Beach Reads
Summer is upon us, and I hope you are ready to pack your beach bag with great new titles for this season! I have often mentioned that my love of reading came from my mother. Almost every memory I have of her at home, she has a book in her hands. Every holiday, I received a book with something written on the inside. Sometimes it was sentimental, sometimes a private joke we shared. I didn’t realize how treasured those books would become one day. She once told me that reading was a great way to rest your mind and escape the world, even if just for a little while. Unfortunately, my mother is no longer with us. I am so grateful now, more than ever, that she taught me how to turn the world off when I needed to. Spending some time with a good book is a chance to reset. There were so many incredible authors she loved, so it was hard to narrow it down. Here are some summer titles from her favorites. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
“The Summer House” by James Patterson, Brendan DuBois
The Summer House was once a luxurious vacation home on a rustic lake in Georgia. It had been reduced to a beaten-up teardown in recent years, and a horrible mass murder has taken place there. Witnesses suspect four Army Rangers, known as the Night Ninjas, who just returned from Afghanistan. Major Jeremiah Cook, a veteran himself and a former NYPD cop, is sent to investigate the crime. He arrives with his team, not expecting to battle with the local law enforcement at every turn. As the team uncovers more and more evidence, it’s obvious that nothing is adding up and someone is doing everything they can to make sure the truth doesn’t come out. When Cook’s own people are suddenly in danger, he will have to risk everything to find the truth.
“The Lighthouse” by PD James
The setting for the newest entry in the Adam Dalgliesh Mystery series is Combe Island, located off the Cornish coast. Its restful vibe makes it a popular place for the elite to vacation. That is, until one of them is found hanging from the island’s lighthouse. Dalgliesh takes on the case, but the commander is busy dealing with his own personal and career troubles: His team is shrinking, his relationship with his girlfriend is uncertain, his head detective Kate Miskin is going through an emotional crisis, and the sergeant is not happy with having a female boss. Then a second person is brutally murdered. Suddenly, the whole investigation is in jeopardy and Dalgliesh finds himself facing dangers worse than murder.
“Under Currents” by Nora Roberts
Zane Bigelow and his sister grew up in a beautiful home located in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Everyone thought they had the perfect parents: a successful doctor and his beautiful wife. But only Zane and his sister know the truth. When one brutal night ruins the fake image they’ve held onto for so long, Zane escapes for college and doesn’t look back. Years later, Zane returns home to try to renew relationships with those he left behind, no matter how hard it is. He meets Darby, a landscape artist who happens to be escaping some ghosts of her own. Together, they will have to find a way to let go of their pasts and stand up for the ones they love.
“Rushing Waters” by Danielle Steel
New York City is bracing for Hurricane Ophelia and the horrible flooding that is predicted. Whether for business or personal reasons, there are so many people who find themselves stuck in the city. Ellen Wharton is an interior designer who just flew in from London, against her husband’s advice. She is set on seeing her architect mother and has an appointment she has to keep. But when her mother refuses to leave her apartment due to the hurricane, the two end up wading through chest-high waters to get to the police boats stationed outside. Charles Williams, a British investment banker, is in town on business but plans to see his daughters, who live in SoHo with his ex-wife. Caught in the storm, he ends up at a shelter where he runs into Ellen and her mother. Juliette Dubois, an ER doctor, is busy trying to save lives when the hospital generators fail. NYU students Peter Holbrook and Ben Weiss embrace the storm until the shabby walkup they share threatens to collapse. Through the chaos, lives are turned upside down, and unlikely heroes are revealed. Indeed, the darkest storms eventually reveal the strongest light.
“Riptide” by Catherine Coulter
Becca Matlock, a senior speechwriter for the governor of New York, receives a disturbing phone call from someone calling himself her “boyfriend.” He threatens to ruin her life and career unless she stops sleeping with the governor. She actually isn’t sleeping with the governor, but the stalker continues to call. Then he takes a more dramatic approach with a shooting in New York City, leaving one dead and the governor shot in the neck. Suddenly suspicions lie with Becca, so she escapes to Riptide, a small community off the coast of Maine. She thought she’d be safe in Riptide, but soon finds she has put herself and an entire community at risk. Coincidentally, FBI special agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock are in Riptide to help an old friend. They soon become entangled in Becca’s deadly situation. As the enemy gets closer, will they be able to help her?
“One Summer” by David Baldacci
Christmas should be a time of joy and making memories, but for terminally ill Jack and his family, it’s anything but. Jack is spending his last days on earth preparing to say goodbye to his wife Lizzie and their three children. Then Lizzie is tragically killed in a car accident. There is no one to take care of the children, who are separated and sent to live with family members around the country. Jack isn’t going to let this be how his life plays out. He summons the strength to get out of bed, determined to get his family back together. Lizzie grew up in an oceanfront home in South Carolina, and Jack reunites his family there for an unforgettable summer. Even Jack learns that something good can follow even the most horrible of tragedies.
