I was so caught up in this story. The characters were well defined. I could picture all of them so well. Murmuring Surf was a real place to me. Letty on the run from her sisters killed with her niece Maya had me up late.! Her sister, Tanya, was a interesting character even in death. It was a perfect HEA. I would love more of Vicki Hill. She needs a book.
Thank you, Netgalley.

The Newcomer is a great book to help you escape whatever situation that you're in! Mary Kay Andrews included mystery, romance, and family in book that is hard to put down.

Mary Kay Andrews has a real gift for creating interesting characters and locations. You just want to immerse yourself completely in the communities she creates.

Sadly, interesting characters and a fun and quirky location are just about all The Newcomer has going for it. This is my least-favorite of Andrews's books because the plot just wasn't there. The book glossed over the things that were important to the "mystery" and then plodded through all the less-important stuff. I usually breeze through an MKA book in a day or two, but this one took me close to 3 weeks.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Hopefully the fact that I wasn't a fan of this one won't mean I can't get my hands on a copy of Andrews's next book. Despite this lesser entry into her overall catalog of work, she remains one of my favorite authors.

I've never read this author before but was thoroughly impressed with the story. It's a real page turner with lots of twists. The supporting characters are a hoot.

This book really has it all! Intrigue, murder, romance, and the beach! Mary Kay Andrews has long been one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. She has a way of writing characters and locations that just make you feel like you are there. Can’t wait to gift this one to my friends!

I never miss a book by Mary Kay Andrews and so happily jumped into The Newcomer as soon as I could.

I feel like Ms Andrews is a long way from Weezy and Bebe in The Newcomer, but she still is at the top of my list for escapist, engaging fiction.

When Letty finds her sister, the flighty Tanya, murdered on the floor of her plush townhouse, Letty follows Tanya's instructions to take her child, Maya, and run far away from NYC and the child's abusive, criminal father. Letty and Maya take up residence at the Murmuring Surf hotel on a Florida beach and try to begin a new life, in hiding.

While Andrews pulls us in to a clever mystery, we also enjoy her trademark quirky characters: this time a cast of octagenarian hotel residents, a charismatic cop, some nasty bad guys, and an adorable four-year-old kid. Mary Kay Andrews fans will revel in her sassy dialogue and her spunky heroine. And who couldn't love a motel with pastel cabins and a sugary white beach?

Loved this fun read and highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a fun, yet somewhat predictable read - the story of Lettie, her niece, Maya, and their adventures in solving the murder of Lettie's sister, Tanya. I enjoyed the Florida beach setting, and the light romance that is woven throughout the tale. This story is well written, but should probably been edited down by about 25%. I found myself skimming here and there without missing any of the important details.

I recommend The Newcomer to women, and especially those on a vacation. The chapters are short and manageable, and there is a limited number of characters, so one can pick up the book and put it down without having to reread at all.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Newcomer.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews. The Newcomer begins with Letty on the run with her four year old niece, Maya, who may or may not have seen her mom murdered. Letty's sister, Tanya, left her a clue that Letty is to take Maya to a small hotel in Florida. Letty and Maya arrive at the hotel after driving from Manhattan, but have no idea why Tanya would direct them there. The Murmuring Surf was probably a popular hotel back in the 1950s, but today it looks a little lost amongst all the newer hotels and condos. With little money and trying to go into hiding until she can figure out what to do, Letty manages to allow the manager/owner of The Murmuring Surf to allow her to clean out the small efficiency unit at the hotel in exchange for staying at the hotel and helping the manager out. The winter season regulars at the hotel, none of them under the age of 70, do not take to Letty and Maya staying at the hotel. The hotel owner's son is a policeman so Letty tries to steer clear of him and his many questions. Mary Kay Andrews has set another fabulous book at the beach but with a refreshing twist. The Newcomer will draw you in with Letty's story with its many twists and turns, until the end, when you finally learn the whole story. I thoroughly enjoyed The Newcomer which is part mystery and part romance and I liked that the setting was the kind of hotel that are slowly being taken over by chain motels and beach side condos.

Murder mystery? love story? This is a little bit of both. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what what happen. This is going to be a highly anticipated read for any fan of the mystery genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC and review opportunity of The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews. I had every intention of reading this, but after the author's recent behavior on bookstagram towards other bookstagrammers that I do not condone, I will not be reading or supporting her work.

After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City
townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex; sleazy real estate
entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s
warnings: “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 Mercedes and hits the road . . .

