Beach Reads
I am often asked who my favorite author is. Honestly, that question stumps me every time. How can I possibly pick just one? When you are an avid reader, you turn to different authors for different reasons. If I’m in the mood for a “who did it and how do we catch them,” I pick up something by James Patterson. If the night calls for “a sappy love story where I can usually guess how it’s going to end, but I get sucked in every time anyway,” I pick up something by Danielle Steele. The list goes on. Fortunately, all of my favorite authors have come out with new books recently. Here are just a few from my “favorites” list, but this list comes with a warning: Don’t start reading any of these until you have cleared your schedule because you won’t be able to put them down!
“Someone Knows” by Lisa Scottoline
Twenty years ago, a horrible incident destroyed the lives of five teenagers. While drinking and partying in the woods, they pulled a prank that went wrong – actually, dead wrong. The group decided to forever keep what happened that night a secret, not realizing that sometimes secrets can cause more damage than the truth. One member of the group, Allie, is still haunted by what happened that night. Keeping the secret has kept her at a distance from everyone in her life. She has spent the last 20 years punishing herself. Now she is heading home for the funeral of an old friend. She’s finally ready to face what happened and figure out what went wrong that night, but the truth is more shocking that she could have ever imagined. “Someone Knows” is one of those books that stays with you long after you have read the last page.
“Mrs. Everything” by Jennifer Weiner
It’s amazing how two sisters, raised in the same household, can be so different. Jo and Bethie grew up in 1950s Detroit in what was considered the perfect house with the perfect parents. Jo was a typical tomboy with a deep desire to make the world more fair. Bethie was the prettier, more feminine of the two, using her looks to get what she wanted and dreaming of having the traditional family life. But tragedies and traumas set in and, although the girls overcome everything that heads their way, they are forever changed. At a time when the country is struggling with Vietnam and trying to find peace in Woodstock, Bethie becomes an adventure-seeking wild child who is ready to take on the world. Jo is the one who settles down in Connecticut to raise a family. She is content to watch what is happening in the world from a distance, rather than participate like her sister. Neither one is living the life she imagined and neither one is truly happy. When is it too late to change?
“Summer of ’69” by Elin Hilderbrand
“Summer of ’69” is Elin Hilderbrand’s first historical novel, and she doesn’t disappoint! Every year, the Levin children spend summer at their grandmother’s home in Nantucket. The children look forward to it, but as they get older things change, along with the rest of the world. Blair, the oldest sister, is pregnant with twins and unable to travel. Kirby, the middle sister, has her heart set on being independent, so she takes a job on Martha’s Vineyard for the summer. Tiger is the only boy, and was recently deployed to Vietnam. That leaves 13-year-old Jessie alone in the house with her mother and grandmother. A lot happens in the world that summer, including man landing on the moon and Ted Kennedy sinking a car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, but Jessie and her family have their own issues to contend with. The summer of 1969 changed a nation and an island. Will this family change forever, too?
“Run Away” by Harlan Coben
What would you do? Your daughter has been missing for months. She is an addict, with an abusive boyfriend. You’ve searched for her over and over, with no success. One day you are walking through Central Park, and there she is. She’s playing a guitar for money and looks nothing like your baby girl, but it’s her. Do you approach her? Of course, you do. Then what do you do when she runs away? Do you chase her? Again, of course you do. In that one moment it took to make the decision to follow her, everything changed. Now you find yourself caught up in a world of violence, guns, secrets and murder. The clock is ticking and you need to save your daughter before you are the one who needs saving. “Run Away” will suck you in until the very last page.
“The Cornwalls Are Gone” by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois
Amy Cornwall has handled a lot of terrible things throughout her career as an Army intelligence officer. But nothing could have prepared her for what she finds at her own home. It is empty. Her husband and 10-year-old daughter are gone. One phone call will change her life forever. She is told that if she doesn’t find and liberate an unnamed captive within 48 hours, her loved ones will die. Amy will do whatever it takes to get them back, even if it means breaking the rules and going against Army Command. She has limited time to find out who is behind this and save her family before it’s too late.
“I Owe You One” by Sophie Kinsella
Fixie was never one to start out on her own because nothing is more important to Fixie than her family. After all, her father always said, “Family first.” When he passes away, Fixie takes it upon herself to run her father’s housewares store because none of her siblings shows any initiative. When Sebastian, a handsome stranger, comes into the coffee shop asking Fixie to watch his laptop, she agrees and ends up saving it from disaster! Sebastian writes her an IOU for helping him out, something she thinks she will never make good on. When Ryan, Fixie’s longtime crush, comes back into her life, Fixie agrees to help him get a job. She contacts Sebastian, which sets into motion a series of IOUs, small favors, big favors and a chance for Fixie to finally do something for herself. She finds herself torn between her family and the life the really wants.
