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. (Pub Date: May 04 2021)
Again an emotional whodunnit summer romance that may sound like a weird mix but is just what you expect from Mary Kay Andrews
Letty is on the run with her four-year-old niece after her sister was murdered much probably by her ex-husband. She reaches The Murmuring Surf motel and needs to beg the owner for a place to stay, because for some reason that's the place her sister's emergency bag had, although Letty has no idea of the reason. With the police after her, she has to starts her life away from New York and making sure the owner's policeman son doesn't figure her out.
3.5, but rounded up because it was complex enough and had me turning pages crazy to find out how it would end.
I've become a big Mary Kay Andrews fan and this is a solid release that won't disappoint you if you've read any of her latest works. And as I usually say when reviewing her books, it's highly recommended for those who like romances but needed them seasoned with something else. In this author's case, and for this book too, it's usually solving a murder.
I feel I've been more puzzled to find out who did it in other books by her, but while the mystery itself didn't get that much of a plot twist (well not in the who, at least, because there was a couple of reveals that made me gasp) this one had a complex drama intertwined. I guess it comes with all the small child who lost her mother possibly to her dad but her aunt is the main suspect, but I still felt it at times. Beautiful but still heartbreaking.
As for characters, I can't say I didn't like Letty but she was probably the one I cared less about. Joe, on the other hand, surprised me as a hunk—I mean, a very dependable book boyfriend. All the guests in the motel along with Joe's mom were super fun too, without feeling like too many names (I'll confess I didn't memorize each of their names, but it didn't get in the way at least), I loved Joe's sister and her friend as well, and as expected little Maya was uber cute.
Yes, the book is about solving a murder, but it's still a breezy read for this summer. I don't think those who aren't into romance books will enjoy it much and this isn't anything that'll blow your mind, and yet it's still well above average. Whether you already know this author or not, I recommend it to those in need of a romance with a side of something else.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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