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A tense debut that will leave you pondering the nature of truth and what—and who—you take for granted.
About the Book
After two decades in the field, happily-married archaeologist Rebecca Wilding has settled into her role as head of department at Coast University. She’s looking forward to her forthcoming European holiday where she hopes to reconnect with her husband after years chasing their careers and raising a family. Then she’s accused of embezzling university funds. As her career falls apart and she turns to her husband for support, she realises he has a secret of his own—one with devastating consequences.
My thoughts
With her debut novel Turner admirably shows the subjectivity of truth and wraps it in a tense mystery about missing money and a husband’s fidelity. The ocean and it’s power plays a significant part in Bec’s life, but readers expecting a pacey tale about Stephen’s disappearance may need to readjust their expectations: the novel builds toward this climatic event and takes time to show Bec’s academic trials and her growing suspicions about Stephen.
Turner paints a believable picture of an academia marked by professional and petty jealousies, the pressure to perform with diminishing resources, and the uncertainty created by threats of redundancies. As a former academic I could certainly relate to that, and as the story progressed it added to my sense of rising dread. I was never certain of Bec’s dependability as a narrator. Her belief that Stephen is having an affair appears from nowhere and remains unproven for much of the novel. When proof is discovered, latter events cast doubt about its veracity. Is she lying to us or herself? How reliable her ‘truth’ is remains debateable and this added a dimension to The Lost Swimmer I enjoyed.
Well written, with some beautiful descriptions of the natural environment, The Lost Swimmer is a study in how easily we can overlook signs of deceit in those we trust.
*Thanks to Simon and Schuster Australia for an ARC of The Lost Swimmer
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About the Author
Ann Turner is an award-winning screenwriter and director, avid reader, and history lover. She is drawn to salt-sprayed coasts, luminous landscapes, and the people who inhabit them all over the world. She is a passionate gardener. Her films include the historical feature Celia starring Rebecca Smart — which Time Out listed as one of the fifty greatest directorial debuts of all time, Hammers Over The Anvil starring Russell Crowe and Charlotte Rampling, and the psychological thriller Irresistible starring Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill, and Emily Blunt. Ann has lectured in film at the Victorian College of the Arts. Returning to her first love, the written word, in her debut novel The Lost Swimmer Ann explores themes of love, trust and the dark side of relationships. She is currently working on her second novel, Out of the Ice, a mystery thriller set in Antarctica.
Ann was born in Adelaide and lives in Victoria.
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