This is a great book to take on vacation, or relaxing at home.
It has just enough romance, family, and a bit of murder mystery.
Mary Kay Andrews has did it again!

The Newcomer is the latest from the queen of the beach reads, @marykayandrews and it’s another great one to start summer.

Letty is in the run from a dangerous situation in New York and has arrived with her four year old niece, Maya, at a mom and pop motel in Florida. The regulars grumble about a child at their pool, but Letty makes herself at home at the Murmuring Surf.

Part romance, part suspense, and totally unputdownable. I adored these characters, the setting and everything else about this book. It’s an absolute must for your summer reading.

I really enjoyed this book! Really enjoyable characters, loved the storyline. I can easily see this being one of the beach reads of the summer. Just really entertaining and worth the time to read. Highly recommend!

What a great addition to my spring/summer line up of books this year! The Newcomer is about a woman and her small niece on the run. After Letty's sister is murdered in her fancy New York apt., Letty grabs her four year old niece Maya and takes off. She has no where to go but founds solice in a quaint little motel on the beach in florida. As the book unfolds, you see how Letty finds strength, family, and love as she fights to protect her niece and herself. The more I read, the more I fell in love with this sweet little motel and all the characters that make up life there. I was genuinely curious throughout the entire story about what would happen next. This is a story where you have characters to root for and a place that you find yourself wishing you could visit in real life.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am going to start with the audio copy as this was the primary format for how I read this book.
.
Sometimes I wish all audios were required to have have at least two narrators. One for female characters and one for male. Sorry, not sorry. That is my only complaint. To be fair it did not take away the enjoyment of the book itself. I just like to say.....y'all need to look at this in upcoming audio books.
.
Alright, let's talk The Newcomer. Look. I love Mary Kay Andrews. She writes Summer the best I know. Her characters are always delightful....unless they are not....but very rounded out characters. The location (in this case a motel in Florida) is just good fun. Mixing up the snow birds with the year rounders was always entertaining. I personally would not call this a thriller....but it is absolutely suspenseful. Sprinkle family drama and romance and you have a MKA good time.
.
If you want something kinda light, but not too light.....pick up The Newcomer. You will gasp, you will laugh and you might even shed a tiny tear or two.

Letty Carnahan finds her sister, Tanya, dead on the floor in her NYC townhouse. Not a month earlier, Tanya made Letty promise that if anything happened to her, Letty would take Tanya’s 4-year-old daughter, Maya, and run and keep Maya safe from her father. So, Letty grabs the “go bag” Tanya showed her, Maya and her favorite stuffed animal, and heads south. A series of events lead her to the Murmuring Surf motel on the beach in Florida. Could Letty find all the things she’s been missing from life while also keeping Maya safe?

This “summer read’ is part murder mystery, part romance, and part chick-lit. Overall, I really liked the main characters. But, it had a hard time getting into the story. It was slow going for me. But, in the end, I enjoyed it even though much of the story is far-fetched.
Easy beach read with likable characters.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Traveling With T's Thoughts:
Some say summer begins with MKA. I don’t disagree with that statement.

I have to say that MKA’s cover team at St.Martin’s Press really do a great job at covers. They are always SO eye catching!



What I Liked:

The cover. Isn’t that so cute? I adore the colors and the sharks def play into the book 🙂

Maya. She stole my heart (and most of the scenes!)

The ending. Good ending. I also wouldn’t mind these characters getting mentioned again in a future book.

Bottom line: While I would have liked a bit more romance mixed in with the story (I think)- The Newcomer has lots to satisfy readers and will look good in your hands at pool or beach 🙂 Recommended.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Who wants to go to the Murmuring Surf? I sure do! What a quaint little story set in a quaint little ocean town in Florida, at the Murmuring Surf Motel. I can envision one of the old Myrtle Beach Motels before all of the high rises took over. I loved everything about this story from the double mysteries of who done it to the romance intertwined. This novel was very easy to read and kept me glued at every twist and turn. I just love a book with a happy ending. MKA has done it again!

