Set in a small coastal Irish town, The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club is told from multiple perspectives. There's Elizabeth, whose life feels like it's only just beginning following the death of her husband. There's her best friend Jo, whose daughter Lucy and son Niall visit from Dublin. Lucy agrees to help at Elizabeth's late husband's GP clinic and in the interim becomes a founding member of The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club alongside Jo and Elizabeth. Finally, there's Dan, a visiting writer from London who's come to Ballycove to finally discover where his life began. I’m sorry, Lucy, but consider yourself stepping into the TARDIS and re-emerging somewhere in the early 1970s. The three women become firm friends, and Jo introduces them to her passion for swimming under the stars – the sheer exhilaration, the release, the opportunity to laugh and cry and shed their troubles as they shed their clothes, their friendship deepening with every dip in the ocean. And when it turns out that Jo has significant problems of her own that eclipse Elizabeth’s, that friendship deepens as they plan one big milestone that they’re all able to focus on – a charity event for a cause very close to their hearts, with all the women of the village coming together for one enormous (and naked) midnight swim.

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, 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? A heart-rending, uplifting and beautifully written journey of female friendship... I loved being transported to Ireland's wild Atlantic coast' - Phillipa Ashley

Games

I have to say, I guessed about one particular event in the book, but I was really happy it worked out that way. MY THOUGHTS: Why have I never read anything by this author before? Her characters are stunning. They made themselves at home in my heart and I don't want to say goodbye to them.

Three wonderful women come together in this book. Lucy after a divorce decided she needed a break from her job as a doctor in a hospital in Dublin. She and her son, Niall, went to visit her Mom in her rural seaside hometown. Her Mom, Jo, is a well-loved community member who gives much to those around her, but she has a secret issue she's not talking about. Elizabeth, the local doctor's wife, has recently become a widow and has found that her husband died leaving her with crippling debt, their large house and his practice. The women, become close friends, and find freedom and relief from their cares and worries when they, led by Jo, go swimming in the cold Atlantic waters at midnight. They form a close bond and provide courage and support for each other. This wonderful novel took me through a whole gamut of emotions while I was reading it. It was so emotional, heart-warming and poignant that it broke my heart and mended it in one swipe. Be prepared for tears, but I assure you that you will be smiling through those tears. Kasia appears to be wiser and more philosophical than each of the other women, why do you think that is? It is a moving story, dealing sensitively with several emotive issues. It is a tale of searching for the truth, coping with grief, overcoming obstacles and making the most of your life and opportunities, even when everything seems to be against you. Throughout the story it is the friendships and support characters give to each other that make it a beautiful, heartwarming read that I have no hesitation in highly recommending.Although there were a few minor characters, the real story is the friendship between Elizabeth and Jo. Be prepared to read this book with a box of tissues, but also, to laugh out loud and cheer for them all.

I loved that to sort through your minds cluttered box, to find a way through the drama which envelopes these women that to simply have a midnight swim in the sea with like-minded women who never judge but encourage and respect and help. It really is the most beautiful thing! Elizabeth O’Shea’s husband had just died, leaving her on the brink of bankruptcy and saddled with a sad and outdated medical practice. She lives on top of a stone cliff in a small Irish village on the western seaboard. Each of the women dealt with their grief differently, and although there was anger, sadness and regret, none of them actually hated Paul – why was that?Elizabeth is grieving the loss of her husband. They may not have have the best of marriages but she is feeling lost without him. That is until Elizabeth finds out that he has left her with crippling debts and that she is at risk of losing everything. 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. Lucy comes for a short break but lands up by staying longer due to a few circumstances in the book.