Fun in the Sun

Full of fun, murder, mystery, and romance, Sunset Beach is a great beach read. Set on Florida’s gorgeous West Coast, down and out Drue Campbell sets her sites on a new home, a new job, and a new life. But she gets more than she bargained as the death of two women, forty years apart, haunts her. Can Drue let them both go and move on to more present matters? The answer is a resounding no.
Drue is lost. She has just lost her mother. Her passion for kiteboarding has been derailed due to a bad knee injury, she has broken up with her boyfriend, and she has just lost her job as a beachside bar waitress working for a harassing boss.
Her father, well known ambulance chaser Brice Campbell, shows up at her mother’s funeral, offering Drue a job in his law firm. Once a beat cop, he attended law school and has built a successful practice over the years. He also gives the news to Drue that she has inherited her beloved grandparents’ cottage on the beach. It is broken down and in complete disrepair but could this be Drue’s destined home?
Drue arrives into town, untrusting of her mostly absentee father’s motivations and seriously strapped for cash. She takes the job, meeting the office’s colorful cast of characters including the office manager who was once a long ago school friend and is now her father’s third wife. Drue takes on the challenges thrown at her with passion. Along the way Drue meets people who truly matter. Her digging into certain unexplained mysteries may invite trouble but Drue is determined to find answers no matter what.
BRB Rating: Read It.

Mrs Andrews never disappoints. This was a fun, easy read and will be a great beach read. Story of a dysfunctional family, murder and romance. Had it all!

Mary Kay Andrews has written yet another perfect beach read! Memorable characters, romance, suspense, and a beautiful beach in Florida come together perfectly in this novel. Fans of Mary Kay Andrews won't be disappointed by her newest book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Mary Kay Andrews has a hit with Sunset Beach. Ms. Andrews always writes a good book but there was a sudden shift in this book. The story had more of a serious feel with more social consciousness to it.
A young woman returns to Sunset Beach after her mother's death and losing her job. She inherits a run down beach cottage and she takes a job working for her estranged father. At work and home she comes across 2 legal cases that catch her attention. She begins to question her father's motives in these two cases and she questions what she thought her family and friends. Great read. Would definitely recommend.

I'd like to thank NetGalley & St Martin's Press for an advanced digital copy for review.

I like Mary Kay Andrews, but Sunset Beach just didn't work out for me. Drue, the main character, is all over the place--one minute homeless, the next, moving into a dilapidated old beach house--with no help other than her father saying "Oh here are the keys & here's a job." The job, she has zero training, yet comes to the rescue as a detective. Her ex-best friend from childhood has married her father & is nasty beyond belief, then turns it around. She supposedly has had knee surgery, is swollen, can hardly walk, then suddenly "Poof!" meets a random guy on the beach, he offers to help her with pt, & she is now fine?? Ridiculous. There was more, yet not worth dissecting. Read as a filler book, read if you're really bored, but I wouldn't recommend this one, unfortunately..

Sunset Beach is your typical MK Andrews beach read and framed in this context, it’s a competent book. Drue is picking up the pieces from her life after her mother’s death, moving west to work for her estranged father. As she navigates her new life, and comes to terms with her past, she learns the beach read trifecta of trust, forgiveness and love. Not the most engaging work Andrews has written, not is it technically impressive, but it makes for a fun poolside read this summer

Sunset Beach is the perfect book to grab before you head to the beach. I loved the added element of mystery. Mary Kay Andrews always delivers a fun read.

I have read most of Mary Kay Andrews books so I was thrilled to receive her latest book. While this was a great read, it was not at all what I have come to expect from Andrews. This book was more of a mystery rather than a breachy romance book, regardless I still liked it.

I don’t generally like novels like this where the protagonist is the one to solve the crime but this one was a fun read. At first I wasn’t sure because it was a slow start for me, mostly because I wasn’t very interested in Drue. Our protagonist is my age, in her mid thirties, but she’s a mess. She has no career path or savings and her life is at a crossroads after her mother’s death. I was put off by what a train wreck she was. Luckily the novel picks up after she moves into a fixer upper after she’s desperate enough to accept a job with her estranged dad. There are some obvious plot holes like why her dad never told her about the fact that this fixer upper was left to her. At this point Drue finds direction and starts getting her life together only to be sidetracked by a murder and a missing persons case.

The first is the violent death of a young mother that really affects Drue. As she starts investigating the novel really picks up. This is where her unconventional life choices and personality work well. Upstanding citizens with squared away lives don’t go around investigating murders.

The missing person case is closer is closer to home but not the priority of the novel. That case slowly evolves with occasional flashbacks and Drue’s present day investigations.

I found this novel slow to get started but fun once it got going. I’m not sure what the author’s plans for this character are but I would definitely buy the next one if this became a series. I could see Drue being worthy of a series that would be great. Especially with the Detective that was my favorite secondary character. The ending was a bit too perfect with the happy family and no mention of a big discovery. I did think the afterward was a bit strange. The author went on for several pages about her beach houses which seemed odd and unconnected to the novel and whole unrelatable to most readers. She also included recipes which have nothing to do with the novel. I’m not familiar with the author so maybe this is common for her but it seemed like a strange choice. Overall a great read and probably more so if you prefer quirky layman who-done-its

Mary Kay Andrews writes another masterpiece! Drue has been dealing with some setbacks, which leads her to start working at her father's law firm. Not long after starting Drue meets an unsatisfied customer and makes it her mission to make sure this lady finds justice for her daughter. Fast paced and easy to read this story was so hard to put down!