The Newcomer, by Mary Kay Andrews, has great characters (to love and hate) and a fun plot with a bit of mystery to keep drawing the reader through the pages. This book is destined to be a top beach read for 2021. It really should be tucked in all beach and pool-bound totes!

I picked this book because the cover looked so great. I was excited because I thought it would be some wicked mean people trying to keep her from fitting in at the Inn. It turns out in this one the only mean people were her family and her niece’s fathers. The folks at the in were harmless when Letty showed them her real personality, which was genuine, caring, and respectful. Just like Ava the Inn owner. Turns out Letty had a lot to learn about herself and what she really was looking for in life, not just trying to figure out how to protect her niece.

The heartbreak we see in Letty is powerful. She is not only dealing with the loss of her sister, but really everything she knew about her family. Her family was pretty terrible to her with the exception of her grandmother. The non existent father made her susceptible to men of less than stellar character. Her sister was another member who really put her through the wringer by taking over her life and just basically being a pretty awful person with no morals. The best thing to come from her sister was Maya who Letty cherishes as if she’s her own and puts Maya first through all the tough times she ahead when her sister is murdered.

The romance in this one was soft and I think pretty real feeling for someone in her situation. They both realized there was more to the other, but they were both dealing with a lot on their plate. Joe didn’t try to take over Letty’s life, but rather he coaxed her back into living for herself and Maya, making life work on her terms. He also taught her you could rely on someone and not give up yourself. Letty taught Joe, that there were people out there just as good as his mother and who were willing to not consume him, but fit in with his personality and life. It was like seeing two puzzle pieces fit together. It wasn’t the final piece to the puzzle, but it was the two pieces that made you see where a whole bunch more went. A start of something good.

This was a feel good romance with some intrigue, suspense, and a cast of hilarious older characters. I loved what an easy read it was and how all the puzzle pieces fit in the end to make the whole. I’m giving this a 4 of 5 because there was no “ah, hah” moment, but an easy summer reading experience.

Ok. Summer can start now.

This book was both mysterious and captivating, humorous, and full of heart. Can’t get better than that for your first Summer Read from the queen of beach reads.

The Newcomer, written by Mary Kay Andrews, is part thriller, part romance and 100% beach read. After she finds her sister Tanya dead, Letty Carnahan fleas NYC with her young nice and a bag of money. She is certain Tanya’s ex murdered her and is terrified. She sheds her own life and checks into The Murmuring Surf Motel where she soon had a job and a new life for herself and young Maya.

The good:
- I love a good beach setting. I live in Oklahoma and will happily take any kind of sand and relaxing I can get!
- The premise of this book is interesting.
- I enjoyed Letty’s interactions with all the snowbirds at the hotel.
- The light and snappy writing style was refreshing.

The bad:
- This book was 448 pages long, y'all! Wayyyyyyyyy too long for another I’d consider a beach read. I needed more action and a lot quicker pace.

Overall, this will be a hit with fans of Mary Kay Andrews. I will try her again, but hopefully it will be a shorter book! Three stars!

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. #Netgalley #TheNewcomer

Thank you to netgalley and st. Martin's Press for an advanced readers copy of Mary Kay Andrews' newest Summers read The Newcomer in exchange for my honest opinion.

Predictable, but adorable summer read. The characters were likeable. I loved the fact that I live right were this takes place so I recognize all the places and landmarks.

Great read for your beach bag this summer!

After Nancy Thayer, Mary Kay Andrews is the next author I can't wait to read when beach book season rolls around. If you haven't read one of her summer novels, they aren't fluff. They can be pretty intense reads at times and The Newcomer puts the reader on high alert right from the first page.

The Newcomer starts off with a woman terrified, on the run with her 4-year-old niece. My anxiety on behalf of Letty and Maya ratcheted up a few notches. We soon learn that Letty discovered her sister murdered when she went to pick up her niece for their weekly playdate. Just a few weeks prior Tanya had confided in Letty that she was terrified of her ex-boyfriend and should anything happen to her, Letty needed to take Maya and run. Tanya even had a go-bag ready with plenty of cash. Not knowing where to go, Letty decides to head to an old motel in Florida. After all, Tanya had a magazine article about it in her go-bag. Ironically, the motel owner's son is a local police detective.

