Genre: contemporary, mystery, suspense, romance

When asked to read and review Mary Kay Andrews’ upcoming publication Summers at the Saint, I couldn’t agree quickly enough. As expected the novel was engaging, suspenseful, entertaining - an all around excellent read. Traci Eddings was widowed young and left to try and manage the St. Cecelia resort on the coast of Georgia. Traci was considered an Ain’t as she grew up - but marrying a St. Cecelia Eddings transforms her into a Saint. But as a young widow she is often at odds with this wealthy family as she tries to save the family business which has never seemed to recover after the Covid epidemic. She builds a new dorm, hires new employees including her beloved niece Parrish, the daughter of her former best friend Olivia, and KJ Parkhurst a local rich boy whose dad is trying to teach him a lesson, and looks toward a brighter future. But things go wrong quickly - Whelan is new in town and dredging up a tragic drowning from when she was a teenage lifeguard and complaints about everything from mattresses to wine abound. Soon the resort endures an unexpected death and a fire. What is going on at the Saint?

The world of the resort comes to life in this novel. Very quickly I could feel the pressures that Traci endures as she works to maintain St. Cecelia. The inner workings are fascinating to me (more on that later). I am torn between wanting to stay there and wanting to work there. The setting is beautiful and beachside and screams luxury. The town nearby - of the Ain’ts - is also well drawn and contributes well to the overall setting and conflicts of the novel. Andrews introduces a wide cast of characters and brings them to life. She explores the complexity of family. She tackles lifelong friendships through Traci and Shannon. She gives us romance - and we want romance - for Traci. We come to care greatly about some of the characters; we question others. We root for some, and against others. Like real life, our feelings about the characters change over the course of our reading. The plot - like that of Andrews’ Homewreckers for me - builds in complexity and suspense. First we are suspicious that someone is working against Traci to prevent her success (well, I was anyway). Then we gradually become more aware of the circumstances surrounding the drowning and its impact on lifelong friendships. I love how Andrews weaves all these threads together creating suspense and mystery (and that little bit of romance!).

I promised to talk about my fascination with the resort. As a school librarian, I spent most of my time reading YA. In that reading I became fascinated with boarding school books. I’ve never attended one; I never sent my kids, but, boy, I did read all that I could get my hands on. I guess it had something to do with the rarified air that I imagine existed there. Who really knows? But now that I have this time for adult reading, I’m suspecting I may replace boarding schools with exclusive resorts. I just read and reviewed Alison Espach’s The Wedding People and Nita Prose’s The Mystery Guest and loved the settings. I felt the same here. I’m not sure why. (Any insights out there?) I am grateful for Andrews’ ability to bring St. Cecelia alive for me. And not to make a strained connection, I am glad that as things change, some small things can remain the same. I think Traci learns this among other things in Mary Kay Andrews’ Summers at the Saint. Listen, I think summer reads are good year round (see here), but if you are planning for summer, don’t miss this May 7 release. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.