Drue Campbell's life was spinning out of control after her mother's death and with nowhere to turn, she took up her father's offer of a job, a place to live and a side of redemption...albeit with a huge chip on her shoulder. After her first day of work, during which she managed to alienate her boss, who happened to be her childhood best friend, who now is her stepmother, then after joining her coworkers for a drink, sleeps with one of them. Could she be any more unlikable? I almost put the book aside at this point, thinking it had to get better from here. It did, marginally.

Although I have been a fan of Mary Kay Andrews previous novels, this one just left me cold. Too many unbelievable plot twists which added little to the story, several little things which really bothered me (Fright Fest at Disney World...umm, just no. That's a Universal thing, Disney doesn't do scary like that! They have a much more family oriented "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.") Overall, I found Drue annoying and inconsiderate most of the time, the other characters lacking depth and the story just so so. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a huge fan of MKA. Although her last book was not a favorite. And this one, while ok, wasn't great. Predictable, far fetched, formulaic. The writing is good, as always, but the storyline just went from bad to worse. There are some funny moments, and it kept me reading, but at the end I was just glad it was over.

A summer without Mary Kay Andrews would be like a summer without sunshine.

I look forward to the new book each year, and Ms. Andrew's latest was great. The book focuses on former kite skier and waitress Drue, who moves back to her childhood hometown on Florida's west coast after the death of her mother. Her relationship with her father is very strained since he sent her back to her mother's as a teen, but she has to contend with working for him and his new wife (a childhood friend of Dru's), and an inherited cottage long on charm and leaks.

Slowly Drue is sucked into investigating the death of a maid at a nearby hotel and the disappearance of a local beauty in the 1970s. Through all the twists and turns, Drue must learn who to trust, who she can actually depend on, and who deserves forgiveness.

This book, like all Ms. Andrew's books, is a speedy read full of humor and realistic details, and I love the mysteries. I also loved the setting as a Florida girl myself and as a huge fan of the west coast beaches.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.com for my advance reader copy.

This is a great book! This is a page turner mystery! That was not what I expected from the title, but I love that it is! It was a nice winter pick me up to get to take a trip to the beach as well as a little bit of home remodeling (my fave)!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Another great beach read from Mary Kay Andrews.
After losing her mother, Drue Campbell moves into a rundown beach house in Florida and takes a job in her estranged father's law firm.
While fixing up the beach house she discovers a box in the attic filled with newspaper clippings from a missing persons case 30 years earlier. The book follows Drue as she investigates this years old mystery and also dives into a murder investigation the law firm recently handled.
I loved the main character and would love to read more books following her while she investigates more mysteries / cases at the law firm.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's press for a copy of this book to review.

Drue has a chip on her shoulder. She feels that her father abandoned her when she was a teenager, and now he is back in her life. She must start over in so many ways. Mary KAY Andrews is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint me with this new book, as it is one of her very best. Her vivid descriptions and humor make it hard to stop reading. I didn’t get much of anything else accomplished until I finished this book. There are two mysteries to the book and I was surprised by the ending for each one. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a pleasant read about Drue who accepted the offer of her estranged father to work in his law office. While she slowly gets to know her father better she also gets embroiled in two unsolved or covered up criminal cases. One about a maid in a hotel the other a 20year old case of a disappeared woman.
So there is some suspension in the story, besides family drama.
I enjoyed this light read and would recommend it to any reader who looks for an entertaining book with some suspension.

WOW!! I cannot thank St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Sunset Beach. Mary Kay Andrews has become my most anticipated summer read and Sunset Beach was fabulous. I was totally transported from a snowy, cold long Michigan winter to the sun and sand of a west coast beach in Florida, my absolute favorite part of Florida and all without the pain of a sunburn. . The humor, romance and twists and turns kept me turning the pages until the unexpected ending. I highly recommend Sunset Beach. This is definitely one for your beach bag this summer.

I enjoyed this book and found it a little different than others I have read from this author. I found the story engaging and enjoyed the characters. The different mysteries (missing person and murder) moved the story along as the main character delved in the cases.

Drue is starting over - in her early 30s - and reconnecting with her father on the "other coast" of Florida. She moves into a small cottage on the beach - her maternal grandfather built it and she has fond memories with grandparents during the summer. Unemployed, she takes a job at her father's legal office as a cube rat - answering phone calls drummed up by commercials promising big payouts. The motley crew of co-workers offer support while she adjusts to her father and his new wife (her middle school BFF).

Drue takes a closer look at the case of a young mother who was murdered at work. The payout seems small and there are many unanswered questions - the least being who was the killer. Flashbacks fill in Drue's relationship with her father and his early career as a cop. His PI, Zee, was his partner at one time and a loyal friend. Drue finds a box in the attic with an old case file of a missing woman. How is this connected to her family?

Enjoyable. Makes me wish summer was sooner but helps lift gray winter days. The characters are well written and relatable. Mary Kay Andrews is consistent and a always a favorite