Mary Kay Andrews is known for her fun, romantic beach reads and she was going for the same with "The Newcomer." Letty discovers her murdered sister and traumatized niece and goes on the run with Maya (the niece) to keep her safe. Her sister's ex is looking for her with evil, murderous intentions. Letty and Maya find safety in an oceanfront motel, where they quickly become friends with the motel's owner. The best part of this book is the various relationships between all the motel guests. Letty and the motel owner's son fall in love as well, but I didn't enjoy his character very much and the relationship didn't appeal to me. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book, and it was overall pretty good.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Wow, this book has it all! Letty goes to her sisters townhouse and finds her body on the floor. Her sister had told her if anything happened to her who would have done it, and to take her 4 year old daughter Maya and her hidden cash and go. Letty does what her sister had told her to and ends up in Florida at a motel her sister had a picture of in her bag. Little does Letty know this place and the people there will be who help her and to fill in secrets of her sisters life. This book was hard to out down as you want to see who did it and what will happen next.

"Newcomer" by Mary Kay Andrews was a good "escape" read. The descriptions of the scenery; beach, motel, New York apartments were so good, I could visualize everything. I loved the characters and would love to see a series with them in it. Possibly Ava working part time for Joe and Letty, with the same snow birds coming every year. I really liked this book.

I received a complimentary copy. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

This was an enjoyable book I kept wanting to get back to it. I wouldn't say the action was "on the edge of your seat," but it kept you engaged enough to keep reading. I like the way the author dropped hints along the way to help you figure out the outcome. The only thing I didn't like was the language. While the cussing seemed to fit the characters, I still contend that a good book doesn't need that kind of language. For this reason alone, I doubt that I will read any more of Mary Kay Andrews' books. And that's sad because the story was very good and unique to me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
A great summer read from Mary Kay Andrews. She’s one of my favorite authors and this book is the perfect mix of suspense, intrigue and romance. I had a hard time putting this book down.

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews was part mystery/part romance.  Letty and Tanya are sisters with a history of moving around.  Letty, a waitress in NYC, meets Evan, a real estate entrepreneur.  But when her sister comes to town, Evan pursues Tanya and she has a baby. Then, one day Letty finds Tanya dead.  Her sister warned her: “If anything bad happens to me—it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.” So Letty grabs her sister’s "go bag" and ends up at a run down motel in Florida based on a flyer she found in the bag.  

Desperate for stability for Maya, Letty begins working at the motel.  She establishes relationships with the owner, the owner's son (who happens to be a cop) and the owner's daughter, who turns into the babysitter. 

The story is clever with the reader guessing who really killed Tanya.  There are set ups, stings and solved cases.  My favorite part of the book is Letty's relationships and her determination that she won't be "saved" by a man. 3.5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Mary Kay Andrews lovers will enjoy this new book.

TW: violence

Letty is on the run with her niece, Maya, when her sister is murdered. She escapes New York City of the Florida coast and finds herself at the Murmuring Surf Inn. There, she finds a job helping out the owner, Ava, run the Inn for the older snowbirds that frequent the Inn each year. She is secretive about the reason she is there, but Ava's son, Joe, a local cop, is suspicious right away. He starts digging into who Letty and Maya really are.

This book is classic MKA with rich, detailed writing. There is a hint of romance, mystery and humor. She does such a great job weaving all three aspects together. This book in particular reminds me of some of her earlier works. This book was a bit long for me, but the storytelling is what makes MKA herself. This is a perfect book to be read in the sun on a beach or by a pool.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC copy to read and review.

This is my first Mary Kay Andrews novel that I've read, and I really enjoyed it.

The Newcomer is a murder mystery with a twist of romance. Letty flees New York with her 4 year old niece after finding her sister dead in her townhome. They drive to a small motel, the murmuring surf, and talk their way into getting a room with no vacancies. Tanya had told Letty if anything ever bad happened to her it was Evan, and to grab Maya and run. Letty did just that and went to the motel she found on a magazine page in her sisters go bag.

Letty and Maya form a family like bond with Ava the motel manager and her teenage daughter, Isabelle. Joe, Ava's son and local cop is suspicious of Letty from the moment he finds her asleep in her car.

Along the way Letty learns Tanya had many many secrets she had no idea about. Secrets that create more problems for Letty and the Murmuring Surf gang.

Letty gets Tanya's killer, and finds her love.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the mysteries were well thought out and layed out in an easy to follow manner. It was heartwarming to see the old regulars start to accept Letty and Maya and value them. I liked getting a little bit of backstory on the regulars and didn't find it distracting or unnecessary. The relationship Letty, Maya, Ava and Isabelle form is that of a family. Letty really didn't have a warm, loving, supporting family growing up and she was able to find that with Ava.

The romance with Letty and Joe was a bit fast and turned into love quickly. It could have been a better developed love story between them but the novel definitely focused more on the murder mystery and back stories than the romance aspect.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel it kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I would have liked more of the romance up front then in the background, but overall well done.

This book was so excellent and exciting! It was a keep you on your toes book, thriller, sad, happy. I am not going to give away any good parts but it is definitely a must read!

