This book is advertised as a mystery book and seemed interesting. Two sisters and their families vacation together as their deceased mother’s last wish. When they arrive at the vacation house they discover a body in the pool. This happens at the very beginning of the book. And this is where the mystery ends. Rest of the book is all about sibling relationships, marriage blah blah blah. There’s zero mystery.
Narration is good though.

This one wasn’t my favorite. More family drama than thriller in my opinion, wasn’t quite what I was expecting and didn’t keep my attention as well as it could have

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great. The book itself was interesting but I kept waiting for more- mystery, intrigue, suspense- just anything. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it fell flat for me.

Hmm, what a strange one. This story had real potential, but in the end it just plain fizzled out. I was really into it the first 2/3, then nothing.

Although I expected this to be more of a mystery than it turned out to be, it was a very enjoyable book about the worst vacation ever. When sisters Lizzie and Hannah arrive at the house they rented in the south of France with their families, they discover a dead body floating in the pool. What follows is a week of interactions with the local police, their landlord and housekeeper, and the intrusive media—instead of the relaxing holiday that they all wanted and needed. I found almost all of the characters fairly unlikable, and many of them clearly do not get along under the best of circumstances, so this quickly became a juicy family drama. I did feel like I kept waiting to see how the dead body fit in with the other parts of the story, and some elements just didn’t fully come together, but this is a fast paced and lively story, and it was especially good on audio. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

This audiobook was most certainly not advertised in the correct genre. This was not a mystery or a thriller. Yes, there was a dead body, but nothing comes of it. It is mentioned, but there is no big who dun it or fear of a killer lurking around the corner.

I’m struggling to figure out the whole point of the book? I guess it just seems as though it was a snapshot of someone’s drama on their vacation. It wasn’t to keep me engaged or make me care about ANY of the characters.

All in all, I finished it. But it wasn’t for me.

I wouldn't really call this suspense or mystery but it is a disfuctional family vacation at it's finest! Shared family vacation and upon arrival, seven year old Jimmy (whose is my FAVORITE) finds a body in the pool. It's not about solving the mystery of the body, it's is the ridiculouslessness that is vacationing with family and dealing with all the drama and personality clashes. Narrator was great. I giggled throughout it thinking back on shared vacations with friends and family and how we might have reacted in the same sitution. This would be a fun vacation or beach read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Edghill and Dreamscape for an ARC in return for an honest review.

So relatable! For anyone who has a toxic relationship with family members and feels compelled to make it work, because “blood is thicker than water”, right? Well, no!

Hannah and Lizzie don’t get on, but their late mother was determined they would resolve their problems and paid for them to take a holiday in France with their respective families.

On arrival, there is a body floating in the pool and it goes downhill from there in some respects, but in others, they find out more about themselves and each other than they had bargained for.

Seven year old Jimmy had me laughing out loud, over and over again. Susie and Alice were typical teenagers and Marcus was the brother in law, not of my dreams, but unfortunately of my reality!

There is a whole heap of guilt, harsh truths and tender reveals throughout the story, with an important moral message; It’s ok to say “that’s enough” and move forward without your family.

Choose wisely and live your life to the max!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Edghill and Dreamscape for an ARC in return for an honest review.

After reading the description of this book, I was really excited because I love a vacation gone wrong thriller novel! However, this book was not a thriller or even really a mystery book. It was a family drama that just happened to have a dead body at the beginning. The dead body really did not play into the story besides being an inconvenience to the start of family vacation. The story was just ok especially since I was expecting a thriller novel. I think the description and putting it in the thriller/mystery genre set this book up for failure for me.

★ 3 Stars ★ Pub Date: June 5
I've been reading some exciting thrillers this summer. When I saw the cover of "The Pool" and read the blurb, I thought I'd dive into another thrilling read.

However, it turned out to be more of a family drama focused on two sisters with a strained relationship. The characters were quite unlikable, but not in a compelling way. I listened to the audiobook and didn't enjoy the narrators, probably because I found the characters irritating. It's worth noting that this book has received many positive reviews, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing this ARC via NetGalley. As always, all the opinions shared in this review are my own and are left voluntarily.

