This is the perfect beach read! Love this preppy Nantucket family and their mysteries and secrets! Simmons is a skilled writer and it really shows in her pacing and character development. The atmosphere and setting are extremely well-developed as well.

I picked up this book thinking that it was going to me more murder mystery than dysfunctional family tale. I was mistaken. (No worries, I can read a boat load of either). This is the story of the Warner family and is a good beach read for those of you who like books about rich people problems and dysfunctional family drama. This has plenty of both and the characterizations of the family members (and their family home) are well-developed. Good beach read.

The Fifth of July is one of those books - you know the kind - that draw you in, make you want to know more and make you care about the characters, even the ones you sort of don't like. I felt like I knew these people and I wanted to know more. Such a beautiful setting and used to point out the differences between the old money islanders, the new money islanders and the tourists.

Kelly Simmons is a new to me author and I'll be checking out her other books after reading The Fifth of July.

I would like to have seen the incident with Caroline explained a little more rather than the hints about it, the people that recall what they said even as we're told it wasn't the truth or was shades of the truth...that is why I rated this book 4 stars rather than 5. Throughout the story it's intimated that "the incident" is why Caroline is who she is today, but we never really get the facts from her point of view.

Definitely check out this author and this book, it's a great beach read and something many will enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kelly Simmons and her publisher for allowing me an early copy.

This one just didn't do it for me. Found myself skimming through pages trying to get to what happened.

The Fifth of July is an honest and unflinching novel about family dysfunction. I could picture myself among these residents and being a part of this intricate story. I love the way the author weaves the plot making readers not only holding onto their kindles for dear life, but making them feel thankful for their lives being nothing like this. I highly recommend this novel.

Fast paced. Ended abruptly. But liked it all the same

The Warners spend every summer at their seaside home on Nantucket. But this summer is different; the patriarch of clan is showing signs of dementia. As they try to carry on as they always have, old feuds and regrets arise and culminate in tragedy. Simmons has written a character-rich, beautifully descriptive literary novel. I look forward to reading more of her work. Recommended for fan of Richard Ford and Julia Glass.

The Warner family has lived on Nantucket for generations, the wealthy family has lived and played on the island for so long, they are part of the landscape. Until the unthinkable happens and no one in the family is the same. When everyone regards you and your family as an “institution”, do you start to believe it yourself? Is there someone in your own family capable of doing something so terrible, just to make someone disappear? This is a story about family secrets, the inability to face the erosion of trust and the ability to do anything to get what you want, no matter what the price. Starkly beautiful