mover and a shaker and has a sunshine personality that radiates beneficently over those in her orbit. Natalie is drawn like a moth to light. She forges ahead with the new friendship at the expense of her older long-standing friendship with Gayle. Soon her husband Ed is feeling the edge of her friendship, the family life is sidelined whilst she spends time with the lovely Lara.

There are flashbacks to Natalie’s childhood, 1985, when she was in thrall to a similar aged girl in her grandparent’s home village of Stoneborough. These two have troubled personalities and vent their collusive power over other youngsters in the area. Natalie clearly likes to anxiously attach to others and bathe in the power of others. At times so biddable that she loses her moral compass.

Daughter Molly is entering the terrible teen years and due to an accident as a child, a near drowning incident, she cannot go near water. All kinds of therapies have been tried and Lara takes it upon herself to find the therapist who will address and sort the problem. Rather than see this as a controlling mechanism, Natalie is enchanted that Lara has taken such an interest in her daughter’s well-being. Ed is not immune to the Channing charm and agrees to tutor their daughter during the Summer months; but gradually there are tiny indicators that all is not as it should be. Ed withdraws, Natalie ploughs on regardless and the story culminates in a Pool Party hosted by Queen Bee Lara. And we know that something terrible has happened very early in the book, and it is only through a number of twists and turns that things come to a shattering climax.

A gripping read that you may (if you are brave) choose to read by the pool on holiday.

If you can find your way to our blog, we chat to Louise about Lidos, writing and travel...

[Aidy Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘I can’t take my eyes off the water. Can you?’

It’s summer when Elm Hill lido opens, having stood empty for years. For Natalie Steele – wife, mother, teacher – it offers freedom from the tightly controlled routines of work and family. Especially when it leads her to Lara Channing, a charismatic former actress with a lavish bohemian lifestyle, who seems all too happy to invite Natalie into her elite circle.

But is such a change in fortunes too good to be true? Why are dark memories of a summer long ago now threatening to surface? And, without realizing, could Natalie have been swept dangerously out of her depth?

A leafy London Lido in summer, what’s not to like? It offers escapism to protagonist Natalie, a middle aged school teacher longing for some excitement. She has a comfortable yet mundane life with husband Ed, and teenage daughter Molly. Ed a maths teacher who likes to plan life to the last detail, and Molly who suffers from Aquaphobia which intensifies her teenage angst. The lido is perfect place for some time away from it all, and is the place her life changes when she meets the glamorous Lara Channing; one of life’s original golden goodtime girls. Lara is everything that Natalie is not yet aspires to be, but more than that, it’s not just her hair and skin the colour of spun gold, her heart is pure 24 carat too. To Natalie’s amazement she is befriended by Lara and accepted into her inner circle, and is living the life she has always dreamed of. However, whilst covetous Natalie is basking in her new found glory her old life slowly starts to fall apart, and she is haunted by old memories of a childhood summer she had previously buried away. Is it purely coincidence or is there something more sinister afoot?

I absolutely loved this book. The story starts off slowly and steady, and I was mesmerized instantly by the character Lara, and her extravagant indulgent life. I could actually feel the glitz and glamour radiating off of her so it was no surprise that boring Natalie was so drawn to her, as I was too. The further the story goes on the more despicable the characters become as a darker side to each of them is revealed. The story slowly cumulates as friendship begins to turn into obsession, climaxing at Natalie’s birthday party at the lido where disaster strikes, and past misdeeds catch up with everyone. Whilst I felt the big reveal at the party was somewhat predictable, there was a shocking twist in the epilogue giving a complete different dimension to the story which I really did not see coming. If it had not been for this ending the story would have been mediocre at best, however the careful planning and execution from Candlish ensured a slow simmering plot exploded into something clever, wicked and utterly compelling.

Great stuff, 5 stars from me.