#ThePool #SarahEdghill #DreamscapeMedia #NetGalley

I just didnt feel like this was a thriller at all, so I was disappointed as I was ready to listen to a great mystery. Sadly, this is a skip for me.

Narrator has a beautiful voice though!

At first this book looked interesting, but it turned out to be awful. I’m not sure why I hung in there and finished it. The plot was terrible and the ending just as bad. The characters were annoying and I honestly still don’t understand what the plot was other than British people going to France on holiday for a week and complaining the entire time. I don’t want to give too much away, but I wouldn’t waste time on this one!

This book wasn't quite what I expected; its focus is more on the effects of the crime on the holidaying families rather than the "whodunnit" aspect, which is typically my preferred genre.

However, I did appreciate the sense of claustrophobia generated by the police scrutiny and media attention, even though some of the characters felt a bit stereotypical at times.

The setting was another highlight for me. The rural and somewhat isolated location added nicely to the overall tension.

Despite not being my usual type of read, I enjoyed the change of scenery and would recommend this book if you're looking for a family drama that doesn't involve your own relatives!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I expected this to be murder mystery though it was more like a drama involving an entire family. I would have loved there to been more murder mystery in it because the synopsis sounded so good.

The Pool is an interesting story with tension created in an uncomfortable situation with two families made worse by unpredictable events. I think it does a good job creating a pressure cooker situation that would cause any unease in a family to finally boil over and cause a blow up between parties.

It did have a bit of a literary feel as the main character didn’t tend to be actively driving the story, and didn’t have a ton of growth. Instead, it was the unfolding of a story as it happened over vacation, and whether it shifted the future of the characters was left unknown. There also wasn’t a ton of resolution, which will leave the reader pondering all the possibilities after the story is through.

While this story may not have been the best fit for me, I have no doubt others will find it to be exactly what they want to read.

I listened to the audiobook version which was done extremely well. The narrator brought all the characters to life. I listened at 2x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75-2x speed).

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Medua for this advanced audiobook copy.

Edghill excels at building tension. Trapped at a crime scene, two sisters are forced to confront not only the mystery of the dead body but also the secrets and disappointments that have strained their relationship. However, the portrayal of the youngest son quickly becomes tiresome. His constant bad behavior grates on the reader's nerves as much as they do on the other characters.

While the initial setup is intriguing, the ending falls flat. After all the buildup, the resolution (if you can call it that) feels unsatisfying. Read at your own risk, but be prepared for a frustrating conclusion and a character you'll want to shove in the pool (hopefully not the one with the body in it).

I am with so many of my other reviewing friends when I say this is mislabeled as a mystery/thriller. For me the mystery was what is the mystery in this book and how is it all tied together.

I really enjoy books about family drama and figuring out how the family drama plays into the mystery in the book. But that is not what happened in this book. It was interesting to get a look into the family dynamics and see the disfunction, but it wasn't relavant to the dead body, not directly- in my opinion.

The book also ended quite quickly and almost abruptly. It was almost the end of the book and I still had questions that weren't answered, and I was wondering what was happening.

I think the general idea behind this book was good in theory, but the execution just didn't register for me. The narration was great though, which is what helped me finish this book.

I am thankful for the opportunity to listen to books like this one because sometimes I am the outlier.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So I thought that this audiobook was going to be more of a thriller and instead turned out to be kind of a family drama. However, I absolutely LOVED it! I had multiple laugh-out-loud moments, especially over Hannah's young son and the leaf net. That child is so funny. Then we have Suzzie who is just horrid and impossible to like. Hannah trying to hold together all the things and enjoy their vacation. The setting was nice and the narrator did a great job. I started listening to this the morning I got approved and had it finished before I went to bed. Loved it!!!

Following two families summer trip, they are met with and unexpected snag in their relaxing plans. Stumbling upon a body in the pool readers follow along the unfolding of this summer crime scene. The audio narration of this book was solid, however I wasn’t too captivated by the storyline.

This book is truly mislabeled, there is nothing mysterious or thrilling about. This is a family drama. Even then to be honest, not much happens and it really fell flat for me.