Title: The Newcomer
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Published: May 2021, Macmillan Audio / St. Martin’s Press
Length: 14 hours 30 minutes / 448 pages
Source: Audio via Macmillan Audio / Print – ARC Paperback via Kathleen Carter Communications
Summary:
Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads delivers her next page-turner for the summer with The Newcomer.In trouble and on the run…
After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s warnings: “If anything bad happens to me—it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.”
With a trunkful of emotional baggage…
So Letty grabs her sister’s Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a “go-bag” of cash and a big honking diamond ring—but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel.
The No Vacancy sign is flashing & the sharks are circling…
And that’s the good news. Because The Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and down-right hostility. As Letty settles into the motel’s former storage room, she tries to heal Maya’s heartache and unravel the key to her sister’s shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner’s dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn—or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it’s a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past.
My thoughts:I’m still relatively new to Mary Kay Andrews’ books, this being only the third one I’ve read, but I’m finding that she can definitely be counted on for the kick-off to some great summer reading. Her books are just fun, binge-able reads that keep you hooked from start to finish!
This
book had so many elements that I love when it comes to summer binge
reading – family drama, a good romance, and a little mystery. The characters were so well drawn that they pulled
me in right away and I became totally invested in what was going on. I’m always up for a good, messy family drama, and even with the one sister being dead, this one was full of interesting drama and intrigue. What had Letty’s sister gotten herself involved in before she was killed?
The highlight for me with this book was definitely the characters. The bad guys were definitely made out to be awful and stand out like a sore thumb. But it’s the rest of the cast that really shines. From the quirky residents at the inn to Joe and his mother and sister, to Letty and the adorable Maya, who absolutely steals every scene she is in – each one has such a distinct personality and I just loved getting to know them all.
I loved how things were revealed at just the right time throughout the book. We would find out these big secrets, allowing us to put the pieces together a little at a time. It really helped to move the book forward, and for a long book, it does move at a quick pace. This really is a great escape read and I think would really make such a great beach read this summer. I know I have a few other Mary Kay Andrews books I need to read and I only hope they are as entertaining and thrilling as this one!
Audio thoughts: This book translated so well onto audio with Kathleen McInerney’s fabulous narration. She really did a great job with the voices, especially little Maya’s, and I had such a great time listening to this one. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she made this book a fun one to listen to.
