4.5 star for Mary Kay Andrew's newest gem Sunset Beach! Ahhh, Tis the season chic lit beach reads, this one's a smidge deceiving, however, never fear family drama and romance are included. Another wonderful read by Ms. Andrews. We travel to the gulf coast of Florida and are introduced to Drue Campbell who's just sadly not living her best life but she's full of spit and fire & I love it! It took me a bit to warm up to Drue but before I knew it I was enjoying all aspects of the storyline, the characters and of course the mysteries! Another will not disappoint fast-paced read. A huge thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. Mary Kay Andrews did something different this time. Don't let the two beach chairs throw you off this book has mystery with a little bit of romance with some family drama. Drue the main character is determined to solve two unsolved cases one of a missing woman and the other murder. Will she be able to discover what happened while trying to deal with her father and new stepmother.

This book will keep you reading and has some twist and turns. Do yourself a favor and add to your read pile. Take a stroll down sunset Beach and see what you find.

I read this book in one sitting, stay up until the wee hours to finish it. Had to see how it ended.. Many twists and surprises that come to light about characters. Book is about the healing of childhood pains and part mystery.

Thank you for granting me access to this book

I will leave a review on Amazon under name of Connie

Mary Kay Andrews has done it again! Her ability to transport me from the outskirts of Atlanta to the beach no matter where said beach is located is magical. Sunset Beach had a little bit of everything you could possibly want in one perfect story. Unresolved childhood drama, a little mystery, family, and love! Drue Campbell takes us along on her journey of family conflict, discovering herself, and the ability to let go and heal. All of this while solving a two year old mystery involving her father’s law firm! I could feel the warmth of the sun, smell the salt in the air, and see the sunset as it sank below the horizon. Thank you Mary Kay Andrews for taking me on this journey!

This was my second Mary Kay Andrews novel, and I was pleasantly surprised. This novel takes place in two time periods--modern day and the late seventies. The portion that takes place in the seventies doesn't start until after 25% of the book or so and I wasn't expecting it, so I found it a little jarring. That said, I really enjoyed the book overall. I thought the balance of family reconciliation, mystery, and romance was done well, especially considering how much there was going on.

Predictable... easy read, good beach read for the summer or vacation. I am not really a fan of this genre as it can be so predictable but kept me entertained while I recovered from the flu... will serve her fans well

Oh MKA how I love you. I've been hooked ever since I picked up Hissy Fit all those years ago. I love how you write your female characters. Spunky, fierce, sassy, and strong. They always come alive for me. Sunset Beach was no exception. I loved Drue, Brice, Jimmy, and Jonah. Even the supporting characters were interesting and relatable. Four and a half stars for a fun, sweet story with a little bit of mystery thrown in. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find and refinish a cottage on the beach.

A fun ,feel good story by Mary Kay Andrews. The characters kept you intrigued in their story. I couldn't put it down !

Sunset Beach is both a mystery and a discovering your best life story with a dash of romance. Mary Kay Andrews also likes to throw some home improvement into her books.

Sunset Beach is the latest book by Mary Kay Andrews. Sunset Beach is an interesting story with a couple of mysteries, a little romance, and a few edge of you seat moments. I'm hoping Ms Andrews follows this with another book with Drue, the main character. I was given an early copy to review.

Mary Kay Andrews scores another hit with Sunset Beach; as with all of her novels, this book is a cut above the average work of "women's literature". Drue, the protagonist, is a 36-year-old single female who's just lost her mother and has been stuck in a series of dead-end jobs. She was more or less abandoned by her father as a child/troublesome teen; while he has remained in the picture, the relationship has not been good thanks to his first remarriage and Drue's resentment. To top it off, Drue recently injured her knee badly in a kiteboarding accident, robbing her of her greatest pleasure. When Drue loses her job as a waitress and begins working in her father's law firm (populated by colorful characters), subsequently learning that his newest trophy wife is her teenage frenemy, her future continues to look bleak -- except for her bit of good fortune in inheriting her grandparents' beach cottage where she spent the happiest moments of her childhood, Against all odds, Drue is able to put her skills to work in renovating the cottage and attempting to resolve a two-year-old murder, also targeting a disappearance that dates back to the 1970s, which may involve persons close to her.

As with all of her standalone novels, the author presents a finely-drawn and mostly believable portrait of her main character. Drue is mad at the world, and therefore responsible for some of her own misfortunes, but in channeling her energies into renovating the cottage and investigating the crimes, she becomes a far more sympathetic character as the book progresses. The lack of strong female friendships stands out a bit in this book, and Drue's coworkers, especially her abruptly-on-and-just-as-abruptly-off love interest, could use a bit more character development. In addition, there were maturity issues with Drue which made me feel like she should have been written as a 26-year-old, instead of 36. However, again as with all of MKA's stand-alones, reading this book brought me pure pleasure. It's a great beach read or the perfect escape regardless of where you pick it up. I'm rating it as 5 stars, while rounding it down to 4.5 in my own head, because it's not my absolute favorite MKA -- but highly recommended nonetheless. And, I'll eagerly await her next book!
I received an advanced reader copy of this title from NetGalley and the publisher; this is my honest review.

I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a sucker for beach reads. Especially since the last few book I've read are heavier books. This book was more than a simple beach reach. While the beach did figure into the story there was also a couple of mysteries that also played into the plot. The made the story enjoyable. It was hard to put the book down at times.

