The Summer Guests: A Thriller (The Martini Club Book 2)
From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen comes a chilling follow-up to The Spy Coast, plunging the Martini Club into the search for a missing teen--with a startling connection to their own pasts.
When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.
Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.
After a teenager vanishes--and Maggie's neighbor becomes the prime suspect--she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend's innocence. But the girl's wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.
As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets...before more lives are lost.
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Community Reviews
The Martini Club is once again helping the police chief of their tiny Maine town solve a crime, a crime that reaches back decades, and reveals answers to other mysteries. But this case also has them questioning whether their age is starting to hinder their abilities. Physical abilities, yes. Mental abilities? Kidnapping, drowning, murder, intrigue, family, betrayal. You will fly through this book. I love the characters in this series.
I love the continuation of The Martini Club. The Spy Coast was great, bit I will honestly say The Summer Guest was better. I can't wait until the 3rd book comes out! The characters are great, the bond of the retired CIA who all moved into this small town of Purity Maine and formed their little club The Martini Club. I really like Jo Thibodeau, who is the acting chief. I like how she shows her growth from book 1 to book 2...
The plot was excellent!
I’ve been excited about reading this one, that has been on my to-read list since Oct2024, and catching up with the Martini Club (a bunch of former CIA operatives) and the rest of the gang in Purity, ME. This was another installment of the elderly club members, involving themselves in Jo Thibodeau’s investigations and basically driving her batty when they continually know more than her and make her look bad. Poor Jo! I feel sorry for her because she is no match for these kooky spooks.
The book summary is kind of vague and there are different storylines going on here. First and foremost, there are the Conovers, a wealthy family who own one of the mansions by the lake and who spend their summers in Purity every year. Zoey Conover suddenly goes missing and evidence points towards Maggie’s friend and neighbor, Luther, as the abductor since he appears to be the last one to see Zoey alive. Zoey had been hanging out with Luther’s granddaughter, Callie, and Luther gave her a ride home.
There is also kind of a secondary storyline of the Conovers and Reuben, a permanent Purity resident who lives across the lake from the Conovers. The long running feud between the Conovers and Reuben has been going on for decades. Reuben is kind of the town recluse ever since he was a kid and his father freaked out one day and went on a killing spree.
The story flips back and forth between Jo, Maggie and the other club members, and Susan, Zoey’s mom. I especially liked the passages with Maggie and Declan and their burgeoning romantic feelings for each other. It’s not long before it’s revealed that Zoey probably discovered a corpse while swimming in the lake and that someone may be trying to cover their tracks by getting rid of Zoey before she could report it. Even before this revelation, I had already zeroed in on a suspect, but now, I had to rethink my suspicions.
I really enjoyed the continuing character development of the Martini Club members, especially Maggie and Declan, and Jo is finally starting to grow on me; she was kind of annoying in the first installment. The pacing was steady to fast, especially in the second half. The storyline interesting and right up the Martini Clubs foray. The writing was classic Gerritsen and another great installment. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.2 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review.
The book summary is kind of vague and there are different storylines going on here. First and foremost, there are the Conovers, a wealthy family who own one of the mansions by the lake and who spend their summers in Purity every year. Zoey Conover suddenly goes missing and evidence points towards Maggie’s friend and neighbor, Luther, as the abductor since he appears to be the last one to see Zoey alive. Zoey had been hanging out with Luther’s granddaughter, Callie, and Luther gave her a ride home.
There is also kind of a secondary storyline of the Conovers and Reuben, a permanent Purity resident who lives across the lake from the Conovers. The long running feud between the Conovers and Reuben has been going on for decades. Reuben is kind of the town recluse ever since he was a kid and his father freaked out one day and went on a killing spree.
The story flips back and forth between Jo, Maggie and the other club members, and Susan, Zoey’s mom. I especially liked the passages with Maggie and Declan and their burgeoning romantic feelings for each other. It’s not long before it’s revealed that Zoey probably discovered a corpse while swimming in the lake and that someone may be trying to cover their tracks by getting rid of Zoey before she could report it. Even before this revelation, I had already zeroed in on a suspect, but now, I had to rethink my suspicions.
I really enjoyed the continuing character development of the Martini Club members, especially Maggie and Declan, and Jo is finally starting to grow on me; she was kind of annoying in the first installment. The pacing was steady to fast, especially in the second half. The storyline interesting and right up the Martini Clubs foray. The writing was classic Gerritsen and another great installment. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.2 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review.
I had not read The Spy Coast so was unaware of the Martini Club and its members. Therefore, I found myself yearning for a little background of the membership. I also thought that the ending was a bit rushed. I think that Gerritsen is a skillful writer and would look forward to reading more from her.