The Weekenders: A Novel
Tote bag, suitcase, backpack or duffle, it’s time to pack for a summer of intrigue…
Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends, and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.
So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it becomes clear that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Now Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.
“Andrews blends romance, intrigue, and soap-opera-like twists in this entertaining novel about a gossipy beach town.” —Booklist
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Community Reviews
It was advertised in the NYT Book Review, which is where I start with my book reading list, and just happened to be sold at Costco last time I was there. It represented 3 checkmarks on my 30 book reading list I got off the internet for 2016 - a book set in the summer, on the beach and easy to finish in one day - so I bought it.
I'll come clean at the beginning of my review that the dead man sort of reminds me of my ex-husband, right down to the massive failed real estate development and refinancing the house in a shady way, so that *may* have clouded my judgment.
The worst parts of the story are the over-the-top characters. Maggy is the rudest 12 year old I've seen in a book, and with no particular reason, and that's from the outset, not after she has the excuse of her father's murder. There's a previous homicide that was inexplicably swept away, because, hey, we can get rid of bodies with no problem, no explanation, right? The main characters' parents weirdly trust a man who married into the family more completely than they trust anyone else - I can tell you from a legal background that rich people DON'T give the gold digger the keys to the house, they try to protect their kids from them, just in case. Of course there's a hurricane to add some drama - and why anyone wants to wait until the sea is unsafe to evacuate or why the evacuation wasn't mandatory before the winds and waves hit, I won't guess. Thankfully (dripping with sarcasm) the entire murder sequence is revealed in an open discussion between a number of people, so you will know the exact sequence of events and twists.
To sum it up, the plot was amazingly simple, and the characters and events were over the top. It was still a fun read for a day, kind of like going to Taco Bell isn't great food, but something you like to do once in a while anyway.
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