A well-written, complex, and character driven novel. I really enjoyed this one!

After losing her sister, Emma moves to Cape Cod to care for her niece. Emma joins a swimming group that frequently meets for early morning cold water swims. The group is close-knit, sharing many secrets. Secrets so good that one of their own is writing a book about the group. Except that member of the swimming group goes missing. Was someone's secret worth killing for?

The character development in this novel was excellent! I enjoyed all the different personalities of the swim group and learning about their various secrets.. Mu suspicions were continuously changing throughout the novel. I honestly did not expect the big twist at all! Lots of other great twists throughout the novel that I didn't see coming either. I will say that the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly for me and I didn't necessarily love it. I guess maybe it was tied up a little too neatly for me. There is also a romance element to this thriller, which normally I am not a huge fan of, but I didn't mind it here.

Thank you Joffe Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an intriguing psychological thriller!

The story follows Em, who is part of a cold water swimming group. All is well until one of them, Rachel, end up missing.

I really liked Em and her character development. She is confused by the events, and so it was good to slowly start to see her beginning to realise the truth. I did feel sorry for her and her background mind, so it was good to see a positive development into a much stronger character!

The story itself is a classic psychological thriller, with Bella drop-feeding you snippets of info as you enjoy the rollercoaster ride!

It was a brilliantly written book, though I did work out the ending (but I have a usual knack for working out bad guys in books!), but regardless, the story was still very enjoyable.

I can see many of my thriller loving friends enjoying this one, too!

This was my first read by this author and as I also don't ever read blurbs before reading, I had no idea what to expect.
The front cover looked dark and enticing, but the title didn't give too much away.

As soon as I started reading, I knew that I was going to be hooked until the end!

With a diverse cast of characters who were, on the whole, well presented and developed throughout and a plot that kept me guessing, I raced through this trying to work out the clues and guess how things would play out in the end.

I've never been wild swimming and I loved the group dynamics from the start.
However, I really don't think I've been tempted to try it after seeing how things could go!

The writing style was nice and easy to read and the atmosphere and tension created throughout kept me on edge.
There were lots of twists which I love in a thriller like this, but there were definitely a couple of "really!?" moments.

A great start for my first read and I'll be keeping an eye out for more books by this author in the future.

The Swimming Group by Bella Ellwood-Clayton is an engaging thriller about the secrets we hide from those around us.

Em has had her fair share of bad luck. Her fiance cheated on her and then not long after her sister drowned, leaving behind her teenage daughter to Em to take care of. After all that turmoil Em decides to escape to Cape Cod for a little peace and quiet. When she meets a group of women that swim in the freezing Atlantic three mornings a week, she thinks that she has found some new friends. They call themselves The Tragic Wives Swimming Club because each woman has had their life touched by tragedy in some way. Soon Em and the other women find out that Rachael, another member, has been writing down all of the groups darkest secrets and is planning to write a tell all book that could expose everyone. But when Rachael disappears just a few days later everyone is suspicious. What exactly did Rachael write about all the women? And did she stumble up on a secret that somebody would do anything to keep hidden?

This was a really unique premise with the idea of the swim group and all the women bonding over their tragedies in this unique way. The tension builds slowly and then towards the second half of the book things start picking up more. I definitely questioned every characters motives and while a couple of plot twists I had figured out beforehand, there were still plenty of twisty moments that crept up on me! Definitely recommend this book for fans of thrillers with dark secrets, questionable characters and twists right up until the end!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bella Ellwood-Clayton, and Joffe Books for this ARC!! Publication date is April 22nd 2025.

I liked the premise of this Cape Cod mystery and the mixed group of characters. However, the narrative pace and the the first person voice left me feeling off kilter.

This book captures a lot of intriguing elements from the setting to the unconventional characters as well as the plot!!
This narrative is rich with depth and emotion right from the start. It has a combination of mystery, romance and friendship. Even humor thanks to Miguel.
The author’s descriptive setting and use of metaphors adds a nice touch to the story.
Absolutely packed full of shocking moments chapter after chapter with a great ending! What an exhilarating experience!!
It was also meaningful to me that she references POTS and other invisible diseases.
Thank you to the author/publisher for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved the drama and build-up of tension in this book, as secrets get spilt and the intensity and danger increases!

