The Swimming Pool

By: Mary Roberts Rinehart

Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Two reclusive sisters. A crumbling mansion. A dead doppelgänger. The New York Times best seller from the author known as the American Agatha Christie.

The Birches was one of the grand mansions of the 1920s, with a ballroom, tennis courts, and, of course, a swimming pool. But after the crash of '29, when Lois and Judith's father killed himself to escape his debts, the family turned the summer home into a fulltime retreat from the world. Decades later, Judith is the queen of New York society, a fast-living beauty whose nerves are beginning to fray, while Lois still lives in the dilapidated old mansion, writing mystery novels to pay the bills. She is about to encounter a mystery of her own.

To stave off a nervous breakdown, Judith moves in with her kid sister. Terrified of an unnamed threat, she nails her windows shut and locks the door. Soon, a woman is found dead in the pool - a stranger who bears a shocking resemblance to Judith. In a family with a history of tragedy, a chilling new chapter is about to be written.

©1952 Mary Roberts Rinehart; copyright 1980 by Frederick R. Rinehart and Alan G. Rinehart (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Good enough

I enjoyed this enough that I may read more of these in the future. It was strange to read a book with that much 🚬.

too long

it's a good book but it's almost too long, and there is a lot of repeating statements. and maybe I missed it but era is their present ( 1929 + 40 making it 1970s) a bit confusing for me.

Execellent Building of Plot and Characters

First off, The Swimming Pool is a tautly written, extremely well portrayed murder mystery.

i would read/listen to more by this author, often referred to as the next Agatha Christie. This seems true for me.

Despite the above, I especially love Rinehart's refreshing turns of phrase; so are quaint, some are pithy, and many more are just plain funny.

Great listen

Some racism

Some racism but often the people of color will play a significant part in the plot that makes them important characters. Rinehart was somewhat progressive for the time. Esp in her turn of the century novels. (1900s). It's a shame we're still battling racism in 2021 as well as voting rights 2 decades into the 21st century. What's wrong with this picture?

Great Book

It was exciting and held my attention.
I loved the way the the things of the times(such as the crash of 1929) and how the history of the times it was written and the times it was about came through. Very good writing, well developed characters.