The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

By: Joshilyn Jackson

Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson

Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the literal family skeleton stays in the closet or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts.

Her estranged sister, Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties.

While Laurel's life seems neatly on track - a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna - everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 13-year old neighbor, Molly Dufresne. The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly, floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable - an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco.

Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.

Richer and more rewarding than any story Joshilyn Jackson has yet written, yet still packed with Jackson's trademarked outrageous characters, sparkling dialogue, and defiantly twisting plotting, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming is destined both to delight Jackson's loyal fans and capture a whole new audience.

©2008 Joshilyn Jackson (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Jackson matches effortless Southern storytelling with a keen eye for character and heart-stopping circumstances." ( Publishers Weekly)

It's a Good "Who Dun' It?" Novel for Women

I like Joshilyn Jackson novels and I like this one well enough too. She is a brilliant narrator and a very good author. This Jackson novel was a Southern mystery novel solved by the women of the family. I did not think the book was as good or as interesting as some of the other Jackson novels that I read but it was good and, if you are a fan of Jackson, you will most likely like this book also. The relationships between the women of this family were well developed and mostly believable. The question of who did it hung on until almost the end which kept me interested and curious to keep listening.

Absolutely amazing

Another amazing book by my newfound favorite author. This story kept me listening from the very beginning as most of her books do. I love the way she narrates the story and gives life and individual personalities to all of her characters. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a page turner!!

Really enjoyed this book

A very well written and thoughtful mystery. Has a flair of the supernatural and great characters. I was pulled in from the beginning and fascinated with the plot.

Amazing!

Loved every second of this story! I can picture each character and place. Hated for it to end!

Suspensful and Scary at Times

Where does The Girl Who Stopped Swimming rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is definitely a top favorite!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the mystery of how Molly ended up in the pool, dead. All the while Laurel figuring out answers of her who past.

Have you listened to any of Joshilyn Jackson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She did excellent as always. Couldn't have thought of a better way to preform those characters. Spot on!

Who was the most memorable character of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming and why?

Thalia is my favorite character for her eccentric attitude and charisma.

Any additional comments?

Excellent book, would love for Joshilyn Jackson to write some more.

Thalia Steals the Show!

I liked this book. It was fast-paced, kept you guessing, and had great dialogue. But, Laurel, the narrator of the book, definitely gets backseated by her smart-mouthed, roguish sister, Thalia. I didn't find Laurel to be a sympathetic character. But, then again, that probably was what the author intended. In the end, Laurel is to find out the reasons for her mother's, and ultimately her own, reasons for always turning a blind eye to the bad things in life. But, you get the feeling that unless she keeps Thalia around to be her moral compass, she'll always revert back. I didn't trust the backbone that she was supposedly was to have gotten in the end.

Fabulous

I think this has been my favorite Joshilyn Jackson book to date. It had everything! True mystery, spirits, relationships, humor - I'm hooked, I hope she never stops writing AND narrating!

fan for life

loved this book. narration made me a fan for life. just amazing. read on my friend read on.

Amazing

I had some trouble getting into it at the beginning but was quickly obsessed. Very good read

Another great Joshilyn story

Although my first book and still favorite by Joshilyn is "A grown up kind of pretty", I am still chasing that high :) I did thoroughly enjoy this book though! I was a little saddened by the sister relationship, but I enjoyed the supernatural element. I enjoyed the interview with the author at the end and agreed that she didn't shove the ghost thing down the reader/listeners throat. I LOVE Joshilyn as the narrator and feel so connected to the characters as she reads. I would recommend this book.