Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Mary Kay Andrews for the advance readers copy of The Newcomer for my honest review.

Mary Kay Andrews never disappoints. The Newcomer is a fun fictional mystery. It is a perfect “beach read” type of book. The protagonist female Letty is on the run with her 4 year old niece. The story has just the right amount of romance and lots of twists and turns. I throughly enjoyed this book.

Beach Read 2021! We read for a variety of reasons and sometimes we need that bit of light reading, where we know that all will end well for the good guys.

Letty's sister Tanya has led a checkered life. Letty finds her sister's body on the floor of her condo, and Tanya's little girl hiding. Letty knows she must keep Maya safe. She grabs Tanya's emergency bag (with a bunch of money and a huge diamond ring tucked into the bag) and heads out, her only clue is a scrap of paper with the name of the hotel, the Murmuring Surf.

Murder, stolen cars, kidnapping, the list of terrible things goes on. Letty knows she is being followed and does her best to keep herself and Maya alive and hidden. She finds the motel, old, rundown, in need of freshening, and housing a group of senior snowbirds who look on any child with suspicion. After all, they do not want their routines disrupted and that little girl might just do that. The owner needs help, and Letty starts working for her. The owner has a son who is a police officer - he is a real hottie! And he asks far too many questions. Letty knows she did not murder her sister, now to convince the law of that - and keep herself and Maya alive in the process.

Mary Kay Andrews, well-known for her beach reads, has, over the years, gradually taken on darker topics and she does this one very well.

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of those stories that end and you want to keep on reading. Highly recommend!

The Newcomer is an entertaining page-turner in women's fiction. Letty Carnahan is on the run with her niece and wanted for her sister's murder. At her wit's end, Letty runs to a little motel on a Florida beach that was on a magazine clipping among her sister's belongings. Letty convinces the motel owner to rent her a room and gets a new job in the process. The "newcomer" at the motel, Letty is put through the wringer by the locals but quickly finds her place in her new home and a new love interest on the horizon. When danger comes calling again Letty finds out who her friends are. Letty is a very likable, sympathetic, and interesting character and her love interest, Joe can win over the toughest of hearts for a great read anywhere or anytime. Mary Kay Andrews always promises a good time and never disappoints. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Mary Kay Andrews has done it again! A little mystery, a little romance, and a whole lotta fun! Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book.

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorite authors! So much so, that I count down to her new release every spring. And then I proceed to pass the book along to numerous family members when I am finished. Last year, I had the privilege to review an ARC copy of her 2020 release and I was super excited! And I still bought the book on release day and passed it along to the other MKA fans in my family. Needless to say, I was thrilled when St. Martin’s Press reached out and asked me to review her 2021 release through NetGalley!

The story centers around a woman named Letty who finds her sister, Tanya, murdered in New York City and flees to Florida with her 4 year old niece, Maya. Convinced her sisters ex-boyfriend, Evan (the father of Maya) killed Tanya, Letty plans to hide out at a small beach hotel until she finds a way to prove his guilt. But Letty’s escape has made her a suspect and now not only is Evan looking for her and Maya, she’s now wanted by the police. Letty soon finds herself taken in by the owner of the hotel Ava and the long term residents who arrive every winter as she tries to piece together what really happened to Tanya.

What I liked: As is true of all Mary Kay Andrew’s books, I loved all the main characters - especially the older hotel residents. At first they resent Letty “The Newcomer,” but they soon grow to love her and are all eager to protect her and Maya. I also loved Ava the hotel owner and how she cared for her kids, Letty, Maya, and all the residents. There were
numerous light hearted funny scenes with the residents, as well as heartfelt ones. There was definitely some suspense, which I love, but I will say it was not as much as in her previous books. I also liked that the language wasn’t as bad as some of MKA’s other novels. I did read this one on a Kindle so I don’t know the official page count, but it was a super fast read for me and maybe a little shorter than one of her typical books.

What I didn’t like: Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I can’t say I really disliked anything in particular. I did find this one slightly more predictable than some of MKA’s other recent releases. And I thought the tech genius friend and nanny cam videos were a little too convenient to the plot line. But other than that, I can’t think of anything negative about the story.

While The Newcomer was not my favorite Mary Kay Andrews read, it was definitely still a great read. I love her wide cast of characters and how she weaves suspense and love into her stories. I was honesty sad to see it end, which is typical for me with a MKA book. I highly recommend and will be purchasing this book to share with family and friends when it is released! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

The Newcomer is an exciting, well-written story that takes the reader into the lives of Letty and her four-year-old niece Maya. When Letty discovers her sister dead in her New York apartment, she grabs Maya and runs. Tanya, Letty's sister, told Letty that if anything ever happened to her that the guilty party would be Maya's father/Tanya's ex, Evan. Not knowing where to go, Letty finds a magazine in Tanya's bag that features an adorable little motel called the Murmuring Surf. The book mainly takes place at this quaint and very special motel ran by Ava and her son and daughter, Joe and Isabelle. Joe is local law enforcement which really helps when things start to get crazy at the Murmuring Surf. The Newcomer has the best characters anyone could ask for as they are all full of personality and colorful. In fact, they start to become family to Letty and Maya as the story moves forward. Letty even accepts Ava's offer of a job to run the front office at the motel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Mary Kay Andrews and light mystery and action storylines.

