A perfect ending to a perfectly crafted set of novels! Hilderbrand is the gold standard for the beach read, and this, her final entry in the Nantucket series, is divinely executed. I love when an author recognizes that they are done with a specific project and retires it themselves before their writing gets repetitive and stale, and that's exactly what Elin is doing by ending the series here, and with this specific family. Love love love.

Another summertime book by Elin Hilderbrand and I am delighted.

This is the last in a series of Nantucket books that follow the cases of Ed, Chief of police. In this novel he is 3 days before retirement and ready for it. Unfortunately events pull him back in the game.

A wealthy, flashy couple bought a house in Nantucket for $22 million dollars. They have a lot of money and love to spend it. Conspicuous consumption personified.

The Richardson's house burns down while they are partying in the sea. They don't show the appropriate horror and don't seem to care terribly that their young personal assistant is missing. The assistant is friends with Ed's daughter so he feel no choice but to become involved.
Their is a general cast of kooky characters in the book and Ed has to finagle his way through all of this to find the answers.

Elin Hilderbrand's Swan Song really is her swan song - longtime fans will recognize many familiar characters and Easter eggs throughout this book, which focuses on one last police investigation for retiring chief Ed Kapenash. This book has a LOT of characters and would probably be a little overwhelming for those new to Hilderbrand books. But Elin fans will delight in spending one last summer in Nantucket with all their faves.

Elin Hilderbrand's new book will certainly be a hit this summer for two main reasons. First...she always delivers her much anticipated book for beach time and she NEVER disappoints....great story & great characters - I can definitely see this as a Netflix series! Second, she has appropriately named this book Swan Song - not only for what it means for Ed the Chief of Police but also for Elin. You my friend are bowing out graciously, but I don't know what I'm going to do without your book every summer. If you ever change your mind and unretire...your readers will always be here for you! Enjoy your retirement and thank you for many great books!

So much fun! Rich families in the Hamptons behaving badly. I loved most everything about this story. The mystery, the characters, the setting. I would highly recommend for a fun, light read that will keep you turning the pages.

As a huge Elin Hilderbrand fan, I have been anxiously awaiting her final novel. I am equal parts saddened by the end of an era and thrilled at the perfection of this novel.

For Hilderbrand fans, we are being blessed with an absolutely amazing summer novel. Mystery, drama, love, gossip, sandy beaches, and so many great Nantucket friends.

I had been saving this to read while on vacation this spring and I highly suggest you do the same.

Thank you Elin for so many wonderful novels! I think I’m going to go back to the beginning now and start over again!

A great swan song indeed for the years of stories from Nantucket. Engaging, descriptive, fun, and sad-it has everything you'd expect from a Hilderbrand novel.

Devastated that this is the last of the Nantucket books- I so enjoy the characters, scenery, descriptions, etc. You could totally read this as a standalone. Such a great way to end this chapter!

Say it ain't so! Elin can't actually be "retiring" from Nantucket novels. As "Swan Song" makes clear, she's the reigning queen of the summer novel, with all the detailed descriptions of the privileged life on the island as delicious as ever. My favorite Elin books are the one's revolving around a love story plot ("28 Summers") but a close second is a large ensemble group with an intersecting plot ("The Hotel Nantucket"). "Swan Song" fits into the latter and is a beautiful goodbye to a cast of familiar characters - but naturally, three strangers must first come to town to shake things up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ARC copy of “Swan Song” in exchange for an honest review.

❄️Instead of focusing on our snowstorm outside praise the Lord that I am happily enjoying summer in Nantucket thanks to @netgalley and @elinhilderbrand @littlebrown. The much anticipated Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand will publish June 11th and Elin says it is the end of an era as it is the last of her Nantucket-based summer novels- at least for now!

❄️It is most appropriate that Swan Song begins with a retirement party for Chief of Police Ed Kapenash. Ed has been on the case in Nantucket for pretty much all of the novels set there. And on the night he hopes to celebrate his career and retirement the event is interrupted by the news of the well-known Richardsons’ house burning to the ground and the prime suspect going missing in the waters surrounding their home.