The book is suspenseful and will keep you turning the pages, but it is also a beach read so it isn't terribly dark or gritty. Actually, there are a lot of fun characters at the motel. As it is still the off-season, snowbirds are in residences. These guests have been coming to the motel since their kids were small and now in their retirement they spend the cold, winter months in the Sunshine State. It is an idyllic setting and soon you are lulled into forgetting the danger Letty and Maya are in.

There's a bit of romance which all beach reads should have and don't worry, there's a happily ever after. It is really the perfect summer read as it has it all - page-turning suspense, romantic overtones with a caring, handsome man, and warm ocean breezes (which are especially important for those of us reading from home). Whether you are turning your backyard into your vacation destination or are heading for the real surf and sand this summer, this is one book you will want to have on hand.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Monday, May 10 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/05/the-newcomer-by-mary-kay-andrews-review.html

This was a really good book. I really like Letty, she was the older of the sisters and didn't always like what Tanya did, but loved her anyway. Letty made a promise to her sister that if anything happened to her, Letty would take Maya, Tanya's daughter, and run. Letty did just that, and ended up in Florida for reasons she was not clear about. Once there, she and Maya made friends and created a family. I thank Net Galley for the ARC for my opinion. Read it, you will not be disappointed.

I loved this so much! I think I say this every year about new books by Mary Kay Andrews, but I think THIS ONE might be her best yet. Great southern setting and the suspense kept me turning the pages. Loved the touches of romance too.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest from the first page. The characters were well-developed, and I loved the mystery and bit of romance. The Murmuring Surf motel was charming and had a likable cast of characters. I was drawn into Letty and Maya's story and the support of the family and community at the motel, even though they were considered the newcomers. The story flowed nicely and was believable. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for mystery and intrigue.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for my gifted ARC.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FZ9HWZ9/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
OK-DAMN! This is not the same Mary Kay Andrews book that I am used to! HOLY MOLY! I didn't see ANY of this coming, didn't see the underlying story or any of it. It has been quite a while since I have read a REALLY GOOD book, but this book is REALLY good and had me sneaking away to read it. It has been a busy two weeks, but I have been trying to read this book in EVERY free moment that I got! This has got to be THE BEST book that Mary has written over the years!
This book is about two sisters, their betrayal, their trust in each other and finding the truth. Altered identities, white lies, motives unknown. If you are looking for a happy go lucky book, look elsewhere. This book is filled with mystery and suspense. Oh Mary, you have me back, reeled back in like a fish with a hole in her lip. I may have a hole in my lip, but not from a fishhook.
We have lots of characters in this book; we have Ellie, the Elephant who is stuffed, but she plays more of a part than any of us can imagine, there is Letty, sister, aunt, ex, but is more responsible than we can ever imagine, Evan, who is quite the businessman in his own right, Maya, a sweet four- year old girl who is the owner and lover of Ellie, Joe DeCurtis, policeman, father, brother and protector, Isabelle, a teenager, sister to Joe, but a trustworthy human, Tanya, sister to Letty, mother to Maya and mysterious woman and many more interesting characters.

So much happens in this book, I don’t even want to give anything away- Make sure you don’t start this before bed! This is a clear your schedule book. You are going to have quite the bookover after this one! Thanks, Mary, I am now going to be chasing the next amazing book after reading this. SIGH! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read and review this book! One day, hopefully I will have the opportunity to be in the same room as the author! Thanks for writing this book, sharing your word and keeping us all entertained. I CANNOT wait for the next book!

It's just not summer without a book by Mary Kay Andrews. She writes so smoothly it's like watching a river flow while drinking sweet tea. Her newest book has her signature mix of romance, mystery, humor and sunny locale. The Newcomer is a story of the relationship between sisters, forgiveness, finding hope and new love too. It's perfect!

Absolutely well written, this Mary Kay Andrews novel is something I am looking forward to reading every day since I started it. I liked how it all starts n the book and am loving Letty's character and am totally charmed by what she is trying to do for her sister.