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When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her. As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a bone-chilling swim nearly a mile to shore with a tiny passenger on her back.
Surprisingly, he speaks only French. He’ll acknowledge that his name is Paul; otherwise, he’s resolutely mute.
Troy assumes that Paul’s frantic parents will be in touch with the police or the press. But what follows is a shocking and deafening silence. And Troy, a freelance writer, finds herself as fiercely determined to protect Paul as she is to find out what happened to him. What she uncovers will take her into a world of wealth and privilege and heedless self-indulgence—a world in which the murder of a child is not unthinkable. She’ll need skill and courage to survive and protect her charge and herself.
Sara J. Henry’s powerful and compelling Learning to Swim will move and disturb readers right up to its shattering conclusion.
From the Hardcover edition.
Winner of the 2012 Mary Higgins Clark Award
Winner of the 2011 Agatha Award for Best First Novel
Winner of the 2012 Anthony Award for Best First Novel
“Part mystery thriller, part family tragedy, part tentative romance, it succeeds on all levels.”—Knoxville News Sentinel
In Henry's debut novel, a woman goes to great lengths to protect a boy she pulls out of a frigid lake.
Troy Chance happened to be looking at a ferry traveling across Lake Champlain in the opposite direction from hers when she sees what looks like a little boy being thrown overboard. Without thinking, she jumps in and rescues the lad, whose name turns out to be Paul. Instead of taking him to the authorities, though, she brings him home, telling herself that the police would most likely put the boy in foster care, and maybe even inadvertently return him to whoever had thrown him in in the first place. After a few days, Paul, who speaks only French, reveals that he had been kidnapped along with his mother, but that she had been killed by the kidnappers. He also says his father's name is Philippe Dumond, and after a quick Internet search, Troy has a business address in Ottawa. After meeting Philippe, she decides that he could not have been responsible for the kidnapping, no matter what the police might think, and she returns Paul to him. Sensing the bond that has formed between Paul and Troy, Philippe asks her to stay for a few weeks until the boy settles back into his life. Things go well for a while, but before long it becomes clear that Paul is still in danger, and Troy decides that he will never be safe until his kidnappers are captured. This novel has a lot going for it—a compelling plot, a pervading sense of foreboding, well-constructed characters—but the prose is too often bogged down by distractingly insignificant details. We learn how Troy would have eaten sausages and pancakes if the housekeeper wasn't there, what kind of bagel her brother likes, etc. This overabundance of extraneous details creates unnecessary drag.
Well-wrought for the most part, if occasionally a little waterlogged.
1. The novel opens when Troy dives into Lake Champlain to save a child she had seen only for a split second. Have you ever been in a similar situation? How did you react?
2. Troy describes her attachment to the little boy she rescues as quick and atavistic, and wonders if this is what her sisters felt like when they had their children. Do you think a maternal bond is instinctive and instant? Do you think a similar bond could be formed by people who share a traumatic experience?
3. Hoping to protect Paul from being put into foster care, or possibly being returned to a bad home situation, Troy keeps him at her home until she can track down his father. Why do you think she does this? Was she right to keep the police out of it?
4. Troy thinks she will be able to tell immediately if Paul’s father had anything to do with his kidnapping. Is it possible to be so sure about a person’s motives based on a first impression or gut reaction? What did your instincts tell you about Philippe when he and Troy first met?
5. In Lake Placid, Troy doesn’t really have to adhere to any schedules or be accountable to anyone, until Paul enters her life. Aside from her lifestyle, how else does Paul change Troy? Are these changes for the better?
6. No one in Philippe’s household talks about Madeleine at all. What conclusions did that cause you to draw about her relationships with Paul and Philippe? Were you right?
7. When Claude learned that a body was found that matched Madeleine’s dental records, he was devastated. Did this change how Troy saw him? Did it change how you saw him?
8. Vince, Marguerite, and Alyssa all gain Troy’s trust quickly, while it takes her a while to warm up to Jameson. Was Troy’s trust always well-placed? Which characters did you find easier to trust than others?
9. Claude and Madeleine grew up in foster care after tragedy struck their family. What role do you think this played in their actions as adults?
10. There are several men in the book that seem to care for Troy deeply, especially Thomas. Does Troy treat him well? What do you think her feelings are toward the other male characters, and how well does she handle them?
11. The dogs in the story are all named for fiercer animals. What significance does this have? Could the characters be looking for protectors? What else was important about the animals?
12. How does the title illustrate the themes in the book? Troy has to swim for her life several times, but do you see any other significance to the title? What else does she learn?
