Sunday, May 15, 2016

Review: The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews


Genre:
Women’s Fiction

Format:
E-ARC

Publisher:
St. Martin’s Press

Release Date:
May 2016







Synopsis from Goodreads:

Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.

So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.

Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

My Review

Riley Griggs and her daughter Maggy are on the ferry to Belle Isle as they usually are each summer, but this time Riley’s husband is a no show. She and her daughter are worried until a process server gives her papers from her husband. He’s nowhere to be found.

She never expected to be thrown into the middle of a summer mystery, but that’s exactly what happens to Riley. Her daughter is dealing with being diagnosed as having Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes while her husband is still missing. To top it all off, her house on Belle Isle is in foreclosure and she has to move in with her mother.  All of her funds seem to have disappeared.

Riley sets out to learn not only what happened to her husband, but where her money has gone.   She’s sure there has been a huge mistake, but instead she discovers more family secrets than she could ever imagine.

This is the perfect beach read and it’s being released just in time for the summer season. I have to admit, some of the characters really annoyed me like Riley’s domineering mother and her over-the-top brat of a twelve year old daughter. I should have been feeling sorry for all of them, but instead I found myself wanting to slap them. Riley, too, got on my nerves at times. The one character that I loved throughout the book was her love interest Nate. He is the one true good person in this book.

Although it was a bit long and some of the characters weren’t very likeable, it made for a good mystery and I enjoyed it. It’s still a great beach read.



For reading challenges:
Women's Fiction Reading Challenge 2016
NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2016
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2016

FTC Disclosure: NetGalley provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

3 comments:

  1. I agree, this makes for a great beach/vacation read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This does sound like the perfect beach read and Mary Kay Andrews is an author I've really been wanting to try. That's too bad about the characters but it doesn't sound like it ruined the book for you which is a good sign for how entertaining it was!

    ReplyDelete

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