Beach Reads
Each year there are so many great beach reads that come out just in time for summer, and this year was one of the best! There are so many titles that I wanted to read but haven’t gotten to yet, so I’m hoping to hold on to the endless summer sun for as long as possible. I’d like to finish my “must read” list with my feet in the sand. If you don’t have a list of your own, pick up one of the books here. I was fortunate enough to cross these off my list, and you will be glad that you added them to yours.
“Ask Again, Yes” by Mary Beth Keane
This is one of those books that stays with you long after you have finished reading. NYPD rookies Francis and Brian live next door to each other outside of the city. It is what happens in their homes, behind closed doors, with Francis’s wife, Lena, and Brian’s wife, Anne, that sets up events that will affect their families for decades to come. Francis and Lena’s daughter, Kate, and Brian and Anne’s son, Peter, grew up next door to each other and a lifelong friendship turns into love. But this love story will be tested by events from the past that start to seem different when viewed from an adult’s perspective and not a child’s. What will happen when the villains of the past don’t seem so guilty anymore and those who seemed innocent suddenly seem less so? How much can one family forgive?
“The Last Book Party” by Karen Dukess
It’s 1987 and Eve Rosen is in her mid-20s. She can’t seem to escape the shadow of her brilliant brother, her job stinks, and she dreams of becoming a writer. With nothing to lose, Eve jumps at the opportunity to attend a gathering in Cape Cod at the home of a famous writer, Henry Grey, and his poet wife, Tillie. She takes on a job as Henry’s assistant and lands herself an invitation to Henry and Tillie’s exclusive “Book Party” where the guests come dressed as literary characters. While trying to learn the ropes, Eve learns more about herself than she ever imagined. She also discovers that the literary world she wanted so badly to be a part of is not at all what she thought it would be.
“The Inn” by James Patterson and Candice Fox
Bill Robinson is a former Boston police detective who owns and run the Inn at Gloucester. Located along the shoreline, the seclusion of the Inn is exactly what the dozen residents who live there like about it. Sheriff Clayton Spears is one of those residents. Everything is running like clockwork until Mitchell Cline arrives. Bad news from the start, Cline has a corrupt and deadly way of doing business that includes a crew of killers, drug dealers and other lawbreakers who bring violence to the once-quiet inn. Robinson teams up with two of the residents to plan a defense. Those who live at the Inn will have to stand together or die alone.
“Chances Are ... ” by Richard Russo
Three men have been friends ever since they met in college 40 years ago. Lincoln is a commercial real estate broker, Teddy is a publisher, and Mickey is an overaged rock musician. They couldn’t have been more different in college and even now. In 1971, over Memorial Day weekend at Martha’s Vineyard, Jacy Calloway, a woman each of the men loved, disappeared. Now, back together on the Vineyard, old questions have come to the surface. Each man is holding onto his own secrets and, as the weekend unfolds, the intimate details of their lives are unveiled as their pasts begin to threaten the future.
“One Good Deed” by David Baldacci
When World War II veteran Aloysius Archer is released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he is sent to live in Poca City. Given a parole list that contains a few do’s and whole lot of don’ts, staying out of trouble might be on the difficult side. He sets out to look for a job and a drink and finds himself in a local bar. He accepts a job that he thinks will be easy: collect a debt owed to a powerful man, Hank Pittleman. Collecting the debt turns out to be much harder than Aloysius thought it would be. When a murder takes place, the police automatically suspect Archer, the ex-con. He realizes that this could send him back to prison, yet again, unless he can find out who the real murderer is.
“The Gifted School” by Bruce Holsinger
A new, top-tier school for gifted students is opening up in the town of Crystal, Colo. Four families, who have been inseparable since their kids were born more than a decade ago, begin the job of doing whatever it takes to get their kids enrolled. What begins as a healthy competition among friends turns into something much darker for the parents and has a horrible effect on both their children and their marriages. Some people will do anything to get ahead, including bringing up past secrets, mistakes and, ultimately, lies. In the wake of the recent college scandals, it is eye-opening to see how the price of prestige might not be worth the cost.
