The Shortest Way Home is the perfect book to end with this summer. Pour a glass of your favorite white wine, take it out to your comfy front porch chair and settle in for an enchanting read.

Elin Hilderbrand sets most of her books in Nantucket, and her latest book, The Perfect Couple, is no exception. What is different is that this book has a murder mystery at its center. Celeste is about to marry Benji, whose wealthy family has a summer home on Nantucket.



Benji’s mom is a popular author, having written a series of mysteries for 20 years, although her last book was rejected by her publisher. His dad owns a successful hedge fund. Celeste’s parents are solidly middle-class, her dad works at a clothing store in a mall in Pennsylvania, and her mom is suffering from breast cancer and not doing well.

When the maid of honor is found drowned the morning of the wedding by Celeste, the police are sent in to discover if it was an accident or a murder. Everyone at the wedding seems to be hiding something, from the married man who was having an affair with the maid of honor, to the best man who is keeping a big secret from the groom, to the family friend (frenemy?) lurking at the edges of the wedding festivities.

Characters from Hilderbrand’s previous books pop up to give her fans an added level of enjoyment. I liked the sunny setting of the wealthy Nantucket enclave and the juxtaposition of the relationships of Benji’s wealthy parents and Celeste’s middle-class parents.

Hilderbrand has written a classic beach read with a twist, and if you bring this book to the beach to read, be sure to put on plenty of sunscreen because you won’t be leaving your chair until you finish every last page of this intense novel.

I consider myself a recent fan of Elin Hilderbrand's work. The Perfect Couple was one of my favourites by her.

When a body is found washed up on a beach the morning of a wedding, it kicks this story into high gear. Even juicier, is that the young woman found happens to be the maid of honor. Was foul play involved, or was it an accident?

I loved this title as it was the perfect combination of fun summer read and thrilling mystery.

As Summer on Nantucket begins, the Whitby estate of Summerland is gearing up for the wedding of the year. But when the maid of honor is found dead the morning of the wedding, everyone involved starts to unravel and their deepest secrets come out as the police investigate the death of Merritt Monaco. Hildebrand delivers some of her best work yet as the story evolves and the reader begins to realize there is no such thing as a “perfect couple.” The characters are well-developed and the plot moves quickly as the each characters layers are revealed in a timeline of events that go back and forth between past and present.

I really enjoyed The Perfect Couple and think it's an excellent summer read. It opens with a murder mystery- Merritt, the maid of honor, is dead. The bride found her washed up on shore on the morning of the wedding. We get to find out what happened from many characters' perspectives, including the bride, the best man, the mother and father of the bride, and police officers. Everyone has their own secrets to hide and we quickly find out that everyone is a suspect. I can get squirrelly if there are too many people trying to tell the story, but the author is so skilled and really pulled the alternating perspectives off. All in all- I enjoyed this very much and look forward to reading more by the author!

I love reading books by Elin Hilderbrand, so when I saw The Perfect Couple, I knew I had to have it. I have never been to Nantucket, but with the beautiful imagery and vivid descriptions of the island, I feel like, If I were to visit, I would be very comfortable in my surroundings. The Perfect Couple is a mystery that started a little slow for me, but quickly captivated my attention and gave me the "whodunit" feeling while I was not reading. The book is set during a wedding weekend where the maid of honor is found dead the morning of the big event. Through police interviews, with wedding attendees, we find out who had motive, how this seemingly perfect family is not quite what they seem, and eventually, "whodunit".

I reviewed this title on my blog earlier in the summer (June 4). I've provided the link to the review in the feedback section of NetGalley.

A fabulous book by written, Elon Hilderbrand. This murder mystery has you guessing at all points in the book. Set as a wedding in beautiful Nantucket, the night before the wedding the maid of honour is found dead. Everyone seems suspicious even th best man who runs from police and the bride-to-be who is seen with her bags packed on the morning of the wedding. No one in the family or friends is the perfect person they try to pretend to be, but who is the killer?
Great read!

*I received an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The Perfect Couple is my first Elin Hilderbrand book, and I loved it. From what I have read, it differs some from her other books, but I loved the story line surrounding the mysterious death of the maid of honor the weekend of the wedding. If this is not Hilderbrand's usual writing style, she does a great job pulling it off in this book.

I read this book in two days, partly because I wanted to find out what happened to Merritt, but also because there were several other tangent story lines occurring that were just as compelling. In my opinion, it's difficult for a writer to have several story lines be engaging and fleshed out, but Hilderbrand manages to do so. This was a great summer read with the backdrop of Nantucket, and is a perfect book for anyone who wants a fun suspense read.

I love Elin’s other books so I knew I would love this one, and I was right. There’s not much more exciting than a wedding. Throw in a murder -the maid-of-honor, no less - and you are sure to be entertained. The characters and situations in this book were so realistic, I had to check to make sure this was not a biography. I loved this book. I hope you do too.

