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.

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews will definitely be a hot book for Summer 2021.

Letty finds her sister Tanya dead, and she knows she has to go on the run with her four-year-old niece Maya. She knows this because Tanya warned her before she died that something might happen to her, and if it did, Letty should blame her ex.

From that start, readers follow Letty and Maya as they flee to Florida where Letty will meet a cast of characters, including potential love interest-slash-local police detective Joe.

It's the classic mix of love and intrigue from Andrews. It's perhaps a bit long, but it'll be an enjoyable summer read for fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

The Newcomer is another great book by Mary Kay Andrews. It follows the main character as she flees NY with her sister’s daughter after she finds her sister dead. She heads to Florida to hide out in a little motel after finding the name circled in a magazine article of her dead sisters. Her journey brings her south as she strives to grieve with her niece while trying to figure out what happened to her sister. Great book! Definitely had some surprises in there!

The Newcomer is a novel by Mary Kay Andrews. It has a main character named Letty who is on the run with her 4 year old niece. She began running after her sister was brutally murdered. She runs to a motel in Florida where the owner befriends her and helps her and the niece who's name is Maya. The mystery was easily predictable and that's ok. The characters were very likable. I laughed throughout the book at the small town vibe I felt. It was a good read I just felt like the story drug out for way too long. It was an enjoyable beach kind of read, but it definitely could have been a hundred pages shorter. I got a little bored toward the end. Thank you NetGally for the chance to read this!!!

The Newcomer: A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews was an excellent read. Ms. Andrews has been a very good author but her last two novels have shown a definite growth in her work. I would definitely recommend this book as well as Ms. Andrews previous novels.

Absolutely loved The Newcomer. The setting was a fun little motel on the coast in Florida. My parents and grandparents were snowbirds in Florida, so it was especially fun to read about all of the Bingo games and shuffleboard games, etc. I loved the development of the snowbird characters. I think it really captured their lives down there.

The Newcomer was part romance, part mystery. I highly recommend this book and would love to join them at the motel for a week sometime.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

I love Mary Kay Andrews, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this book. Sure enough, within the first couple of pages, I breathed a sigh of relief. Instantly engaging, Andrews once again proved that her books are like sitting down with an old friend who's about to tell you a fascinating story. This book has it all. An overarching mystery, characters who you fall in love with, and a quirky beach community. I loved ever last word. Thank you, Mary Kay Andrews, for continuing to share your talents!

Mary Kay Andrews has out done herself this time! This is a beach read with a thrilling twist. This book is like enjoying the beach BUT watching out for the sharks in the ocean at the same time.

In this book, Letty quickly fleas New York with her niece, Maya. Letty doesn't really know where she is going but she is taking the hint from her deceased sister as to where they may be safe. Letty and Maya find themselves in a roadside ocean front motel in Florida. Letty quickly becomes friends with the motel owner and finds a small room to live in while they are trying to start their new lives. Letty tries to keep to herself because she doesn't want the summer motel residents to know what they are really running from in New York. The longer they stay at the motel, The Murmuring Surf, they more Maya and Letty become comfortable. Everything breaks loose when the people they are running from find them in Florida. Ava and Joe, the motel managers, find out who Letty really is and why she is running.

This beach read has everthing and more! I highly recommend The Newcomer! (I will have to say this is one of my favorites by Andrews.)

Mary Kay Andrews’s ‘The Newcomer’ is a book that’ll make you wish you were sitting on a beautiful Floridian beach. Its strengths lie with its mystery/suspense elements, which take the foreground in this particular narrative. The romantic elements, on the other hand, feel kind of forced.

Letty is on the run. After her sister, Tanya, is killed, Letty knows she has to save her niece, Maya, from her father, who Letty is convinced killed her sister. Enter the The Murmuring Surf Motel and its compassionate owner, who allows Letty to stay if she cleans up the extra motel unit they were using as storage. As Letty and Maya begin to establish a new normal, she still finds herself sleeping with one eye open. It doesn’t help that the motel owner’s son happens to be a cop.

This is my first time reading an Andrews novel, and I have to say that I found the story to be fairly predictable. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it just fell a little flat for me. I connected more with the peripheral characters in the novel than with Letty herself. And the sudden romantic connection between Letty and Joe just seemed to come out of nowhere and didn’t have enough depth to warrant its inclusion. I think this may have worked better as novel if the ideas where honed and the word count tightened.

That being said, it’s a nice little escape read with just enough suspense to keep things interesting. I imagine that if you’re already an Andrews fan, you’d heartily enjoy this novel.


An ARC was generously provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review.

Great book! As always Mary Kay Andrews delivers a great story. Although the story line is very predictable and you know what the outcome is going to be it's still an enjoyable read. The characters are well developed and the book is easy to read and follow.

This was my first Mary Kay book and I loved it.
Such a good beach read - such vivid pictures in my mind.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I love beach reads and will add her books to all my TBR lists!

I enjoy Mary Kay's books.
This is enjoyment in a book form!
Escape to the beach, escape in a book. Everything disappeared as I read this book!

I’ve been reading MK since she was Kathy, writing a different genre, over 25 years ago. Used to eagerly anticipate every new book, went to a meet & greet when she was near my home. I’ve aged over that time, as has the author. We’re not in our early 30’s anymore & I'm personally glad of that. So why can’t MK’s story leads age as well?
Not only do I not buy into the attempted age angle that her latest books have been written from, the oooomph has disappeared from them! In this book, for example, the older hotel owner & its vacationers were much more intriguing characters than Letty, the lead. The book (& several before) isn’t BAD, it’s just not the quality previously expected & anticipated.
I hope MK goes back to the well & next time writes characters skewed better towards her comfort zone. This was the first time I’ve ever given her below 4 stars & I did NOT like doing it.

5 huge stars!!! Mary Kay Andrews has once again given us a fantastic novel that should be at the top of everyones 2021 summer reading list!!! The Newcomer is instantly addictive and will have you staying up way past your bedtime because you can’t find a good spot to pause for the night lol! The cast of characters are so darn endearing and oddly relatable—is it weird I want to take my next vacation to Florida and stay at The Murmuring Surf!?!? I always love Mary Kay Andrews’ writing style and how she combines the romance and the mystery/suspense genres together seamlessly! The Newcomer is a 5 star read that I can’t recommend enough!

Mary Kay Andrews is the ultimate summer romance writer, and The Newcomer is no exception to her already amazing repertoire. While I did find this book to deal with a bit more serious topics than her other novels (trigger warning: child witnessing domestic violence), the overall feel of the book is very low-key with both a romance and a mystery that are predictable, yet delightful, to read about. This book is sure to make all the must-read lists of Summer 2021!

I forgot how much I enjoyed Mary Kay Andrews' writing. This galley for her upcoming novel was so much fun to read. Her characters were likeable and the plots were realistic and suspenseful. I'll be buying this book for the library. I highly recommend it. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Sadly, this book didn't meet this mark for me. I think MKA books are just not for me. They are usually too long and I just don't find myself connecting to the characters.
There were no twists or surprises and the plot felt dull.
I think others will enjoy this book but it just isn't for me

The Newcomer is another fine Mary Kay Andrews novel, but this one did fall a little short for me. Just a little too pat, maybe? It's a good story, a good beach read, just not quite as engrossing or engaging as I'd like. There are some great side characters in this one - it would definitely make a cute movie. It's just not my favorite by this author. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e -arc. Solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.