I know that when I start a new Louise Candlish novel, I’m going to be gripped - and possibly quite tense - until I’ve finished it. Her earlier novels were lighter, albeit with some dark sections and hints of mystery, but the more recent ones have been described as psychological thrillers. ‘The Swimming Pool’, which I was given last Christmas, is no exception.
Natalie is the narrator in this novel, and thus the main viewpoint character. We meet her first in a dramatic prologue where she is running naked to her home, after dark, her feet hurting after getting caught in stones. She makes it to her block of flats, only to find ‘him’ - we have no idea, at this stage, who this refers to - waiting for her. It’s cleverly done, opening the novel to a scene of extreme tension, with no idea what would happen.
The rest of the book is set in two broad time-frames: 2015, and some episodes in 1985 when Natalie was a somewhat wild teenager, led on by a local girl called Mel. We see scenes of their increasing bullying of the neighbourhood children, culminating in something involving a girl known only as ‘Nessie’; Natalie has evidently tried to forget this incident, but it keeps recurring and she is terrified still, even thirty years later, that there may be repercussions.
In 2015, Natalie and her husband Ed are both respectable middle class teachers who like to be organised and structured; their home is always tidy, and while they don’t have much romance left, they get along well enough, partly due to their shared love of their daughter, 13-year-old Molly. Molly, we soon learn, is terrified of water, probably due to a nasty incident when she was a toddler. So when a new Lido is opened nearby, Molly has no interest in going there.
Natalie, on the other hand, loves swimming. So, as the long summer holiday break starts, she arranges to swim with her friend Gayle. And she meets the glamorous Lara, a wealthy socialite who has been campaigning to re-open the Lido for a couple of years. Lara seems to take an interest in Natalie, inviting her into her circle of friends… and Natalie, as when she was a teenager, is easily led.
But interspersed with the progression of the summer holiday is a scene at the end of August, which gradually progresses, in which it’s clear that something terrible has happened at the Lido, involving Molly and her friend Georgia, who is Lara’s daughter….
The writing, as I expect with Louise Candlish, is excellent. The pace is good - while it might seem that not much is happening, the tension gradually builds. By the time I was half-way through I could barely put the book down. I wanted to know what exactly happened in 1985, and what was going to be the outcome of the potential tragedy at the end. I also wanted to know where the prologue fit into the book, and what Lara’s motivation for befriending Natalie is - it’s clear that it’s not simply altruistic.
I have to admit I didn’t much like Natalie as a person; she seems quite weak, prone to peer pressure and wanting other people to think well of her, and far too protective of her daughter. But it’s a testament to the writing that I found the book gripping anyway and was hoping things would work out for her. I liked her husband and Molly, but none of the glamorous folk was particularly likeable - and yet I kept reading, putting the book down only when the tension became too much, or I had to do other things (like sleep). It’s not a short novel - about 450 pages in paperback - but I finished it in just three days.
I hadn’t guessed what eventually transpired, and the epilogue was yet another surprise… all in all, a very well-written book that explores the unusual condition of aquaphobia and the tensions that can easily arise in family life. It also - quite subtly - covers some of the dangers of teenage water games and challenges, and the lifetime shame that can result from childhood bullying.
Definitely recommended if you like this kind of book; I’m not usually interested in thrillers, but am glad I read this one.
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