After Drue's mom passes away, she is reunited with her estranged father. She ends up working for him and her new step mom, who happens to be a former child hood friend of Drue's at her father's law firm. Drue comes across a woman who's daughter was murdered at a local hotel and Due takes an interest in the case and starts to dig into it t find out what really happened that night. While cleaning out the beach house she inherited from her mother she also find newspaper clippings and a case file from a woman who disappeared over 40 years ago. Why were those files in the attic of the beach house? If you want to find out, well, you wil just have to read the book and find out.

The story kept me entertained and I loved the unexpected twists.

I admit, I already loved Mary Kay Andrews prior to reading this book. I love her strong female characters, I love that one of the themes that run through all of her book is resilience, and I love her story locations. She is an expert at setting a scene and making us feel 'there' in the book. This was a really fun story about starting over, not giving up, and connecting with family. I thought that this would be a great first book in a series, and I hope to hear more about Dru and her tenacity in future books! Mary Kay Andrews did a great job of telling an entertaining, smart story and throwing in some fun twists. This story had the perfect balance of mystery and lightheartedness, and would be an absolute perfect beach read!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book. I always love reading books about the beach, it makes me wish I was sitting there reading. Sunset Beach was another wonderful book by Mary Kay Andrews! Drue is reeling from the loss of her Mom when she sees her Dad, who she's not seen in a quite a while. In the course of their conversation, he tells her the beach house that belonged to her grandparents is now hers and he offers her a job. With nothing left to keep her where she lives, she moved to Sunset Beach and works for her dad at his firm., with her 8th grade frenemy now as her step mom. When an upset client comes into the office, to discuss how displeased she is with the settlement in her daughters death, it piques Drue's interest to look further into it. What follows is Drue getting involved in proving there was not enough investigating by the police and a wrong cause of death was given. I loved following Drue through her investigation and having help from her friends. the cover of this book drew me immediately and I figured it would be another romance book--but was so surprised to find there was more to it. I always recommend this authors books, and this one is no different! The perfect beach read---or anytime read!!!

Drue Campbell is shocked when her estranged father resurfaces at the funeral of her mother. Because she is totally desperate, she accepts a job at his law firm. Drue leaves Ft Lauderdale to start a new life on the West Coast, There she finds her father remarried to her odious ex-friend Wendy, now both stepmother and supervisor.

She resolves much of her anger, learns many secrets and finds a soulmate.

This book was too predictable for my taste and really didn’t hold my interest.

Thanks go to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Sunset Beach in exchange for my honest review.

I am a long-time fan of Mary Kay Andrews/Kathy Hogan Trochek, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this book. I was expecting a contemporary story, predominantly romance and family drama, based on the Andrews books of years gone by. What a surprise to find that this book is more focused on the main character, Drue, solving 2 mysteries, than on the romance and family drama. (But she does encounter both!) The book focused primarily on Drue, so I don't feel as if I got to know any of the other characters very well, but the fact that this book was much more than a typical "beach book" makes up for that fact. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Beatrice Jason from St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to read an e-arc of Mary Kay Andrews book, Sunset Beach. Judging by the bookcover I thought I would be reading a romantic beach read but that was definitely not the case. This is a mystery with a lot of action packed drama. The setting for the story is on and around the beach and the description of the surroundings sound absolutely beautiful. While reading there were characters that I thought I disliked and some that I wasn’t sure could be trusted. As it turned out, the ones I didn’t trust, ended up being okay and the ones I liked were the bad guys. It really captured my attention. In the beginning of the story, Drew Campbell, the main character starts off down and out. She returns to Sunset Beach after the death of her mother and starts working for her fathers law office handling personal injury cases. Here she becomes a little too attached to some clients done wrong and starts investigating on her own. This is when the action begins and your interest really gets piqued. She ends up investigating not 1 but 2 cold cases. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to other readers. Although I think all of Mary Kay Andrews books are good! I’d like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and author, Mary Kay Andrews for allowing me the chance to read and express my honest opinion. It was a 5 star read for me!

I inhale Andrews' new releases. It's the commencement of my beach books every year. I loved everything about this book. The cover is divine and correlates with the fantastic sunset descriptions in the book. The narrative has so many sharp angles and surprises, it will keep you guessing. I was hooked from the first page. I love the dialogue. Most of the characters I wasn't too keen about, but keep reading becuse they evolve. Drue, the main character, is quite wayward and has basically lived like a beach bum, but circumstances force her to face facts. The ending was good. I liked the author's end note about her own beach cottage rehabbing history.

I received an. ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is another GREAT beach read from Mary Kate Andrews. Drue is at a crossroads in her life. Following the death of her mom and a serious kiteboarding injury she must make some difficult decisions. Her dad arrives on the scene to offer her a job at his law firm which seeks damages for personal injury. Manning the phones Drue quickly becomes involved in a case investigating the murder of a clients daughter as well as the 40 year old mystery disappearance of a local woman. As she investigates Drue may be dangerously involved in her investigations. Love this book and will look for more like it.

I always look forward to the spring and a new novel by Mary Kay Andrews. Sunset Beach is one of the best I have read.
The characters were full of life!
There was s mystery that twisted throughout the book that kept me guessing. I read the book while on a 7 day cruise and couldn’t put the book down.