Fun Reading For The Beach
Description
From the publisher:
Pull up a lounge chair and have a cocktail at Sunset Beach – it comes with a twist.
Drue Campbell’s life is adrift. Out of a job and down on her luck, life doesn’t seem to be getting any better when her estranged father, Brice Campbell, a flamboyant personal injury attorney, shows up at her mother’s funeral after a twenty-year absence. Worse, he’s remarried – to Drue’s eighth grade frenemy, Wendy, now his office manager. And they’re offering her a job.
It seems like the job from hell, but the offer is sweetened by the news of her inheritance – her grandparents’ beach bungalow in the sleepy town of Sunset Beach, a charming but storm-damaged eyesore now surrounded by waterfront McMansions.
With no other prospects, Drue begrudgingly joins the firm, spending her days screening out the grifters whose phone calls flood the law office. Working with Wendy is no picnic either. But when a suspicious death at an exclusive beach resort nearby exposes possible corruption at her father’s firm, she goes from unwilling cubicle rat to unwitting investigator, and is drawn into a case that may – or may not – involve her father. With an office romance building, a decades-old missing persons case re-opened, and a cottage in rehab, one thing is for sure at Sunset Beach: there’s a storm on the horizon.
Sunset Beach is a compelling ride, full of Mary Kay Andrews’ signature wit, heart, and charm.
Details
- Author: Mary Kay Andrews
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (May 7, 2019)
- Genre: Romance / Mystery
- Excerpt
- Hardcover: 448 pages
My Thoughts
The beginning seemed slow and not terribly interesting. But what happened after the main character, Drue, visited a bar with office employees made me more concerned. It even caused me to wonder if this was the same author people were raving about.
But I kept reading. I felt I needed to give the book a fair shake. And I’m glad I did. It didn’t take long for the story to grab my interest. And maybe the reason for that was a personality clash with Drue and her step-mom, but mostly I think it was the introduction to a mystery. Whatever it was, it certainly helped.
Even though the book got better, and I actually liked the ending, I’m not convinced it’s a good example of Mary Kay Andrews’ writing. It’s not that this story was bad, just not extraordinary in any way.
What Concerned Me
I wonder if other readers will be a bit turned off by the beginning of the book? Also, though I get hardened to the addition of bad language, some of it didn’t seem necessary. One more itty bitty concern: there is an element of some disbelief over who Drue’s step-mother is.
My Final Thoughts
This had the relaxing feel of a cozy mystery. It kept me turning the pages, but not flipping them frantically. The characters were for the most part interesting and I liked that they demonstrated the ability to learn and grow.
Rating
You might like it, it might not be your favorite though.
About the Author
Mary Kay Andrews is the New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels including THE WEEKENDERS, BEACH TOWN, LADIES’ NIGHT, SUMMER RENTAL, DEEP DISH and HISSY FIT.
A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she received a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia and was a newspaper reporter for 14 years. The last ten years of her career were spent as a features reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
She is married to her high school sweetheart, Tom Trocheck, with whom she has a 40-year (and counting) collaboration yielding two grown children, two adorable grandchildren and countless memorable kitchen experiences.
I enjoyed this book, it was a lovely summer read with a shocking ending!!
Thanks for your thoughts. There certainly were places I liked, just not sure about the book as a whole.