Thank you to Netgalley, Mary Kay Andrews, and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is about Lettie and Maya. Maya is Lettie’s three year old niece. It is a good book but in my opinion not a great book. A few of the scenarios were predictable and a little far fetched. But it kept me entertained I thought the characters were well developed and fit into the storyline well. This author definitely has talent and I would recommend this book and with read another book from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

This was a different sort of book for Mary Kay Andrews. I really enjoyed it a lot. The writing style is the same of course as is her great character development but the story is a little different. This is a little more towards a thriller. The story still has lots of great characters and she makes you love most of them. The main character is suddenly needed to care for her Niece and it takes off from there and doesn’t stop.
This is a great and enjoyable read.

This book provided a wonderful escape. The setting of a small beach town provided the perfect backdrop to this mystery/thriller. I thought there was a great balance between intense thriller moments and relaxing slice of life storyline. There was time for characters and relationships to develop and reveal themselves. I especially enjoyed the romance subplot. This book really hit the spot.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC: 3.5 rounded up--beach reads are not my usual genre, so I'm a bit stumped on how to rate this book, but for pandemic reading, it was an easy read and pleasurable. A mildly twisty mystery of a woman on the run with her young niece who finds respite in a slightly tacky motel in Florida and a love interest in the owner's policeman son. Some of the dialogue and plot development could have benefited from a bit more editing, but for escapism, this was just fine.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy of this book to read in return for an unbiased review.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and I don’t know if I got an early copy of the book, but there were a ton of editing mistakes. Also I think the book was longer then the story needed it to be. Also I went Into the story because of the suspense factor, but there wasn’t much actual suspense in the story. It felt more like a romance with a dash of mystery and at the same time the romance aspect felt rushed.

I liked the characters in the book, but otherwise I was happy to reach the ending.

This was my first Mary Kay Andrews book and I’m ready now to tackle her backlist. The Newcomers seems to be a combination of a murder mystery, drama, romance and comedy. The storyline was interesting, I loved her characters and the laugh out loud moments.
As the book opens, Letty and her niece, Maya, are arriving in Florida...on the run after discovering her murdered sister’s body. While they temporarily set up their lives in the Murmuring Surf Hotel, we get involved in the drama of running a hotel, primarily occupied by older snow birds, and the mystery is somewhat in the background.
The focus switches about half way through the book when the murder and associated/related crimes take center stage.
Overall...an interesting book and relatively quick read. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read The Newcomers in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Mary Kay Andrew's and her beach reads for about a decade.I looked forward to this latest book. However, when I began reading I felt the storyline leaned more toward a crime story than a romance beach read. I began to have reservations, thinking I may not like this book as well as I had others......then.....I got hooked and I mean hooked big time. I could not stop reading. All MKA fans will LOVE the newcomer.
Characters: A fugitive with a 4 year old adorable neice, a female FBI agent, a kind maternal motel owner, a handsome detective and various motel " seasonals" ( who add some interesting and funny side stories) and of course the bad guys.
I also liked the Florida motel location and found all the info on motel life interesting.
Thanks to the author, NreGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.The book release date is May 4, 2021

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

As summer approaches, it's time for the new Mary Kay Andrews book.

I loved this book. It's set mostly in Treasure Island, which I live near, so I found that charming, but the overall story of a woman saving her niece and on the run from her and her sister's ex-boyfriend was engaging and entertaining. I loved the brisk pace and the can do spirit of the main character.

I fell in love with the secondary plotline of the motel, and I think all readers will find the romance aspect fantastic. There's also a bit of a treasure hunt, befitting the setting.

Another solid read from Andrews.

This is a great book! Very creative and very different. The story starts right away there are hills and valleys regarding the pace. Seriously, very, very clever!

Mary Kay Andrews has another amazing book coming out!! The Newcomers still has some of her signature romance between characters, but it is definitely more of a mystery than previous books I’ve read of hers! I loved the characters, especially the sweet little girl named Maya in the book, and I absolutely LOVED all the characters and personalities of the inn guests!

MK Andrews is never going from the beach and this one made me crave Florida and the ocean and tiny little pink inn more than ever!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

One of my favorite qualities about Mary Kay Andrews' books is the way she makes you feel like you know all the characters. True to form, by the time I finished this one, they were like familiar friends. Additionally, I loved the setting of The Newcomer, which made me want to immediately buy a charming motel in Florida. (I restrained myself.) My only criticism is that the last 10 percent of the book really took a while to conclude, when I feel like there could have been a much tighter ending.

The Newcomer
The Newcomer was a mystery mixed with some chilling thirllers and romance. I was hooked from the first chapter til the very last. Letty found her Sister dead and had to flee with her 4yr old Niece in tow. They landed in a small beach town and decided to settle there. Until trouble found her, a very tense and exciting read.