Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews (read in 2024)

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .

Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.
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I have long been a fan of Mary Kay Andrews and her summer additions to southern women's fiction. Whether we find ourselves on the Outer Banks or in Savannah or somewhere in Florida, we can always count on a fast-paced story filled with relatable female characters that celebrate the relationships among women with a touch of romance often thrown in. In this book, we are treated to some rich, detailed characters at the flagging St. Cecelia, a grand dame of an old resort, and they find themselves in some fixes. The ultimate fix is the mystery that is at the heart of this book, a tragedy that challenges owner Traci as she tries one last time to turn things around. As we follow her throughout what might be the last season at "The Saint," we are treated to some twists and turns as we join Traci on her quest to get some answers and hopefully save her beloved hotel. This is a perfect beach read, but with a little more depth, and it represents classic "MKA" at her finest.

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