Book Review: The Weekenders

Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Publication Date: May 17, 2016

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

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 turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, 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.

Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

“In times like these, I think it's a good policy to hope for the best, but expect the worst.” 

“Right on time,” Scott murmured. “Let the fun begin.”

“That bastard Wendell. I swear to God, if he weren’t already dead, I’d kill him myself,” Billy said. “My only regret is that somebody beat to me the punch.”

She’d find out for herself soon enough, and that would be the end of his stupid folly, of thinking that he could have it all – the island, the girl, the family, the life.

When I say this is the perfect read, I mean that you will stay on the beach all day until you have finished reading it! You might find yourself a little burnt once you have finished! I thought that this story had a different spin than what Andrews usually writes, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I was reading a mystery and a loveable chick lit novel. Riley Griggs is on her way to the coast of North Carolina when her world starts to fall apart: she runs into her ex-boyfriend, her husband is a no show for their family vacation, and her much loved beach house has been foreclosed. From this point, you are hooked and it only gets better from here. This book tackles some tough topics, so please do not think that because I said it was the perfect beach read that it’s all light and fluffy. Riley and her daughter, Maggy, have a tough road ahead of them once they learn of Wendell’s murder. However, as always, Andrews makes readers feel right at home.

Riley’s family is very chaotic, but tight. They support and care for each other, even if getting on each other’s nerves while doing it. It was most interesting to me to see how Riley, her daughter, her mother, and her brother handle the imploding catastrophe. Riley is a modern woman who does what she can to hold her life together as it crumbles all around her. Her relationship with Maggy was one of my favorite things to watch unfold. She is very concerned for Maggy’s well-being as everything begins to crumble around them, obviously, and even though Riley is fed up with her lying husband, she tries her best to keep her daughter from being more hurt than she already is. Riley was a great leading character and even better mom! I loved every piece of this book! Please do yourself a favor and introduce your senses to Mary Kay Andrews, if you haven’t already done so.

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review***