[Margaret Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outdoor swimming pool, or lido, has been lovingly restored in Elm Hill, near London, and the residents are flocking in their droves. As the summer sun beats down, new friendships are formed, swimming times measured and fashion styles compared. School teacher Natalie is hesitant at first but soon finds her stride alongside the ultra-glamourous Lara and her circle of wealthy friends. Before long the transformation of Natalie's life goes a little too far and she begins to find her hum-drum life, with husband Ed and daughter Molly, more of a chore than anything. She side-steps her daughter's phobia of the water and instead chooses to hang out with her new best friend at the lido. But as the summer progresses, Lara becomes more than a friend and things begin to take on a sinister feel.

It is not unusual to read of new friendships and new paths in life, but normally they are based around the lives of teens or young adults. Even the recently divorced or widowed have their stories used as an example of how life moves on. This novel takes a new approach. It is the unusual case and effect of a new friendship that seeps into a previously perfect life. What happens when a new influence in your life is the wrong one?
Natalie has been perfectly content with her lot. She has a charming, happy and bright teenager and a strong marriage to fellow teacher, Ed. Their home may be a little on the small side, but everyone is healthy and content. Until the lido opens. Fascinated by its glimmering newness and the bikini-clad mothers who sit all afternoon with designer pooches on their laps, it becomes an addictive pastime for Natalie. When she is invited into the inner-sanctum, with these bleached blond and bronzed women, she doesn't take long to fall under the charm of Lara. A lifestyle she has only ever heard of is now accessible and her husband now seems to be a bore. Her daughter becomes friends with Lara's mini-me offspring and the summer becomes a blur of swimsuits and cocktails. The cracks begin to show before too long, but their subtlety is sublime. Teasing comments, innuendos and off-the-cuff invites to alcohol infused evenings become the norm.
Louise Candlish has a masterful talent of using observational skill and sharp prose, bringing the reader on a journey that they are not aware of. Like going on a night out blindfolded, you just never know what is coming around the next corner. More tense than thrilling, The Swimming Pool is an experience rather than just a read. Natalie is under the spell of Lara, for sure, but she is also overcome with the atmosphere at the lido; the semi-nakedness of everyone around her; the amazing swimwear; the music and drinks; the complete package. The reader can foresee problems from the first chapter, with flashbacks to Natalie's childhood increasing the tension, but each day with Lara and her cronies brings more and more surprises.

Candlish has yet again produced a top-notch novel, pulling the reader in from the start and spitting them out at the end. A clever, sexy yet subtle look at adult friendship. It's not just teenagers that have angst...

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

After opening with a prologue where our heroine runs naked through the streets, clearly terrified, this tells the story of Natalie and Ed Steele - both teachers - and their daughter Molly, who is aquaphobic (following an incident that occurred when Natalie was looking after her). During the long hot summer holiday, Ed begins private tutoring and Natalie falls under the alluring spell of nearby socialite Lara Channing, once a synchronised swimmer and film star, now a rich and glamorous mother. She has led the campaign to re-open the Elm Hill lido, which is a great success and as Natalie is drawn into her inner circle, with all of its materiality and sexual chicanery, she develops a taste for it, leaving Ed and her old friends behind. This is an odd novel, in that it’s not particularly thrilling (at least not until the last third) and features a heroine who is very hard to like - as her life unravels and various things come to light, it’s difficult to feel sympathy for her. Slow-paced, especially in the middle section which drags, it also features a flashback to 1985 when, staying with her grandmother in Stoneborough, Natalie did something terrible with a friend. We don’t find out exactly what until much later and it is pertinent, though it could have been told quicker. The main story is intercut between the present (the aftermath of a party at the lido) and the events leading up to it and that works well, though some of the interludes could have been removed.
One of my main issues with the book was in terms of its logic and believability. For a start, why would someone who lives in a £2m house campaign for an open-to-the-public lido to be opened so close to their house, with the associated noise and additional traffic? Why would the socially elitist Lara and her cronies willingly accept Natalie, why would Ed put himself in such a situation with one of his pupils and how could the denouement at the lido get so out of control with so many people present. I also had a big problem with the reveal - there are no villains, really, nor any set pieces - in that it all hinges on such a huge coincidence it completely shattered my suspension of disbelief. Having said that, the final twist did take me by surprise, but the explanation of the prologue made me want to groan and roll my eyes. Not badly written - it has a nice sense of foreboding and claustrophobia - and more of a drama about class, sexual shenanigans (without any actual sex) and bullying than a psychological thriller, I felt this had a few too many holes to be completely successful. Not bad but I’ve read better this year.