13. At several key moments in the book, Troy reminds herself that he best thing to do is usually the hardest thing. In the end, she makes a particularly difficult decision. Was this the right choice? What about her other decisions? When she responded with ease, did she usually make the right choice, or the wrong one?
14. What’s next for Troy Chance? What issues or characters in Learning to Swim would you like to see explored further?
LeftTurnLady
Posted Sun Mar 06 00:00:00 EST 2011
I don't know about you, but when I read a book I want to be captivated by the unfolding story, transported to another time/place and so enamored by the characters that closing the book after I read the final word on the final page is a sad moment. Did "Learning To Swim" deliver? For this reader, the answer is a resounding YES! "If I'd blinked, I would have missed it. But I didn't, and I saw something fall from the rear deck of the opposite ferry: a small, wide-eyed human face, in one tiny frozen moment, as it plummeted toward the water." Who could not be drawn into a story that starts so quickly? And who could not picture themselves in that moment, wondering what decision they would make in that split second - jump in, call for help or forget what was seen? The minute Troy jumps in and swims across cold Lake Champlain, dives deep to retrieve the boy and gets both of them safely to shore, she becomes my hero. When I learn that no one, absolutely no one, is looking for French-speaking Paul, my maternal instincts kick in, and like Troy, I just want to keep him safe. After these first few pages I am so involved in a craftily woven story of kidnapping, murder, wealth, privilege, deception, trust and yes, a touch of romance, that I follow along, rarely questioning how or why anything is happening. That's what made this book such a fun read, because the author, Sara J. Henry, DID question everything, and dropped the questions into the story like bombs, completely catching me off-guard and taking me on a roller-coaster ride that kept my attention. Every time I thought I knew what would happen next, the story took another detour, and when I finally got to those last pages, I was once again surprised. There is quite a cast of characters, but each one is relevant to the story and introduced so naturally that at times, their importance isn't realized until the end. While Sara rounds out the story very with peripheral details and descriptions, they are not so overwhelming that the story is bogged down with information that doesn't matter. Every person, detail and description has a purpose, and it was only when I got to the end that I discovered how the seemingly unimportant were actually very important, and I appreciated the care with which Sara crafted the story. For me, this book was a great read that had me from the first sentence on the first page. I highly recommend it, and if you enjoy it as much as I did, there's great news! A sequel!!! There's also bad news.we have to wait until February 2012 to continue our journey with Troy and Paul.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Mar 17 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Great weekend read. It was perfect for a rainy weekend. I was immediately drawn in from page1and couldn't put it down. The characters were interesting and relatable and the plot twists came out of nowhere. I can't wait for Sara henry's next book!
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Aug 19 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I loved the story and the characters were totally interesting. This is a great book that you will not want to miss!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.goguins66
Posted Thu Mar 31 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I saw this in the "new authors" section at B&N and downloaded it immediately. By the third page I knew I was reading something special. Ms. Henry weaves a suspenseful, adventurous and slightly romantic tale that leaves you eager to find out what happens next. Though I had figured out the ending prematurely, I was not disappointed by the heroine's path to the same conclusion. I eagerly await Ms. Henry's next novel, and am thankful B&N drove me to this one!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Sharon17
Posted Tue Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Highly unrealistic, plot holes you could sail a ship through, lackluster characters, sloooowwwww and tedious, dull, dull, dull.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Mar 26 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Learning to Swim begins when freelance writer Troy Chance sees a child plummet from the deck of a passing ferry into Lake Champlain. Instinctively, she dives in and saves him, then begins the long swim back to shore. The child, who speaks only French, tells Troy his name is Paul. Other than that she manages only to get sketchy information from him. He tells her he was kidnapped and held in a room somewhere, and that the kidnappers shot his mother. Troy becomes attached to Paul and, instead of going to the police right away, uses her internet researching skills to do some preliminary investigating of her own. She wants to find out to her satisfaction that the boy will be safe if she turns him over to the authorities and he's returned home. She wants to make sure the father wasn't involved in his abduction. Her investigation leads her into deeper involvement with Paul and his father and puts her under suspicion of a local detective who thinks she had something to do with Paul's initial disappearance. After an attempt on Troy's life, she really hits the investigation trail, determined to find the two men who kidnapped Paul. But what she stumbles into is a twist that I never saw coming. Learning to Swim is Sara J. Henry's debut novel. It is a relationship story as well as a mystery, and on both levels it succeeds very well. I highly recommend it.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Troy sees a bundle thrown from a passing ferry and in that split second she realizes it is a child. Without thinking she dives into the water to rescue him. What follows is a great read that will keep you guessing until the end. Fantastic plot twists and the writing keeps you rivited. A great book with well fleshed out characters filled with real emotion. Learning to Swim by Sara Henry is a must read.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Mar 06 00:00:00 EST 2011
... I can't actually write a review, but I can quote from a few others (and can say I hope you enjoy the book): "From the grabber beginning to the heartfelt conclusion, LEARNING TO SWIM is an auspicious debut. Fresh setting, well-realized characters, cleanly written, with a mysterious and suspenseful story. - Daniel Woodrell, award-winning author of WINTER'S BONE "A mesmerizing confluence of mystery, intrigue, and suspense, with undercurrents of deep personal drama, Sara J. Henry's LEARNING TO SWIM will hook you from the first page." - Jamie Ford, author of the bestselling HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET "Author Sara J. Henry has adeptly interwoven a highly gripping kidnapping mystery with the fascinating character study of a woman forced by extreme circumstances to reevaluate everything she thought she knew to be true about herself." - Elizabeth A. White "It's an increasingly rare experience not to see every turn of plot and logic coming around the page, and the ability to sell the reader on the character's logic without shortchanging them on surprise is no small feat. Sara J. Henry pulled it off." -Jedidiah Ayres
1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Boss megasparke goomba
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Apr 24 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Enjoyed the book. Engaging mystery & characters. I would read another book by this author.
