The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club

Product Information

QandA with Louise Davidson author of #TheFortunesOfOliviaRichmond | @LouiseDWriter | @moonflowerbooks

This is an amazing read, an emotive story set in a small seaside village on the West coast of Ireland with friendship at its heart. A stranger arriving into town sets tongues wagging. His name is Dan. Leaving the chaos of his London life behind him, Dan is looking to escape and the west of Ireland seems like the perfect answer. Dan has worked in the TV business but now, with an unexpected and forced time-out, he decides to re-evaluate his life. Dan has always had an ambition to write a novel and now the time seems right. Dan also has other areas of his life he needs to spend time exploring so a short-term rental near a small seaside village could be just the tonic he needs.This book left me feeling upbeat. I loved the closeness of the women and their strength and courage as they faced the ups and downs in their individual lives. This is a story of love, grief, community, and friendship, and it is warm and heartfelt. The novel and characters pull you in like an old friend. It has feel-good vibes throughout despite some of the very difficult situations that occur for these women. There are two male characters who are also realistic and enjoyable. The camaraderie that exists between these women in different walks of life is so important in our growing and aging process. The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club is a beautiful story of friendship. It is a tale of grief, forgiveness, loneliness, heartbreak, second chances, and so much more.

EXCERPT: They had gone to see the old building, a sprawling grey, derelict structure that had angels at the doors and serpents in the remaining stained glass windows. What’s she thinking? The sight of her in the buff will be enough to frighten every fish from the bay.I found the author, Ms. Hogan, to be a bit too descriptive and verbose at times. However, her writing style gave me total enjoyment and that was easy to overlook. I embraced her soothing and relaxing tone in the telling of this incredible story. The story is broken down into parts (a.k.a months) and effortlessly flows between these multiple points of view. I really enjoyed hearing from each of their perspectives and seeing how the story unfolded. While I saw some reveals coming, others were a pleasant surprise. Hogan's writing style was poignant, with elements of humour to expertly break up the dramatic moments. Elizabeth, wife of the village doctor, finds herself left with huge debts when her husband dies. As she faces the future she also faces the boundaries of her married life. Jo, a close friend of Elizabeth’s, persuades her divorced daughter and coincidentally a doctor to takeover the surgery until Elizabeth can move forward. Lucy’s son Niall accompanies her into what he views as a fresh new hell. He’s busting to join his father in Australia,

Jo, Elizabeth and Lucy have different ages and different living experiences but now that they are together in the same place they have the chance to understand and to help each other.

Member Reviews

The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club is the sixth novel by award-winning, best-selling Irish author, Faith Hogan. The audio version is narrated by Flora Montgomery. It’s not until the death of her husband Eric, Ballycove’s local GP, that Elizabeth O’Shea discovers the extent of his deceit. She knew he drank, but not that he gambled, and to her dismay, he was more prolific at both than he was at being successful as a GP. The level of debt he has left her with in the form of loans is staggering. Will she lose everything? I have to say, I guessed about one particular event in the book, but I was really happy it worked out that way. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She's a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger - except of course when it is raining! I was hooked from the get go, how initially 2 women come together at night to find escspe from daily life, it made me want to go midnight swimming and I don't particularly like swimming or the sea!