Customer Reviews

The Swimming Pool

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The Maynard family lost their fortune in the crash of 1929. Mr. Maynard fairly promptly shot himself. His wife kept up appearances by marrying daughter Judith to a multi-millionaire. When the story opens, the formidable Mrs. Maynard only survives in an imposing oil painting.

We find ourselves at The Birches, the old Maynard country house in Westchester, still grand but thoroughly dilapidated. Twenty-eight-year-old Lois is living there with her older brother Phil. He's an underachieving lawyer; she's writing crime fiction and just getting by.

The oldest sister Ann is living in genteel poverty with a husband and children. Judith, the rich, famous, fast-living beauty of the family, is about to get a divorce.

Spoiled first by her mother, then by her husband, Judith is not a family favorite. When she decides to stay at The Birches, that's it for peace and quiet. She moves into the best room, and has her windows nailed shut and new bolts put on her door. She acts like a person in terror of her life.

Not long after, the dead body of a woman who looks rather like Judith is found floating in the pool.

This is only the beginning of a plot rich in murder, blackmail, concussions, gunshot wounds and a great variety of deceptions and misapprehensions. Lois does some amateur detecting that only succeeds in making her look suspicious. On the plus side, she gets romantically involved with the manly Irish policeman who finally solves the case.

Other interesting characters include a hen who's also in love with the policeman - and a teenage nephew who's thrilled to be in the thick of a murder case and won't go home.

This really is a fun read, with a nice vintage aura.

this book has been one of my all time favorites. it is an excellent story and mystery. i recommend this book; you will really enjoy it