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Title: The Swimming Pool

Author: Mary Roberts Rinehart

Narrator: Laurel Lefkow

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-05-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Just as Lois Maynard is about to sell the family's summer home, her domineering and troubled older sister, Judith, returns and a mysterious murder disrupts the household.

Members Reviews:

A cast of unusually appealing characters

What made the experience of listening to The Swimming Pool the most enjoyable?

I've read the book many times; when read aloud, it unfolds in Rinehart's unhurried, beautifully nuanced style.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Swimming Pool?

Lots of cliff-hangers here; even knowing in advance who dunnit and what's coming, still a pleasure.

What does Laurel Lefkow bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

She reads beautifully, with just enough change to make all the characters individuals. Her own voice has just the cultivated, well-educated cadence and accent that Miss Maynard certainly had.

If you could take any character from The Swimming Pool out to dinner, who would it be and why?

It would have to be the narrator, Miss Maynard, trying to cope with harsh realities, when her wealthy, privileged past had not prepared her for post-depression life with only three servants, or earning a living. Or murder.

Any additional comments?

As all of Rinehart's plots, this one has layers, like an onion. Murder to cover up a social scandal seems pretty old fashioned, but the book is memorable because of the cast of charming, believable characters.

One of her better novels

There is a good size cast of characters in this novel and a beautiful country house, The Birches. Lois, the narrator character, is a sympathetic character. Her brother Phil and her nephew Bill are also sympathetic characters. Even the mysterious Terrence O'Brien is sympathetic though he could have kept fewer secrets. However, if O'Brien kept fewer secrets, the novel would have been much shorter. Sometimes, when I listen to audio books, I speed them up some. Even though this is an 11 hour listen, I would not speed it up. You will miss out on some of the plot. This was written after WW2 so it may be one of the last novels written by the author who died in 1952. Multiple murders and many suspects. However, it is possible to guess who is the murderer, by paying attention to the characters and the conversations.

My favorite character is Henrietta, the chicken. She only has a bit part, but she is endearing. O'Brien's other chickens are just chickens. Henrietta is special. I regret that the author does not mention where Henrietta ends up. (Yeah, I know she is a fictional chicken but I was hoping for a happy ending for her. )

A very good story

Rinehart was an exceptionally good story-teller. She writes really strong female characters, and the main protagonist/narrator in this complex and intriguing story of the past catching up with people is no exception. Very good narration.

A good read,

Another excellent Mary Robert Rinehart. Thank you Audible, I am hoping to collect as many of her books as possible in this formation