[Carolyn M L · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sincere thanks to NetGalley, Penguin and Louise Candlish for an advanced review copy of 'The Swimming Pool' in exchange for an honest review.

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 met 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 . . .

Hmm. I've thought a lot about this book and my subsequent review but I'm still finding it rather difficult to articulate how I really feel about this particular novel.

It started off brilliantly. Full of suspense and intrigue. We know that disaster is going to befall someone but we don't know who, or why. The story is told from the time prior to and leading up to the 'event', cleverly interspersed with short chapters from the present - after the event has occurred. There was certainly enough of a build up to make me want to keep turning those pages but I can't quite put my finger on why this book fell short for me in the end. My interest started to wane about a third of the way through and rather disappointingly, the start was the best part for me.

Regardless, I did thoroughly enjoy the characters, especially those of the protagonists Natalie and Lara. I liked the obvious contrast between the two women, who despite their glaring differences, strike up a friendship when they first meet.

I felt that there was a lot of descriptive narrative throughout the book, which at times resulted in my thoughts wandering off to thoughts of what I was going to make for dinner, and at times I really struggled to keep my concentration in line. Whilst I enjoy the inner monologue of characters in order to get into their mindset, sometimes I feel it can be overdone and it can become somewhat dull.

I've got the feeling that I'm in the minority with my feelings towards this particular book, however I would still recommend it to others, even if I'm not shouting from the rooftops about it. A middle of the road 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

[FoodxHugs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abysmal and terrible book. Looking at my notes, it took me two months to read to finish this book, so this was not a good choice.

After reading the author's previous novel The Frasers, I thought I'd finish this one as well to compare as they both have a similar plot. Normal, boring woman gets involved with charismatic rich woman and shit goes down storyline.

The location is slightly different. This time instead of a street, the novel is based around a public swimming pool.

Main character plain and unremarkable Natalie Steele is a teacher. Happily married to boring and stale Ed, also a teacher. One fateful summer, a pool opens in their area, all the brainchild of local celebrity Lara Channing. Lara used to be a swimming star and also had a brief B-movie career.

The two women forge a tight friendship and their two teenage daughters Molly and Georgia also become friends with the former idolising the older and prettier latter.

Natalie's moody daughter Molly suffers from aquaphobia. Thus, this allows the alluring Lara to enter into Natalie's life in order to enact her devious plans.

Unexciting Ed despairs and resents his wife for leaving their old stodgy and judgemental friends to swan of with the libertine couple Lara and Miles, who have a secret past.

Just like Natalie. It turns out Natalie was a bully and did some terrible things one summer that had a ripple effect on the victims.

Going by blurb, I anticipated a rollicking story of long-held grudges, revenge and dark secrets. However, The Swimming Pool felt lukewarm and sludgy, instead of a sizzling hot summer read.

I didn't like the structure of the book (flitting about from past to present), nor the horrible status-obsessed, and shallow characters, nor the setting and definitely not the weak conclusion. And let's not speak about the tired and long-winded writing.

Two thing I do know: 1) I would no way take a dip in this swimming pool and 2) looks like this is where I stop reading any further books from this author!

Yippee Ki Yay!

[Erica⭐ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happily married couple Natalie and Ed and their teenage daughter, Molly have a reasonably quiet life. Natalie is very insecure and is not only over protective to Molly but also seeks constant reassurance from her friends. Following an incident at a pool Molly is very anxious by water leaving Natalie a nervous wreck and fearing the worse whenever at the lido.

Largely due to a campaign started by Lara Faulkner the lido re-opens and Natalie starts up a surprising friendship with Lara. The two women are total opposites, Lara is a wealthy glamorous confident woman where Natalie is insecure and struggles to make ends meet. The two get very close and enjoy a lot of times at the lido which puts a strain on Natalie's relationship with husband Ed.

[Jacquellyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book that I wanted to finish. I didn't particularly enjoy most of it. It was actually pretty boring. But it kept stringing me along, making me think things were about to unfold and twist were about to be had. In reality it was not a mystery, not a thriller or at least not like one I've read before. It was just a story of a bored and desperate woman who needed to spice up her social life. In the end I'm left with frustrating questions that have no answers because the epilogue shines more light on things. Ugh! I wouldn't recommend. I'm pretty mad I bought this book, usually I just get them from the library.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on www.snazzybooks.com

The Swimming Pool had quite an impact on me - not because it's hugely emotional or overly dramatic (though there is plenty of drama) but because the characters really sucked me in. They seemed like real people, and people you might be able to imagine meeting in certain areas of society, but most are unthinkable to the 'average' person as someone you'd think 'Ooh, I'd want to be friends with them'. (Well, I certainly wouldn't anyway... though the parties do look fun!)

I'd read The Sudden Departure of the Frasers and really enjoyted it, so I hoped this would be another well-written novel with a good few twists and turns - and I wasn't disappointed!

The Swimming Pool draws the reader into a whirlwind of gossip, envy and desperation, inviting you into the world of the wealthy - and though some characters are wealthier than others, everyone seems quite privileged to just be living in the area itself. You can tell Natalie and Ed are certainly not living on the breadline, and live a comfortable - if at times a little dull, in Natalie's opinion anyway - life. But is this enough?

The narrator, Natalie, is one of those people that make you wonder whether she's actually a nice person or not. Though she's not part of Lara's gang of high class, incredibly rich socialites, she really, really wants to be. She seems to look up to them so much, and this desperation, coupled with the way she treats her family and friends in trying to get closer to Lara, makes people turn against her. We also learn about a chequered past many summers ago, and though Natalie seems the most remorseful of the two, she's certainly no angel.

Louise Candlish manages to convey Natalie's sense of desperately trying to better herself - and no on can really blame Natalie for just doing that - whilst still showing how foolish and single-minded she becomes as the novel goes on. I was shouting at her 'NO!' a lot of the time inside my head, as I could see her shrugging off her own friends and even her own husband to spend more time with this new group of people whom really, she barely knows.

The narrative jumps back and forwards in time, from after the 'incident' at the pool, to the weeks leading up to it and then further back to Natalie's youth. I found it all easy to follow and the tension Candlish creates as the weeks led up to the event was really effective; you feel yourself understanding the way many characters are feeling as if you're that person - another testament to the author's great writing! Lots of pool-related metaphors and adjectives but all done in a subtle and endearing way.

There is a good dose of mystery in The Swimming Pool; from wondering what exactly happened those many summers ago when Natalie was younger, to trying to figure out exactly why Lara seems to interested in Natalie (and many twists and turns along the way), the story keeps you guessing and I really liked that. It managed to do all this without compromising on the quality of writing, meaning I really enjoyed this book. A great summer read!

Many thanks to Michael Joseph (Penguin UK) for providing a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, The Swimming Pool is a gripping read, and one that has left me gasping for breath at the end of it. I found I was drawn into the story from the start, and after the first third or so, I didn't want to put the book down at all.

It all unsurprisingly centres around a swimming pool, or the newly re-opened Elm Hill Lido to be precise. It is a summer of a heatwave, and for Natalie she is feeling slightly reckless this summer. She is married to Ed, they are both teachers, and have a 13 year old daughter Molly.

I realised early on that Molly was slightly different, and I don't feel its a spoiler to say that she has aquaphobia, a fear of being in water, or even being splashed. She has had various treatments for the condition but nothing has worked, and swimming lover Natalie just wishes Molly would overcome her fear.

Natalie and Molly though at the start of the summer make friends with the far more glamorous Channings, who were instrumental in the re-opening of the lido, and turn into key players in this whole story. The majority of the story takes place over a three month period of the summer, and the time line does jump around slightly.

We have the aftermath of an incident and that that being told in short segments, and then in larger segments we have the entire telling of the summer up until that point. There are also chapters that are flashbacks to a different summer in Natalie's past, when she was around Molly's age, and had a reckless summer that year too.

Throughout the book, I couldn't help but feel there was something not quite right with some of the characters, but until things panned out, I couldn't work it out. At one point I was 100% convinced I had cracked at least one of the links, but I was very wrong even with that.