❄️And on that premise- off we go on a wild wonderful ride of parties, gossip, name-dropping, decadence, fabulous catered food and drinks, costumes, entanglements, love, families, beaches and reminiscing about Nantucket. And of course, Elin helps us solve the mystery and ties it all up in a Lilly Pulitzer bow.

❄️I loved this Swan Song. It was like going home for a visit and quickly getting drawn in to the drama and happenings. I will miss these characters and I hope some will come visit again. For now- I’m going to ignore my snowy surroundings and see if I can figure out how to make a deep-fried olive stuffed with sausage and a French 75! 😋

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. It is another page-turner by author Elin Hilderbrand. I read this book in less than two days as I could not wait to see who burned the house and did it. I'm said to see the series wrap up, but a great book to do so.

Neither Nantucket nor Hilderbrand needs any promotion, but here we are: on the eve of his retirement, Nantucket Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is interrupted at a dinner party by a 911 from dispatch: the house bought by the new money Richardsons, who have been dazzling and upsetting the status quo all summer, is on fire while they on the water hosting a yachting and fireworks party; their personal concierge Coco, a friend of Ed’s daughter Kacy, is missing, presumed overboard. The narrative moves back and forth from the dinner party to the summer events preceding it, with fashion, romance, fantastic catering, restaurant hopping, and a mystery to tie it all together: Was Coco pushed, or did she jump or fall? Who set the house on fire, and why?

In Hilderbrand’s thirtieth and (supposedly!) last Nantucket summer novel–her own swan song–reader’s will appreciate all the familiar touchstones: Bartlett’s farm tomatoes; last call and dancing at the Chicken Box; letting the air out of the tires to drive on the beach (how do they refill the tires after the cruising on the sand?); water and cocktails with lemon (Almalfi lemons, no less; if they don’t come from the Italian coast, they’re just sparkling lemons). Fans will delight in the allusions to previous novel, from characters like real-estate mogul Fast Eddie and his wife Grace, to landscaper extraordinaire Coe Benton to gossip Blond Sharon and Scandalous Steamship guy Romeo. Pink Laurent-Perrier champagne is a throwback to The Blue Bistro, my personal favorite Hilderbrand novel. The Gray Lady is practically a character herself, with her cobblestone streets, busy dock, rose-covered cottages, isolated and rustic Tuppernuck island, and beautiful beaches.

The weaving from various characters second person points of view to a first person collective royal we is brilliant and works so well. The writing is good, the plot tight, and the details juicy and lushly written, but this book had a “more of the same” feel for me. I found The Hotel Nantucket and The Five-Star Weekend to be stronger reads with more unique plots, situations, and characters. Swan Song is stand-alone and does not depend on your recall for other books in the series to enjoy it, but readers who remember who’s who will get the most out of the references and characters. I also don’t love the cover, which features neither a swan dive or any scene mentioned in the book; I want the octagonal hot-tub or deck of triple eight Pocomo Road with an ocean view in the background. That said, I’m sure the spine will look nice next to all the other blue and tan beach-themed hardcover Elin Hilderbrand books on my shelf.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #SwanSong via #NetGalley courtesy of Little, Brown and Company.

I hate that this is Elin's last Nantucket book. I always look forward to her titles and being on Nantucket in her books. Ed is about to retire as chief of police. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. Avery expensive home is purchase by a couple that everyone is eager to know. They hold extravagant parties that everyone wants to attend. Then the home burns down and an employee goes missing.. So begins the mystery and a great read.

This was the final book in her Nantucket series, and this was HER swan song. We meet a wealthy couple who decide to set their roots in Nantucket, and make a big first impression on the town people. They host lavish parties with no expenses spared, but can we trust them? Are they here for the right reasons ? I loved every second of this novel, and I will be booking a trip to Nantucket immediately. Once again, Elin Hilderbrand does not disappoint! The old characters we all know as friends are back. In addition, we gain some new ones that we will all love to hate!

