“It’s about believing two opposing ideas in your head at the same time: hope and grief.”

My fourth Claire Fuller novel did not disappoint! Like everything else I’ve read by her, Swimming Lessons was full of intrigue and suspense. This one felt especially perfect because Gil’s wife, Ingrid, writes him letters and hides them in his books before her disappearance (!). Those letters give the reader an understanding of Gil and Ingrid’s relationship from its inception, while a present day storyline told by one of their daughters, Flora, leads us through the family’s current predicament: a seriously ill Gil who brings a wily cast of characters back to their seaside home.

The mystery involves the disappearance of Ingrid in the early 90s. One day she didn’t come home from her daily swim in the ocean. Most people believe that the current pulled her out and she drowned, but some still hold out hope that she’s alive and will return to them someday.

One fun thing that Fuller did throughout this novel was use colors to describe smells. Here’s a few examples:

“the house smelled as it always did: old books, damp in the bathroom, fried eggs; home was the colour of toasted fennel seeds – a warm speckled brown.”

“his familiar odour: pepper, dust, and leather – otter brown”

“the only smell that was pure black.”

I find that so cozy! It was as if the smells painted a visual picture of the house, which was a completely new idea to me.

The ending? Well, let’s talk via email.