My Synopsis
Imagine This: There's an opening of a new lido in your suburban neighborhood. And it's the place to be this summer. You have always loved to swim. But there's your 13year old daughter who wouldn't want to be anywhere near the pool.
You'll do anything to make her deal with her phobia. But as a teacher, you've made plans this year—with an unshakable resolve—to live this summer like a normal citizen! So you go to the pool, partly with a hidden agenda in mind:
To see Lara Channing, the woman who single-handedly recommissioned the lido for the neighborhood.
A little brush with Lara Channing, neighborhood celebrity, and you're spending more time with her gatsby-like crowd, drinking, toasting and partying your summer away. By and by you're getting estranged from your husband who doesn't want you to hang out with Lara. But who cares? There's something about Lara that you can't just opt out of. And not surprisingly, Lara, the schemer that she is, has something under her belt of tricks for you.
Before the summer is over, you'll regret ever knowing Lara Channing.
My Review.
As always, I love Louise Candlish's storylines! She puts the 'Domestic' into the Domestic Thriller by writing about suburban neighbourhoods in which disasters have happened and one character has suddenly fallen from all-high grace, to all-low scandals. In this story played around the opening of a new lidobin a neighborhood, you wouldn't be able to have enough! A star to the storyline!—★
Her writing! I would always keep saying this! And sadly, only my Desperate Housewives junkies would get this reference! Imagine Mary Alice Young narrating a tragedy that had happened in Wisteria Lane with her intonation and her use of 'You see...', 'I remember...', 'I should have known...' depicting how irreversible the situation was...? That's how Candlish writes! You'll find your inner Mary Alice Young reading along with you! Extreme pleasur(e)! A star! Plus you know this sort of writing can only create suspense and too much of it! So two stars for Candlish here—★★★
The characters in this novel! I spent my nights dreaming about them. What will happen next? I should have probably woken up and quenched my curiousity. But I'm sure if I did, I wouldn't be able to get enough of intriguing Lara Channing! And her sultry tones! In Candlish's novels there's always that character that sticks and is mostly the neighbourhood queen bee, but how she manages to make new characters out of this stereotype, who are actually different and all the more intoxicating... it must take such excellence to pull this off!—★★★★
Now my praises end here. Because while I feel this book is a must-read... it hurts me to think I can't give it five stars because I feel Candlish's previous title (The Sudden Departure of the Frasers) which I urge you all to read too, is better than this! Of course, had I not read her previous title, I would have given this a five star!
So my rating: 4.5 stars.
Find The Swimming Pool on Amazon.
I recommend it to anyone who still craves a Desperate Housewives binge. Anyone who wants a Thriller about suburbia life they can and must relate to should also go get this! A perfect summer read!
My Synopsis
Imagine This: You just threw in all your savings, borrowed from your parents and purchased a monstrous house going at a surprisingly low rate on Lime Park Road, the neighborhood every family wants to move into.
But you are not exactly living the suburbia dream. None of your neighbours have come out to introduce themselves. And the ones far off your property aren't exactly warming up to you because they have no idea why you look down on them for giving up a chance at a possible career to be a stay-at-home(—you really hadn't intended to do this, there are really only a few ways to hide shock.)
Apparently, the old residents of your house upped and left after less than a year of moving in. Everyone loved them. Hence, perhaps, no one can take a liking to you and your husband for taking their place?
Far from your assumptions, this neighborhood is keeping a secret. A secret about the reason the old neighbours suddenly moved. And though your husband tells you to use your free time for something useful, you can't help but watch behind a curtain, as the mystery unravels.
Soon, you'd be dealing with threats from a bad-tempered neighbour next door, the mysterious story of the woman whose place you live in, whose leftover jewelry you wear around, who in the course of a few months made Lime Park Road the neighbourhood no one wants to remain in.
Christy Davenport's life summed up for your delight.
My Review.
I adored this book so much you know in my review I'd be telling you to ditch every summer book you are reading this year and get into the Lime Park Road mystery.
I very much loved the storyline! I read the blurb of this book and gasped! It was so Desperate Housewives, I thought (a series I'm praying ABC would do a remake of). Imagine Wisteria Lane gone quiet (you'd have to kill Libby), everyone is keeping a secret about the old residents' home which was the entertainment center of the neighbourhood, and no one is talking to the newbies because they want to give nothing away. A star!──★
The book begins with an undercurrent of mystery that made me position myself at the edge of my seat right from the start. Why did the Frasers leave? you'd ask yourself. And why's everyone being so distant to the newbies? Why are there no signs of life in the neighborhood? A star!──★★
I loved the main characters. The story is told in two point-of-views. There's Amber Fraser, the previous resident of number 40, who wins you over with her first-person narration that has so much character adding a layer of complexity to the already complex, mysterious character she is. You'd also love Christy Davenport, the new resident of number 40, who's account is told in third-person and reveals a woman dull in contrast to her predecessor who wants to find answers to the puzzling questions about the neighborhood and the old residents. A star!──★★★
Other characters in this title add to its perfection. There's Rob, the surly neighbour in Christy's account and the enigmatic heart-throb in Amber's account. There's Caroline, the Mummy Bee in charge of running the lives of the neighbourhood wives. There's Felicity, the senior citizen who reminds me a lot of Mrs. McCluskey but a lot less nosy and very suspicious of Amber Fraser's flawlessness. There's Joe, Christy's husband who has a job that wears him out and is vaguely intrigued by his wife's stories as neighborhood spy (—though not for long). Jeremy Fraser, Amber's husband who's so rich, loving and caring to a fault! A star──★★★★
I would always love this book because it rekindled a missing-Desperate-Housewives emotion I was trying to put off with Pretty Little Liars (another horrible neighborhood drama). A star!──★★★★★
Oh, I adored how it ended! The whole mystery unravelling with time at an unenviable pace. An end, which has too much sequel-ability, I would be ecstatic if, Candlish began the Lime Park Road series. ──★★★★★
My rating: 5/5 stars.
Louise Candlish's amazing The Sudden Departure of the Frasers is available on Amazon.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves Domestic Thrillers! Anyone who wants a book that would get them reading into the soft hours even if they have so much commitment the following Day. Anyone who loved Desperate Housewives and the shenanigans of the people of Wisteria Lane like I did, should go grab this! A fab summer read you could easily juggle around your daily routine, putting your legs up for more excitement anytime you deem to resume.
My work not done here. Off to post my review on goodreads and Amazon