A real Swan song for Nantucket!

I loved Hilderbrand Nantucket serie, so maybe my review is positively biased.
The author has the capacity to expertly describe a scene. You can feel the warm breeze caressing your sunkissed or sunburnt skin and smell Leslee Richardson overpowering vanilla perfume .
The funniest part for me was Leslee importing Sorrento lemons for an obscene price.Yet, I could see and smell those unique fruits as Coco made herself a drink with it.
This summer reading book is very captivating as you want to know all the nitty details.
The author offers well painted characters who are human and make bad choices . Don’t we all?
Farewell Nantucket! I will miss you 😢

I would like to thank # NetGalley for letting me « travel » to Nantucket one last time .

Sorry this is her last book. Always nice to visit the island. This book is pretty much like all the others...nice, lite read. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book is picnic basket filled with all of the necessary items for a day at the beach. It contains old friends, new friends, delicious food, sweet and savory drinks, romance and a dash of mystery. Some characters from previous books are together again to celebrate, gossip, eat, drink and dance, while new characters have come to Nantucket to shake things up. All in all, this book is perfect . . . a must read for the summer!

Just when you think that Elin can't write a better book she does. I absolutely loved this one. I tried to savor and read slow knowing this was her final swan song. It did not disappoint. She is an amazing storyteller.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Little, Brown and Company for an advance copy of this last novel by the person who put the island in beach reads, and a book that leaves her fans sated, but still wanting at least one more visit to Nantucket.

All good things must come to pass, and even summer has to give into fall at some point. Elin Hilderbrand has made Nantucket the destination of many a summer reader with Hilderbrand's mix of romance, travel, whimsy and family relationships. Swan Song is said to be Hilderbrand's last book, a retirement from writing that many fans hope will be as short as winter has been becoming. However, if Swan Song is to be Hilderbrand's last it is quite a book to go out on, as it is filled with the characters that many have grown to love, a lot of returning old friends, a mystery and of course that most important part, the Island of Nantucket.

Ever since the Richardsons have arrived the Nantucket has been all aflutter. Rich from no one is sure how, and coming from no one is sure where, the Richardsons have used their wealth to shoehorn themselves into society, though society has been a very tight fit for them. The purchase of a 22 million dollar summer home, their two yachts. Their meddling in marriages and relationships. Their constant parties. Much ado is happening. However to retiring Police Chief Ed Kapenash it is all just white noise. Kapenash has decided to retire, and with only three days left has started to check out mentally. At his retirement party Kapenash is told that there is a fire, the huge estate of the Richardsons, the 22 million dollar property is aflame. The Richardsons are on their yacht, and don't seem to care. Even after a young woman is found missing, a friend to Kapenash's daughter. With hours closing towards his leaving his job Kapenash begins to investigate why the girl might be missing, and what the Richardsons are hiding, abetted by the usual cast of Nantucket characters.

Elin Hilderbrand has been a mainstay for beach reads for quite a long time. I don't remember ever setting up a table in bookstores without any of her titles, and to think there might be summers, even a Christmas title without Hilderbrand is strange. Maybe this is a Stephen King retirement, with a little bit of quiet before the books return. If this is Hilderbrand's last it is a book for fans. The story is strong, a story about change in an area that is resistant to change, and a bit of passing of the guard. There are many familiar characters, and even better a lot of characters and situations that are call backs to other books. Fans will get very nerdy trying to place a lot of these together and how they fit in. Sort of a Hilderbrand Extended Universe story. The writing is crips and perfect for the summer, with a hint of maudlin, and again that feeling of change looming over all. A very good work to end a bestselling career.

Elin Hilderbrand has done it again! Swan Song is a fitting end to her Nantucket novels. Swan Song truly kept me guessing right up to the very end. I miss Elin's Nantucket already, but I'm so looking forward to her whatever she has in store for her next chapter!

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC!