Traci and Shannon were childhood best friends, that all changed the summer of 2002. The Saint is St. Cecelia, a posh 5-star resort where they worked.

There are quite a few characters in Summers at the Saint, but I really don't think that there are too many characters. It always drives me crazy when there are too few characters, especially when the setting is as large as the Saint.

It seems to me that Mary Kay Andrews has two classic novel styles, Christmas and non-Christmas. Some reviews seem to suggest that this isn't like prior MKA novels, I wonder if they are comparing this to a Christmas novel. This did seem to be "classic MKA", in my opinion.

I really enjoyed Summers at the Saint. Definitely going to be a favored "beach read" this summer.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for approving my request to read the advance read copy of Summers at the Saint in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 07 May 2024, approx 447 pages.

I am kind of not sure what to say. I kept switching from enjoying this book, to a strong desire to speed read to "just finish" it to really not liking it. It was a perpetual merry go round of feelings. Within the first 20 pages you are introduced to the main characters
Parrish
Traci
Shannon
KJ
Whalen
Felice
Charlie Burroughs
Garrett
Olivia
Ric
^^^ Yeah, thats 10.
Yeah, you have to keep up wtih all of them.
So needless to say, when you have 10 main characters you have a.l.o.t. going on.
And there lies the problem.
It is almost as if the author had a lot of ideas about something mysterious that could happen at a luxery hotel, she wrote them down on post it notes and randomly put them all together and simply just filled in words inbetween the post it notes to make this story.
At times the writing was pretty good and I was interested in the story (the daughter of one of the hotel's owner ends up dead at an afterparty however there is really no motive to kill her.....or is there?) IN addition to her death, there was an 8 year old boy killed years before, and there are some weird things going on at the hotel. If MKA had stuck to just that simple plot line I think this book would have been much more enjoyable. Instead there was a tornado of characters with complicated, deep backstories that distracted me from the "elevator pitch" plot.
By the time you reach the end you are like, Oh yeah I forgot we were initially trying to figure out what happened to the girl.
What was most disappointing was , when i finally reached the end (WOW was this a case of a book being 150 pages too long) it really fell apart. It was like a completely different author started writing. I am not a prude, but the cussing in the last 30 pages or so would have made a sailor blush.
It was really amateurish(??) writing. It was like she got frustrated and just wanted the book to be over so she hired her 24 year old back country son to finish it.

Now there were times I laughed out loud, MKA has a great sense of humor with some of her lines and I did find parts of the book entertaining. But overall this was a book that suffered some serious idenity crisis. It checked a lot of boxes.......I am not going to recommend to a person who has never read Mary Kay Andrews, she has others that are much better. But if you are an Andrews fan, you might as well read it, its not bad, it just...not the best.

Thank you Net Galley for this advanced copy read of Summers at The Saint. I was not influenced or paid in exchange for this honest review.

This one was a tad different from the Mary Kay Andrew books I've read before. This had a lot going on! Part beach read/part whodunit/part women's fiction. Taking place in Georgia at the St. Cecelia, a fancy resort for the wealthy, employed by the Ain'ts (normal town folks) lives Traci. She is doing her best to keep the resort on its feet after the effects of the pandemic and losing staff left and right. She hires her niece to help out and a slew of other new employees before the summer rush begins which causes a bit of a drama for the long standing employees. Conflicts are starting to arise when a visitor comes to town looking for answers about a drowning 20 years ago at the resort. Suddenly a staff member dies and it's deemed a homicide. This story starts off slow but then really picks up speed. While the story overall was good, it felt like the young characters in the book, it too was having a bit of an identity crisis. At 448 pages, it was also a bit longer than I expected but again there was a lot happening in this story. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Rounded Up.

This was quite the tumultuous read. I wasn't expecting the heaviness. Despite that, it was so well written and engrossing.

Not sure why I took so long to open this book and dig in. It's a delightful, slightly escapist read, filled with a beach/resort them, a bit of mystery, some family drama, and hints of good food. Somewhat predictable, it didn't matter a bit, as the read was just so enjoyable.

Love it when the "Aint's" prevail!

Summers at the Saint is a good beach read. The plot was not predictable and the mysteries unfolded right up until the end. I’ve loved reading this author’s mysteries and greatly enjoyed her romances. I was excited to see both unfold in the same book. That having been said, I don’t feel that it’s the best of either genres that she’s written. I would recommend it as a beach read, but not as the best example of her work.

An enjoyable read for anyone that likes a mystery with a bit of romance thrown in. I felt for the primary character and kept hoping she’d win in the end. Most of the book kept me guessing who was truly on her side.

The one bit that felt unnatural was how quickly the relationship between Traci and her best friend resolved.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

I am a huge fan of Mary Kay Andrews, so I was very excited to see her new book, Summers at the Saint. This book is not your typical beach read! It combines the summer vibes we all love, with a mystery. We are introduced to the Saint Cecelia, called the Saint, a family run resort that has been around for a long time. Traci, who runs the resort, married into the family. But this family has more secrets than she was counting on! When a tragedy happens, Traci must figure out what to do to save the Saint. This book is full of twists and turns that I did not see coming. I fell in love the characters and was rooting for Traci the whole time. Another 5 star book from Mary Kay Andrews!

Loved this book! Very easy, beachy read with enough character depth and plot twists to keep it interested from start to finish. Would definitely read more books from this author, and could see this becoming a series

Such a fun summer read! This has it all…the elite, the beach, friendship, drama, murder, love. I couldn’t put it down!

First you meet Traci, a widow who runs the luxury hotel and resort The Saint. The Saint was her husband’s families legacy and not everybody is rooting for her and the hotel’s success. You follow her and MANY characters through it all. I enjoyed all the charactors and in the beginning it is a little overwhelming. Definitely make a character map to start off, but you do quickly learn everybody and I enjoyed everybody’s POV.

I feel like Mary Kay Andrews writes such good characters. They were all different and man she wrote the bad characters bad. CoughRicCough. 😉

It does sometimes get a little unbelievable, dramatic and a little cheesy at times. She also described a woman as “Dumpling Shaped” and I felt like that was a little wrong and rude.

Overall, this is my 3rd books by Ms. Andrews and I will certainly be reading more!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! 🩷

A good summer murder mystery story. I was actually super sad when the character that sets the investigation in motion died. Even if some of the other 'twists' were obvious, there were enough that kept me reading to finally figure out who was the head of this horribleness. It's a perfect beach read, with some dark moments.

I still think Hoke was murdered but that's just the.

Another hit from Mary Kay Andrews! Part mystery, part love story, lots of drama! Set in a high end resort post pandemic, you will meet some loveable characters and some you will want to punch in the face. Definitely will not be my last book by this author!

Yes, I would read another Mary Kay Andrew's novel. I loved every minute of it. This was a bit darker than i'm used to but i enjoyed it so much.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy! This was my first Mary Kay Andrews read. I really enjoyed it. I grew to love the characters especially Traci, Shannon, Livvy and Whelan. By about half way through the story I was hooked. I did not see the twists coming. I was surprised when all the puzzle pieces started coming together in the story. I thought the characters were likable and well thought out. I liked the author’s use of imagery when talking about the Saint and the beach town setting. I’d be interested in reading any future continuations (if applicable). I’d give it a 4 star rating.

I really liked Summers at the Saint. I went into this book expecting something totally different but was pleasantly surprised. I felt like there were a few holes in the plot but overall it was an easy read. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews is a good beach read if you like a little mystery with your romance novels. Although the cast of characters was larger than the usual MKA novel, once figured out they weren't too bad to keep track of. The story was interesting and kept you turning pages. I didn't feel it was her best novel but it did keep me reading! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The Good: Intriguing story! A murder mystery, with a healthy dose of family drama, and just a dash of romance. The romance was done well and did not interfere with the main plot, which I appreciated. The visuals of The Saint were great! It made me wish I was 'a Saint', even though I probably am more of an 'Ain't'. I really enjoyed the mix of characters and they were presented in a way in which it was easy to keep track of all the characters. I didn't find myself flipping back and trying to figure out who was currently speaking, like can happen in other books that have a cast.

The Bad: Although I know most of Andrews non-holiday themed books fall at about 400 pages this one felt just too long. The first quarter went extremely slow for me, and I found myself reading only a chapter or two at a time. The next quarter went much quicker and started to really catch my interest. The second half of the book was fantastic!

Overall, I think this is a great summer read and would recommend.

I may have only rated this one 3 stars, but hear me out. Mary Kay Andrews is an incredible author and I’ve enjoyed many of her books.

With this one I just couldn’t get into it. I did get lost right away with all the different characters and so much going on. Even though I did finish this one I felt lost most of the time.

I am a fan of mystery and suspense which this one most certainly has. & who’s not a fan of sunshine and beaches !

👉🏼 If you’re anything like me, I’m always up for an adventure.

•vacation read•

Always an auto-buy author. Gorgeous Southern location, quirky characters and a story To get lost in. A fun read

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this book!

I'm a big MKA fan and this did not disappoint. This book has everything, romance, familial relationships, friendships, suspense and intrigue. I was invested in what would happen and rooted for certain characters and "boo"-ed others! A great addition to your beach bag this summer!