As Mary Kay Andrews recently wrote on instagram post near the end of December 2020, "Dear [person's first name], that book you just devoured in hours and trashed, in minutes, tooth author months to write. you followers are delighting haha! in this trashing. As a fellow author who's been on the receiving end of n'honest review' I can say that it hurts. Deeply. No matter how successful you are, that pain lingers and erodes your sense of self worth. Bud you do you." This was in connection and support to another author openly bashing a reviewer. After I saw this, I wrote NG and said I would not be able to review this due to the mistreatmeant and bullying Mary Kay Andrews was doing to us reviewers but I was told that wasn't possible. The note that came with my approval for this copy asked for honest reviews. I cannot in good faith take my time to read and review a book for someone who does not appreciate the time we put into reviewing. And this deeply saddens me.

Pros - the summary and the cover were nice, which is what drew me to the book.

This is a newer to me author, but of the books I’ve read so far, I really like her books! This one was a bit different than others I’ve read by her, but it was just as amazing as the other ones. Letty and her 4 year old niece Maya are on the run after Letty shows up to pick up Maya for a girls day, only to find her sister (and Maya’s mother) has been murdered. Her sister Tanya had warned Letty that if anything ever happened to her, the culprit would be Evan, Maya’s father and Tanya’s ex-boyfriend and if anything happens Letty is to take Maya and run in order to keep Maya away from him. They end up at a beachfront hotel, and Letty and Maya quickly become like family to the owner. As things heat up and Evan starts searching for them there are some other interesting developments that occur that link Tanya to the hotel Letty and Maya are at. No spoilers but OMG I could not put this book down! So much happened, the characters were all so well written, especially the other guests at the hotel who all end up playing a part in the story. Love love love this one!!

Great beach read...keep you turning the pages and excited about were the story was going. Fun setting and characters!

The Newcomer follows the story of Letty who after finding her sister murdered takes her niece and runs. It wasn't my favorite book. The characters felt under developed and the story line felt like a Hallmark movie or a book I had read before. However, there is comfort in reading a book you feel like you've read before.

I loved that this story was a bit different for MKA! It was set during summer but in Florida this time and had some suspense thrown in throughout most of the story. There was definitely family drama and love which her stories are known for but this story added another layer.

Mary Kay Andrews never disappoints, and her newest, The Newcomer might be my very favorite yet! LOVED this book...has a little mystery, a little romance, and characters that you love and are rooting for. Great book to read on the beach, in the mountains, or anywhere you can. Will hook you from the first page until the last!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book has it all mystery, deep family love, quirky characters and some romance. The characters where believable. This is going to be a great summer read when it comes out.

Letty grabbed her niece, 4-year-old Maya, and the to go bag her sister Tanya instructed her to take if anything happened to her. Tanya is dead, most likely killed by her ex and powerful but corrupt Evan. Tanya, not wanting to relinquish custody of Maya, informed Evan she would talk about all his illicit activities if he threatened to take Maya. Letty found an out of the way motel in Florida and is hiding out. The manager loves having Letty and Maya there but her son, detective Joe. feels there is something going on. This book is wonderful! Warm romance, mystery that will keep you guessing, thriller as Letty is discovered, and full of humor as the residents who stay over the summer at the motel believe they own the place. Everyone is enchanted by Letty and her niece Maya.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Newcomer!

The Newcomer fell a bit flat for me. Somehow it felt both hurried in its plot yet too lengthy. We meet Letty and Maya as they've arrived in Florida at The Murmuring Surf, "on the run" after discovering Letty's sister and Maya's mother, Tanya, dead in her NYC apartment. It takes quite a bit of time for the plot to unravel without much happening in the meantime. Once we finally get to the resolution of the plot, it doesn't feel very satisfying. Unfortunately, this is a novel where the description of the plot makes it sound a lot more exciting than it really is. It ended up being much less of a "whodunnit" than it was made out to be.

There are many remaining questions about characters that aren't quite fleshed out, especially with Rooney and Evan. I don't need realism in my beach read since MKA's books are always an escape for me, but the characters' behavior was often inconsistent with their status in life or previous experiences (ESPECIALLY Joe - I don't want to say too much because it would spoil things, but his complete dismissal of a BOLO about a presumed kidnapped child is disturbing...). I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I usually love MKA's female leads, but I just didn't connect with Letty at all. It didn't feel as if she was the main character; I ultimately knew more about Tanya by the end of the book than I did Letty.

I'm hoping MKA's next release will offer her usual characters with more depth and a plot that isn't so convoluted.

I throughly enjoyed The Newcomer! It’s a beach read, family drama and murder mystery rolled into one. I felt an immediate connection to the characters, their pain, fear and emotions. The moments of suspense kept me reading and turning pages to discover how it would end.
4 stars.