I loved the setting for this thriller, which really set it apart from anything else I have read. The concept of a plot based around a group of people whose common connection is swimming is unusual but really lends itself to the reality that a hobby can bring together an otherwise extremely varied group of people and personalities. If not for swimming, how many of these people would even have crossed paths? Things happen quickly and there are plenty of options for suspects, which makes for a very exciting read.

The Swimming Group by Bella Ellwood-Clayton is a great, pacey thriller that will keep you on your toes until the very end.
The storyline was great and I flew through this book in one sitting.
These characters were brought to life and the author’s writing and descriptions of the characters and scenery were really well written.
An extremely well written story with an intricate plot and skillfully drawn characters. it's a real page turner with twists and turns that seem to spin out of control. The ending was just amazing.
It grabbed me from the first page and kept me guessing.
Kept me turning the pages late into the night.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of The Swimming Group by Bella Ellwood-Clayton, published by Joffe Books

This book was awesome! I absolutely loved it! Devoured in 2 days...I was hooked from the start and couldn't put it down.  Awesome characters, they were all so different, loved the setting.  The author is great with descriptions of people and places. I honestly felt there wasn't a dull moment in this novel. I was impressed with the twists and turns and was surprised by the who dunnit.
This is the first book by this author that I have read, will be putting her other novel on my TBR and following for any more books that follow. I highly recommend this novel.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Well the title grabbed me straight away, I love open water swimming and it’s a good contemporary backdrop for a story. The groups of swimmers are an eclectic mix of personalities all with sad backstories and also some pretty big secrets. When one of them goes missing the tension is huge and gets bigger with each passing day. When we find out that she had been keeping notes about each of the other members’ innermost secrets it suddenly becomes a who is more likely to want her dead mystery with lots of very decent suspects.
I found the start of the book a little slow but it eventually moved up into the fast lane and really held its own. There are plenty of pleasing twists and uncertainties and a good dose of romance and humour.
Definitely edgy and different enough for me to sit up and take notice and a few tears spilled along the way.

Set in Cape Cod, I found it a captivating read. It's full of drama and banter between the swimming group members, who are all trying to heal from some tragedy in their lives. I loved the perils of cold water swimming at 5am in shark infested waters. There are some interesting characters and a great mystery runing throughout.

What happens when the members of a local swimming group discover that one of their number has been collecting their secrets in order to write a story that she hopes will be a bestseller?

Well, for starters, no one expects this to result in her death. Or was it simply an accident?

Already grieving for her sister Britta, and looking after her orphaned teenage niece, the last thing Em need is to become the prime suspect in her swimmer friend's murder!

This is an engaging and entertaining story which keeps you guessing - even though some parts may require a suspension of disbelief. It gets 3. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC of The Swimming Group.

I’m not sure how to describe this one. It trundles along in places, then speeds up and gets interesting, then slows down again.

I definitely enjoyed it, and the writing was easy to follow, as was the plot. The characters were diverse and different from each other. The twist was great, didn’t see it coming!

Overall, 3 stars, worth a read.

The Swimming Group is a fantastic, gripping, psychological thriller with more twists, turns and family secrets than you can ever imagine! Fast paced, compelling from the word go and lots of fascinating characters.
This is the first time I have read Bella Ellwood-Clayton's work but it certainly won't be the last.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this highly recommended book.

I had a drowning experience when I was younger and this book gave me serious claustraphobia.

It is an intense and thrilling read and I loved how the sotry unfolded.

It is well written and brillaintly told, I really enjoyed my reading time and I would love to see this as a film on the big screen

The Swimming Group by Bella Ellwood-Clayton was such a fun and engaging read. I was totally addicted to it and had to pace myself so I did not read it all in a matter of hours. Set on the beautiful and tranquil island of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, one of the most beautiful places in the world, I was immediately drawn in and lost myself in this captivating story.

Em joins a group that calls themselves the Tragic Wives. Each of them brings with them a tragedy that occurred in their past. Each morning they meet at the beach and do a timed plunge. One morning, one member of the group disappears after leaving her beach bag on the sand. Turns out she was writing a tell all book about the group. As they try to figure out what happened to their friend, all their tucked away secrets start to spill out. Could one of them have done something to keep their secret from being exposed?

The cast of characters were intriguing and each had their own unique story, making them real. This is the first book I've read by Bella Ellwood-Clayton and I started with a great one. I will definitely be looking for more by her. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Joffe Books for the advanced copy

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Unfortunately I struggled to connect with any of the characters in this book, but it was still a good read, I just didn't hugely connect or have strong opinions on anything in it