The Swimming Pool tackles the topic of aquaphobia, as well as all manner of pool safety guidelines, in amongst a story that is really compulsive to read, and that I loved every second of. I am currently loving the direction Louise Candlish is taking with her writing and long may it continue. There are definitely psychological aspects at play in The Swimming Pool, and that overwhelming feeling that something big will happen with potentially fatal consequences, and I loved reading the entire lead up to the finale.

Another cracking book from Louise Candlish, but I would perhaps say that although this could be regarded as great holiday reading, I'm not sure I would have felt comfortable at times reading it by a pool, but that may just be because the descriptions of the pool, and swimming would have made me jump into a real one, if nearby!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.

[Suze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natalie is a teacher, so she has a long and lazy summer ahead of her. For the first time in many years the Elm Hill lido is open again. The pool has been restored and is a glorious place to spend a warm summer day. Natalie feels at home there immediately. Her daughter Molly can't swim and is afraid of water, but fortunately she's old enough to spend time with her friends, so Natalie can still go to the pool. There she meets Lara and she's drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Lara is glamorous, gorgeous and popular, everything that Natalie is not.

Natalie is surprised when Lara invites her to parties and shows an interest in her. She loves it and spends as much time with her new friends as she possibly can. She's neglecting her family and longtime best friends. Her husband is a tutor and he has work to do during the summer, but even when he's free Natalie has better things to do. She's happy to be included. Are her new friends really as nice as she thinks they are though?

While I was reading The Swimming Pool I constantly felt ill at ease. I loved how Louise Candlish manages to keep a constant level of tension and suspicion. The Swimming Pool is a book filled with secrets, unreliable characters and fascinating events. Something has happened and it's slowly being revealed. Everything in this story is exactly as it should be and it's the preciseness that makes this book so incredible. Louise Candlish has a great sense of timing and she delivers exactly when the story requires it.

Natalie isn't the most wonderful person in the world. She idolizes her Lara and can't believe her luck when Lara starts including her as she knows she doesn't really fit in. It's obvious that there's something more going on and I couldn't wait to find out what it was. Natalie's husband isn't a sensitive person, Lara is over the top and Molly is reclusive. Does Natalie deserve better people in her life? Together they are a great recipe for disaster. Louise Candlish lets her readers know straight away that something indeed went very wrong, only it takes a while before she shows them what it is.

Louise Candlish's writing flows easily. I loved the fact that she tells her story in such a calm way while actually there's a lot going on which is making it extra creepy. The ending is surprising and it's scarier than I expected. The last chapter is shocking and I absolutely loved this amazing finale. I can't recommend this book enough. I think it's a fantastic suffocating story with a lot of repressed suspense.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book and it immediately drew me in. The front cover is so enticing and it sounded an intriguing book.

The prologue begins with Natalie running through the streets naked, in obvious distress. She's trying to make it home, but when she gets there 'he' is waiting for her. Wow, what a start. What is she doing? How did she get there? Who is the man? Lures you in to carry on reading. The main story begins by telling us the story of Natalie and her family. She is a teacher and the summer holidays are almost upon her. A lido has been reopened in the neighbourhood by Z-list celebrity Lara Channing, who campaigned to renovate the old lido into its former glory. It becomes an instant success and Natalie finds herself being dragged into Lara's group of friends. Natalie's daughter Molly has a fear of water, and Lara tries to help her overcome this.

The story flits between past and present, almost to the point of confusing. The chapters headings are titled with dates and times, and I found myself having to keep going back and checking these to see where in the timeline I was. As the story goes on, it begins to appear that Natalie is getting obsessed with Lara, and it's obvious the story is beginning to reveal something. There are lots of secrets and mysteries on both sides. The story was intriguing enough to keep me reading, wanting to find out what the main secret was. I did think I worked it out quite early on, but I was proved wrong!

It was a good story, but I struggled with keeping up with the different time scales throughout it. The ending was good, with an unexpected twist, but I did find that it took a bit too long to get to it, with the middle of the story a bit too long and drawn out for me.

Three stars!