This was the first book I have read of Elin's and I absolutely loved it!! Part of the story takes place in eastern Pennsylvania -- where I live -- so that was extremely fun!! I read it in one day and enjoyed every single page!! I am now a huge fan and will definitely read her other books!!

I've read several of Elin Hilderbrand books and The Perfect Couple is probably my favourite so far. Compulsively readable, I was hooked on the first page and the story and characters didn't let me go until the very end. Part mystery, part family drama, part romance; this book had it all! I loved the way that new little twists and surprises kept popping up every few chapters. Just when I thought I had figured something out I was thrown for a loop.
Perfect summer reading, highly recommend for fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies!

The Perfect Couple was engagingly, delicious from the very beginning. Elin Hilderbrand grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. This was my first Elin Hilderbrand read but will not be my last.

This book was bursting with mysterious twists and turns together with engaging and interesting characters. This read boasts many well-developed characters and the author does a good job of giving you just enough development of the characters as to not overwhelm. I was delighted by the storyline as well as the “never seen it coming” scaffolding. I highly recommend this book.

I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis from NetGalley.com:
It's Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer-the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom's wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate.

But it's going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom's famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect. Featuring beloved characters from The Castaways, Beautiful Day, and A Summer Affair, The Perfect Couple proves once again that Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the summer beach read.

Another engrossing novel by Elin Hildebrand. This book was full of some twists and turns. Just when the reader has the plot figured out, something is added to make the read more mysterious and enjoyable. The characters were very easy to fall in love with, and the reader will find herself rooting for the main character. Does one marry for love or money? What would make this novel even better would be a sequel!

I have only read one other book by Hilderbrand and it was years ago so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel. My first impression was that it was much darker than I anticipated. I didn’t realize that she wrote mystery novels. The novel begins with a body being found on the beach, outside the home of a well-to-do couple, who are hosting an extravagant wedding for their son that day. The police begin digging into the family, finding out some juicy secrets along the way.

Though I found the novel to be very readable, it fell a bit short for me. This is likely just personal preference. I don’t really enjoy what I would consider a “light” murder mystery. If I am going to read a thriller, I want to be on the edge of my seat, blindsided by the twists and turns taking place. I found The Perfect Couple to be very predictable. It was like reading a soap opera. That being said, I suspect this is exactly what fans of Hilderbrand are looking for in their reading material. It doesn’t quite reach cozy status but it has a lot of similar qualities. Like, a cozy mystery, it has very little violence or graphic descriptions, but I will say there was much more intrigue than you would find in a cozy mystery. The characters in this novel are full of secrets.

At the library, a lot of patrons ask for mystery novels that have very little violence, aren’t graphic and have no swearing. This novel would be perfect for someone looking for a book with those features.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel. Hilderbrand is a solid writer and her descriptions of the scenery and food of Nantucket won me over, and made me want to experience it myself. If you are like me and want the gory details in your mysteries, this may not be your best bet, but if you are looking for a light, entertaining read with an air of mystery, Hilderbrand may be the author for you and The Perfect Couple would be a great place to start.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are engaging, the mystery kept me interested, and I love the Nantucket setting of Hilderbrand’s books.

Loved Elin Hilderbrand's newest book. It is a great chic lit read, but with a little more mystery and suspense than her usual books. Definitely enjoyable and one you don't want to put down. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I have read most of Elin Hilderbrand's novels and this may be the best one yet! So who is The Perfect Couple? Our story takes place in the Hamptons the day before Celeste Otis and Benji Winbury are to be married. Benji is uber rich and Celeste-is not. Are they the perfect couple or is it Benji's parents, Tag and Greer who are putting the finishing touches on the groom's dinner and waiting for Celeste's parents, Mac and Betty (who has terminal cancer) to arrive.

If it sounds like your typical Elin Hilderbrand's summer beach wedding novel-it is not, because in the morning, the maid of honor will be found washed up on the beach, the best man is missing and everyone in the book has a secret they hope won't be revealed. It would be hard to talk more about the plot without giving away too many secrets-so I won't. I just want to encourage you to read this one, because it may be my favorite of the summer!

In true Hilderbrand fashion, she grabs you hard and quick, then proceeds to wrap you in delicious details that carry throughout the entire story. This is one that I couldn’t put down and I didn’t want to end. Mystery, romance, heartache and suspense hold you captive with this enticing novel.

Loved this book. Read on vacation! Can’t wait to hand sell at my store. Looking forward to her next winter book.

I enjoyed this book! It was a great beach read! I was surprised by the ending and I would like to see a sequel to find out what happens with Shooter & Celeste, Karen, Greer, Benji, etc....I love Elin’s books!