Summers at the Saint: A Novel

by Mary Kay Andrews

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Bringing together romance and mystery, this beach read is full of heart, humor and just the right amount of murder.

"Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as 'the Saint.' If you grew up coming here, you were 'a Saint.' If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were 'an Ain't.' Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn't rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss's son. Now, she's the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help--including the daughter of her estranged best friend--Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair. Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way"--

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798885799638
Publisher:	Gale, A Cengage Group
Publication date:	05/29/2024
Edition description:	Large Print
Sales rank:	47,308
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

MARY KAY ANDREWS is The New York Times bestselling author of Bright Lights, Big Christmas, The Homewreckers, The Santa Suit, The Newcomer, Hello, Summer, Sunset Beach. The High Tide Club, The Beach House Cookbook, The Weekenders, Beach Town, Save the Date, Ladies’ Night, Christmas Bliss, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hometown:

Atlanta, Georgia

Date of Birth:

July 27, 1954

Place of Birth:

Tampa, Florida

Education:

B.A. in newspaper journalism, University of Georgia, 1976

Website:

http://www.MaryKayAndrews.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/11/2024

In this mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance, Andrews (Bright Lights, Big Christmas) details one woman’s mission to ensure her late husband’s legacy. Four years after Traci Eddings’s husband, Hoke, died in a plane crash, she struggles to keep afloat the Eddings family’s long-running St. Cecelia resort hotel on an island off the Georgia coast. As employees leave for better opportunities, Traci hires a new executive chef and gets her niece, Parrish, to run the front desk, further straining her contentious relationship with her entitled brother-in-law, Ric, who’s trying to cut Traci out of his father’s will. Then tragedy rocks the hotel staff when someone close to Traci is murdered. As she works to keep guests happy during a police investigation, the hotel’s landscaper, Whelan, a former P.I., mounts an investigation of his own. Mutual attraction ignites between Traci and Whelan even as he unearths some unusual information about a decades-old drowning death at the Saint that tore apart Traci and her former best friend, Shannon. Andrews’s expert exploration of complex family dynamics, hidden secrets, and class divisions in a small resort town add authenticity to the gripping mystery and swoony romance. Series fans and newcomers alike will be riveted. Agent: Stuart Krichevsky, Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency, Inc. (May)

Publishers Weekly

“[A] mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance . . . Andrews’s expert exploration of complex family dynamics, hidden secrets, and class divisions in a small resort town add authenticity to the gripping mystery and swoony romance. Series fans and newcomers alike will be riveted.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review

From the Publisher

04/01/2024

Best seller Andrews (Beach Town) offers up another fun, heart-warming, and intriguing summer read. Resolute and determined, Traci is struggling to keep her late husband Hoke's resort out of bankruptcy after his unexpected death. Located on the Eddings family's private island off the coast of Georgia, the St. Cecelia resort was a fairy-tale dream to Traci when she was growing up in the neighboring working-class town. Marrying into the wealthy Eddings family brought the fairy tale closer but also posed new challenges for Traci. Now that Hoke is gone, his conniving older brother is trying to wrest control of the resort away from Traci. She must also compete with a new getaway in the area, while the St. Cecilia's finances continue to dip further in the red. Then disaster strikes, and a tragic past incident involving a teenaged Traci and her now-estranged best friend Shannon threatens to come to light. Traci and her new St. Cecilia employees go into investigative mode to figure out what went wrong. VERDICT For readers who'd enjoy a blend of friendships (old and new), budding romance, and secrets held within the walls of a hotel that needs rescuing, as in Elin Hilderbrand's The Hotel Nantucket.—Joy Gunn

Library Journal

Kathleen McInerney superbly narrates this perfect summer listen. Set at the iconic St. Cecelia resort on a secluded Georgia island, the story follows Traci, the widow of the owner's grandson, a former local charged with reviving the hotel's former glory. To do so, Traci builds an on-site dormitory and fills it with a team of impeccable workers, including her niece. Tragedies occur, both past and present, piquing the interest of Traci and some of her staff. Can she safeguard her staff and restore "The Saint" to its former splendor? McInerney shines as she gives each of the many characters a defining voice and cadence. As the story intensifies, McInerney delivers all of them with sincere earnestness. S.K.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

MAY 2024 - AudioFile