Once again, the queen of the beach reads, Mary Kay Andrews, kicks off her latest novel, The Weekenders, with drama, great characters, and tension. Andrews knows how to tell a story, and, she knows how to capture the atmosphere of a summer island community.
Riley Nolan Griggs has about had it with her husband. He doesn’t even show up on the ferry to Belle Isle when they’re going to tell their daughter they’re getting a divorce. Thank heavens Riley has a great friend in Parrish Godchaux. Otherwise, she would have had to deal with her collapsing life all by herself. Memorial Day weekend starts out with plans for the annual summer party, but the news Riley receives doesn’t put her in the partying spirit. There’s certainly no help from her pre-teen diabetic daughter who loves her father, her overbearing mother or her alcoholic brother when Riley learns her husband, Wendell, left her with their house in foreclosure and her family’s business in dire financial straits thanks to Wendell’s overambitious plans for the island. Wendell sees it as expansion. Riley sees it as destruction. And, then the man doesn’t even show up to confront her face-to-face. But, Wendell isn’t the only one hiding things from Riley. The entire family seems to have secrets. And, some of those secrets might come to life when a body is fished out of the water.
Readers will root for Riley. Once an independent woman, at forty-two she’s been beaten down by a profession that prefers younger women, a needy daughter, and an overbearing husband and mother who both seem to think business is a man’s field. In the eyes of Riley’s daughter, Maggy, and her mother, Evelyn, Wendell Griggs can do no wrong. As Riley suffers through the discoveries of how wrong her husband could be, she slowly learns to stand up for herself, but it takes time and suffering.
Mary Kay Andrews has always been able to create colorful characters. Her latest novel, The Weekenders, is a character-driven story of a family destroyed by greed. It’s a story that pits development against conservation, as so many island stories realistically do. And, it’s a story with a promise of hope, built on a future that includes love. It’s Mary Kay Andrews, once again building a story with a strong sense of place and a female lead character who learns to stand on her own two feet after suffering loss and humiliation. In other words, The Weekenders is another enjoyable story by Andrews.
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And, best of all for readers, the publicist is giving away one copy of The Weekenders, and I’m giving away an ARC. If you’d like to try to win a copy, email me at Lesa.Holstine@gmail.com. Your subject heading should read “Win The Weekenders.” Please include your name and mailing address. Entries from the U.S. only, please. The giveaway will end Thursday, May 26 at 6 PM CT.
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Mary Kay Andrews is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Beach Town, Save the Date, Ladies’ Night, Christmas Bliss, Spring Fever, and Summer Rental, all from St. Martin’s Press, as well as The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues, all HarperPerennial. On May 17, 2016, St. Martin’s Press released her 24th novel, THE WEEKENDERS. A former journalist for The Atlanta Journal Constitution, she divides her time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, Georgia. Her website is www.MaryKayAndrews.com.
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FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.
