The Swimmer cover art

The Swimmer

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The Swimmer

By: Joakim Zander
Narrated by: William Roberts, Yolanda Kettle, Various
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About this listen

The truth weighs nothing… Klara Walldeen, orphaned as a child and brought up by her grandparents, is now a political aide in Brussels. And she has just seen something she shouldn't. On the other side of the world, an old spy hides. Once, he was a man so dedicated that he abandoned his daughter. Now the only thing he lives for is swimming. Then Klara is thrown into a terrifying chase through Europe. Only the Swimmer can save her. But time is running out.

©2013 Joakim Zander (P)2014 W. F. Howes Ltd Thriller & Suspense Suspense Exciting Swimming

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Critic reviews

"Guilt and atonement and revenge... The Swimmer is an impressive, fast-paced thriller" ( Boras Tiding)
"Elegantly constructed... the language creeps up on you... a remarkable debut novel." ( Goteborgs-Posten)
All stars
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I much enjoyed this tale, even though it took a while to get going. I liked the idea of the two narrators which made it feel more like a play. I would have liked the female narrator to ask a Swedish national about the pronunciation of various proper nouns as it became quite irritating. Also her odd pronunciation of words such as rivulets (should be stressed on the first syllable) and Smithsonian (should be stressed on the second syllable) was surprising.

Another great story

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Good story, good atmosphere created, excellent narrators. Recommend it 100%, so much so, I listened to it twice!

Even 2nd time round - very good

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If you could sum up The Swimmer in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, pacy and conclusive (I hate stories that are left open ended)

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Swimmer?

The car bomb.

Which character – as performed by William Roberts and Yolanda Kettle – was your favourite?

The swimmer

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I never want to listen to an audio book in one sitting

Any additional comments?

I cannot remember a narrator as memorable as William Roberts - a joy to listen to and definitely helped the story.

Keeps you interested from the start

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Firstly this is a good story with some intriguing moments and twists. However I did find it rather slow going at the start. Once it got going it was actually much more enjoyable and the story does crack along nicely.

The female narrator was excellent and gave a nicely balanced performance. Sadly I found the male narrator very distracting. For my tastes he totally overacted, almost shouting lines which did not need shouting, and I'm afraid it rather wrecked that part of the story. Sorry fella but that performance wasn't my cup of tea.

Overall a good crime story with a very good narrator for the main part.

Mixed feelings but good overall

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Worse and most annoying male narrator I've ever heard. Inane plot filled with cardboard cut-out characters.
A very pointless read.

Give this one a miss

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The narration is so bad, sounds like someone doing an over the top ham actor. Spoils a good story

Bad narration

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A long winded boring story with broken thread, not worth purchasing. If you want a book to send you to sleep this is it

Boring

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