A beach read with a murder mystery that is as interesting as any whodunnit I've ever read? Yes to all of it, please!
On the morning of Celeste Otis's extravagant Nantucket wedding to wealthy heir Benji Winbury, she wakes to find her maid of honor floating dead in the water. As the investigation heats up and the police look carefully over every member of the wedding party, shocking secrets are slowly revealed. It seems everyone has something to hide.
I've noticed lately that there have been an abundance of books labeled beach reads without actually taking place on a beach or in a beach town. Maybe I'm being old fashioned, but that's not what a beach read is. Thankfully, there is no such false advertising here. The setting for this book should quench any desire for an escape to a sun-drenched paradise where everyone is rich but the secrets are just as sinful.
The narrative alternates between the present-day investigation and the events leading up to it. I thought the style worked particularly well for this story. Even though there is a back and forth in the timeline and among various characters, I never felt my attention waver. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, and found the whole thing utterly unputdownable.
The murder mystery has all the hallmarks of a whodunnit: a small cast of characters, red herrings galore, and delicious twists and turns everywhere. As a seasoned mystery reader, I was particularly impressed that the ending managed to surprise me.
It's pretty rare for me to find the perfect beach read that also happens to be a clever whodunnit. While Elin Hilderbrand is a queen of the former, I don't believe she writes very many mysteries. I hope that changes soon.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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