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Posted Sun Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2012
A good suspenseful read! Kept you guessing the whole time!
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Posted Thu Nov 08 00:00:00 EST 2012
This story just wasnt realistic enough to the point of oh, cmon.
It was a library rental so im glad it was free.
RobertDowns
Posted Wed Nov 07 00:00:00 EST 2012
LEARNING TO SWIM won both the Anthony and Agatha awards for first novel, and I can certainly see why after finishing the book myself. It’s a well-written novel, executed flawlessly, and the writing sings louder than Nickelback in the middle of Central Park. But could I say I really liked it? If I’m to be perfectly honest with myself, I’d say no. I liked it, sure enough, and I could check that box just as easily as I could fill in Cs all the way down the columns of a multiple choice math test.
I liked the characters, and the characters were filled with flaws and quirks and oddities befitting any well-done novel, but I didn’t love the characters. For me, much of my love of novels comes from voice, unless I’m reading a page-turner from the likes of James Patterson or the late Robert Ludlum, and this novel didn’t have a voice that popped off the page for me. I didn’t have that moment where I wanted to read late into the night, turning the pages until my left hand cramped up, and my vision had blurred because I stayed up much longer than I should have.
So what happened? This book just didn’t connect with me the way I would have liked it to. Not the author’s fault, but it is what is. I’m not a big fan of criminals spouting off near the end of mysteries, telling the hero why a certain crime was committed, even if the criminal is a psychopath. When it comes to criminals and endings, I prefer Goldfinger’s approach.
James Bond: “Do you expect me to talk?”
Auric Goldfinger: “No, Mr. Bond…I expect you to die.”
In the end, though, LEARNING TO SWIM concluded the way it should, with a slight opening that will present more stories to tell for its main character Troy Chance. But I don’t know that I’ll go out of my way to pick up the next book in the series.
Robert Downs
Author of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator
Anonymous
Posted Sun Aug 19 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Captivating story but underdeveloped characters and situations that were not believeable. The story reminds me of a made for TV movie. I finished the book quickly but wanted it to end fast so that I could find something more sophisticated and interesting to read. There was no depth to the story. Many parts were annoying because the main character (who acted as the detective) was not a smart character. Pass on this book or take it out of the library. Not worth the money. Too bad- the story could have been better with significant editing, character development, and many re-writes.
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Posted Tue Jul 17 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I really liked this debut novel from Sara Henry, it is suspenseful, the characters are believable and the story was gripping. I really enjoyed the story and looking forward to Sara's next book, "A Cold and Lonely Place", to be released in November 2012.
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Posted Wed May 30 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I enjoyed this story. Easy read, kept me interested.
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Posted Wed Apr 25 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I read mostly mysteries and this book was one of my favorites of 2011. I really liked the main character, Troy. The plot is not really typical for a mystery. I highly recommend this book.
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Posted Fri Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2012
pretty good book. interesting twist at the end. Can't say I loved it but it was OK.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.1425826
Posted Thu Jun 09 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Ms.+Henry%27s+debut+is+fantastic.+Written+intelligently%2C+the+story+is+engrossing+from+the+very+beginning%2C+something+not+very+common.+Emotional+and+tense%2C+yet+loving+and+sensitive%2C+be+prepared+to+not+being+able+to+put+this+novel+down.+
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Apr 29 00:00:00 EDT 2011
From the first page, this book pulled me in and didn't let me down. I loved the relentless zeal Troy had in trying to solve the mysterious kidnapping.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her. As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a ...