# The Deep End

By Julie Mulhern · The Country Club Murders, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-deep-end-f14819c8/

Ellison Russell’s dawn swim at the country club ends beside the body of her husband’s mistress. It is 1974, and the artist and mother was already preparing for divorce. Now she has to contend with being a murder suspect while her husband disappears and family pressure mounts.

## What makes it funny?

Ellison imagines a public argument with her husband as free entertainment, complete with reviews traveling along the telephone lines the next morning. In her view, a station wagon can serve as a country-club tank.

### The comedy at work

Ellison’s first-person observations keep track of what respectable people want others to see and what they are actually doing. Her wit gives anger and scandal an outlet without making the murder inconsequential.

### Try this if…

A period social setting and a woman beginning to stand her ground give this mystery more than the puzzle to follow. The humor has a sharp observer behind it.

### Good to know

Infidelity, sexual kink, blackmail and marital cruelty matter to the case. The content pushes toward the edge of a conventional cozy, and romantic complications also develop.

## What to expect

- Genre: Historical · Mystery
- On the shelf: Amateur sleuth · Cozy mystery · Historical mystery
- Kind of humor: Dry wit
- Format: Novel
- Length: 312 pages (ebook)
- Published: 2015

## A few distinguishing details

- A country-club swim exposes the scandal Ellison was trying to leave

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Apple Books lists The Deep End by Julie Mulhern, released February 17, 2020, with a length of 312 pages; no print format is identified on this listing.](https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-deep-end/id1499387632)
- Book information: [Fantastic Fiction bibliography](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/julie-mulhern/deep-end.htm)
- Review: [Carstairs Considers review](https://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2019/08/book-review-deep-end-by-julie-mulhern.html)
- Book information: [Google Books Henery Press edition](https://books.google.com/books?id=sxPwrQEACAAJ)
- Book information: [Apple Books current edition](https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-deep-end/id1499387632)
- Review: [Jane Reads review and authorized tour excerpt](https://janereads2.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-deep-end-by-julie-mulhern-blog-tour.html)
- Author commentary: [Author’s book page](https://www.juliemulhernauthor.com/the-deep-end)