Well I’m a little bit speechless. What an absolutely brilliant book from the beginning, right up to the end!

This is a slow burn thriller. I loved the description of the setting. The characters are written so well but are unlikeable.
I found it hard to engage with the story

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

Unfortunately, for me this book just didn't hit the mark. I feel there was great potential but it could have been excuted in such a different way. Out of respect for the Author I unfortunately won't be posting my review to social media, I hope you understand and thank you so much for allowing me to read this book.

This book I couldn’t finish IT was slow I know the author wanted to include the real time but the pandemic I feel is to fresh in everyone minds that why does it have to be in it. The description of Italy was amazing, made me want to go but it was to confusing to follow. Love the author just not for me

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. It was very slow to begin with. But struggled on and did enjoy the book. well written.recommend this book

This book was so disappointing. Im a person who is attracted to a good cover and this one definately captured my attention. The book just didnt hold my attention and I became bored. I really struggled with it.

Danielle had only just met Matt when the pandemic struck and they decide to live together to enable them to see each other.

During this period, Matt inherits a property in Tuscany from his family as his grandmother has dementia and can no longer look after the place.

Once they move Matt can continue to write his novel - but is it all fiction?

The story is told from Danielle’s POV and also that of the ‘hitchhiker’ which is quite clearly a story of Matt’s youth even if the names are not quite the same.

Matt is a nasty piece of work - gaslighting Danielle and being quite nasty and unpredictable.

She puts up with way too much from him and probably should have given up on him many months ago. Unfortunately her money, not his, is tied up in the renovations so she dose take really have much choice.

I still wonder if there was a child involved in the parallel stories - for me that was an unanswered question unless I missed something.

An easy read but I felt a bit unsatisfied by the ending

Twists and turns, page turning mystery! This was one I really enjoyed. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

The Infinity Pool
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded to 4)
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 4/14/22
Author: Claire Lewis
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Pages: 288
Goodreads Rating: 2.85

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: A body in a pool. A rifle. And a scream that carries across the valley. But is that the end, or just the beginning? When Danielle arrives at her boyfriends newly inherited farmhouse, she finds it's not quite as idyllic as she thought. There's a lot of work to be done on the house, but first she turns her attention to turning the algae-infested concrete swamp into the infinity pool of her dreams. As she digs up the old foundations, Danielle brings to light long-buried secrets that will shatter the tranquillity of her Tuscan dream forever – and make her question how well we ever know the people we claim to love...

My Thoughts: A lot of thrillers can be a slow burn but usually heat up in a few chapters, this one took a little longer to heart up. The story is narrated by Danielle and told from her POV mostly, there is another narrator with a past story that is weaved in and it is hard to tell how the past and present connect. I did like that the author worked in the pandemic as part of the story, it made it feel truly in real-time. The author did an amazing job of describing the scenes in Tuscany, Italy, while I have never been there, the author made me feel like I was. The characters were well-developed and made you feel disdain towards one of the characters. Overall, this was a good read and I would venture out to read other books by this author.

There is something appealing about a swimming pool and the picture of the infinity pool on the front of this book attracted me immediately. I saved it as a holiday read and finished it in a couple of days.
Danielle narrates the book which tells the story of her decision to move to a Tuscan Villa which her boyfriend Matt inherits.
Danielle’s present day narrative set in the Pandemic is interspersed with extracts from a story set 10 years earlier when a hitchhiker is picked up on an Italian road and forms a relationship with someone called Ted.
How are the present day and the past story connected?
Danielle and Matt have a difficult relationship- Matt is not likeable and I wondered why Danielle wanted to stay with him.
The move to Tuscany during the Pandemic is fraught with problems and I questioned Danielle’s sense in leaving her well paid lawyer’s job, selling her property and giving all proceeds to Matt to renovate the Italian property.
She has her heart set on a beautiful infinity pool but the construction of this leads to some dark secrets being revealed. Matt is very difficult to read and seldom tells the truth so it is incredibly hard to work out what happened all those years previously. There are many versions and even the ending throws up more questions than answers.
I loved the description of the Tuscan countryside and local towns. I really felt I was there. Danielle was rather naive but she conveyed the menace of her situation very well. Matt was just unpleasant and I could not find any redeeming features in his character.
All in all this was an enjoyable psychological thriller which although slow moving at first, succeeded In ratcheting up the tension as the story progressed.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc.

I can’t wait to read more by Claire. This was intriguing, engaging and thrilling. The plot was cleverly unravelled as the story progressed.

I'm afraid to say I didn't love this book. The constant references to the pandemic were irritating, as were the characters. Danielle came across as very stupid and naive and Matt was just horrible. I really wanted to like this, but it just wasn't for me.

Two stories, one set in recent times amidst a pandemic, the other written by one of the characters; it is claustrophobic and increasingly menacing in a slow-paced plot. The oppressive setting, as intended to be, is something most will recognise. The story captures the need to escape well, as Danielle effectively ends her settled life for an unsubstantiated dream. Again some readers will relate to this.

The stories intertwine and twist to a dark conclusion. whilst I understand the setting, it is too close to reality to be an escapist read. The descriptions and ethos of the Italian villa are immersive, and the characters, although mostly unlikeable, are complex and flawed.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
This book shows 2 stories from the beginning: Matt and Danielle clearly set in recent / current times with many references to the restrictions caused by the pandemic and changes due to Brexit, and Ted and Nikki living a late teenage summer of freedom a few years previously, set in Tuscany. There are many lovely descriptions of the area but there is a feeling of menace over both stories.
The characters are unlikeable: Danielle seems to have left her lawyer qualification at the door in her financial dealings with Matt, signing away her redundancy pay without any rights to the property and incorrectly thinks that changes to rights caused by Brexit were'stripped away by privileged old men who governed our country' not by the electorate who voted to 'leave', Matt is writing a novel (or is it an autobiography?) and his relationships with his aunt and friend (Antonio) are strained, Nikki seems to use everyone and give nothing in return and Ted seems naive and trusting whilst also abusing his family's trust. There is a mystery underlying this tale but in an effort to weave suspense throughout the stories towards a revealing end I thought the author created confusion until an unsatisfactory ending left me wondering what had actually been resolved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a miss for me. I love thrillers, I really do and I don't even mind the slow burn ones, but this was a little too slow burn for me.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review.
The story is a slow burn, but a quick and enjoyable read.

Now this book was a treat, really enjoyed it and it kept me intrigued the whole way through, a good ending too….

I liked this book, but unfortunately didn't love it.

It was a very slow burner, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this instance, I did feel the story took a long time to really get going

It's about Danielle and Matt, a lawyer and writer couple living in London during the Covid pandemic until Matt receives a letter from Italy, telling him that he's inherited a Farmhouse in Tuscany. Without much thought for the consequences, Danielle jacks in her job, sells her flat and they set off for a new life in Italy. But when they arrive, the farmhouse is pretty much derelict and there is a lot more work to be done than they originally thought. Danielle has plans to transform the old swimming pool into a dreamy infinity pool overlooking the beautiful Tuscan views. Thus begins the start of a twisted and dark tale of long buried secrets and lies.

The descriptions of Tuscany were stunningly written, I could almost picture myself there. The characters were also cleverly drawn, although not particularly likeable, especially Matt. But for me, getting to the crux of the story was fairly convoluted and by the time this happened, I had already worked out the ending.

I also found the continual references to the pandemic a bit wearing. I understand the author wanting to set the book in "real time" and parts of this is done well, but the constant referral to the restrictions etc meant this got a bit tiresome after a while.

I would read another of the author's books, but this wasn't one of my favourites.

Thanks to the publishers Head of Zeus and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.