Letty is on the run with her niece Maya. Her sister was murdered and she knows who did it. Following her sisters last wish to take her daughter and take her far away from her dad. She decided to head to the Florida to the hotel mentioned in her sisters bag called the Murmuring Surf Motel. She persuades the owner to let her stay in one of the room and eventually she gets a job there. As she works on healing her niece and figuring out what happened to her sister will she find love with the hotel owners son or will she end up in jail accused of killing her sister.

This book has mystery, romance, and drama. The romance was not a major part in this book and I felt it was different a bit from Mary Kay Andrews. It a good book and I enjoyed reading. I would recommend it.

****Coming soon full review***** definitely a must for your summer reading list, Ms. Andrews never disappoints one of the queens of summer reads!!

If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. Loved the storyline, loved most of the characters, and loved the ending. This was a very entertaining book! It has everything...danger, murder, mystery, and a little romance!!!!!

This was a book that I would categorize as a great 'beach/vacation read.' Where the pace moves fairly quickly, the plot has some twists that aren't predictable (but also not so farfetched and wild that you lose focus), and good character development. I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest and candid review. This was my first book by this author, so I went in knowing and expecting nothing in terms of writing style. As mentioned the characters are well developed, and each time I had a question pop up as I worked through the chapters, the author answered each one in its own time. After having read this book, I would certainly be excited to read another by Mary Kay Andrews.

It was not my favorite book by Mary Kay Andrews. I felt the story rambled and did not stay focused.

Stayed up way past my bedtime for The Newcomer.! I love how Mary Kay Andrews mixes her journalism background with her wicked senes of humor to create page turners that work very time. Crisp plotting, sharp dialogue, beach setting and effecting characters make this a satisfying summer read. The Newcomer dives deep into the complicated sister relationship with honesty and heart, but not sentimentality. The tragic death of younger sister Tara propels older, wiser sister Letty to life on the run with her niece in tow. Not too far behind is the murdered, a bunch of bad ex-boyfriends and the FBI. The Newcomer delivers.

The Newcomer was kind of a romantic thriller. It featured an interesting cast of characters and a beautiful location, but little mystery. Very good descriptive writing.

Very entertaining story of a life on the run. Her sister was murdered and left instructions for her to grab her young daughter and hide from the ex boyfriend. The place she runs to is chosen from a brochure of her sisters.
It is filled with vacationing snow birds all of retirement age, run by a widow with the help of her son, a policeman.
This book is filled with humor provided by the quirky characters, romance and suspense. I loved it.

Big THANK you to Netgalley and especially St. Martin’s Press, for allowing me the opportunity to read my first Mary Kay Andrews book AND for allowing me the opportunity to share my review!

This book was so well written that it had me up for several nights in a row, trying my hardest to finish it! I will say that I am not a romance novel reader. My swim lane is Mystery, Horror, Thriller and I dabble in a select few other genre’s especially during the holiday’s or when I am in the mood for something light. I don’t like reading romance/love scenes! BORING! So, with that preface, I’ll start with what I did not like, which was not much. The love scenes, Letty and Joe bonding on the beach, the length of the book just felt long and a wee drawn out. And for that I am giving the four star review.

What I did enjoy was the pace, for the most part. The writing of this amazing author and the plot! I know many MKA fans have been voicing their opinion of this one deviating from her “normal beachy vibes” but for this fan.....KUDOS and WELL DONE! As a mystery lover, you just picked up a new fan. The story line, the twists and turns were what make me yearn to stay awake reading. Looking forward to ending the work day knowing I had this book to dive back into was what I as a ready, hope for and you nailed it MKA!

Enjoyable read. Loved how Letty was there for her family, no grudges. Taking on her role as Auntie to that darling little girl. My heart hurt a few times, just reading the portions about Maya and her witnessing the various relationship interactions between Tanya and Evan. Being able to communicate that within a story so that a visual reader such as I can feel it is another key on just how fantastic of an author you have in front of you. I felt that thru this story. The Murmuring Surf and what it would look like. The way Maya held so tightly to Ellie.

Great book! I highly recommend it.

Mary Kay Andrews is known for her beach reads and this book keeps the streak going. Letty is on the run with her niece Maya after Letty's sister Tanya is murdered. They end up at a motel on the Florida gulf coast and are taken in by the motel owner Ava. They are given a place to stay and a for Letty, a job. Letty and Maya quickly make themselves at home while Letty tries to pieces together Tanya'a life. During this time you meet the quirky winter residents of the motel and it makes you feel like you are there. The story comes together at the end, with a HEA that you expect. No surprises, but a good read to get through the cold winter months and look forward to summer.

This is the Mary Kay Andrews title I've read and my feelings are a bit mixed. The cover art is eye catching because it doesn't look like a typical thriller/mystery cover, and I had to double check if this is a thriller or a romance before I started. On paper, it's an intriguing fugitive thriller with some romance and light humor mixed in. It runs long, a bit too long for my liking, and too drawn out. The jumping narratives/POV between characters is distracting. The twists and reveals are predictable.

Personally, I'm not too keen on it because I prefer my thrillers gritty and dark, but it makes for an excellent beach read. I wouldn't recommend this to those looking for a fast paced, shocking thriller but this would be perfect for those wanting something light and mysterious.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.