Another great summer read from Mary Kay Andrews! She’s one of my favourite author and this book is the perfect mix of suspense, intrigue and romance.Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! The Newcomer was a suspense-filled summer beach read romance! I really enjoyed piecing together Letty and Maya's story. The characters they meet at the Murmuring Surf were interesting and endearing. We begin the book knowing something horrible has happened, it takes the rest of the book for all to be revealed. This is a fun and suspenseful book. I suggest you read it while sipping something fruity and pretending you're on a white sand beach!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Definitely not your average beach read! I've always loved Mary Kay Andrews's mystery novels and her she combines a beach setting with a violent crime. We already know a murder has been committed so we work backwards. After discovering the body of her sister, Letty takes off to Florida with her 4 year old niece. A great read for someone looking for a beach read with some meat!

Mary Kay Andrews does not disappoint with her latest book. Letty is on the run with her 4 year old niece, Maya, having been warned by her late sister. All she has to go on is a receipt from a motel outside of Tampa, Florida.
Once there, Maya begins winning the hearts of the residents and Letty finds a temporary home for the two of them .
A cloud on the horizon-Letty's wanted for murder and kidnapping. As she tries to figure out ways to clear her name, a local cop, who happens to be the son of the motel's owner, wants to know more about her.
Enter a scamming real estate mogul, an FBI agent, and a two bit hood, and you have the makings for some great twists and turns.
I enjoyed it, but wanted more depth to the characters.

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews is thirty-something Scarlett Carnahan who discovers her sister’s dead body in an apartment in New York and grabs her four-year-old niece and heads for a motel on the beach on Treasure Island in Florida. She’s sure Tanya’s lover Evan killed Tanya although the newspapers are reporting that Letty herself killed her sister then vanished with her niece.

Turns out Tanya was afraid of what Evan might do and told Letty that if something happened to her, take little Maya and run. She even had a bag hidden for Letty to take with her that contained money and an expensive diamond ring.

On Treasure Island, Letty practically begs for a room at the Murmuring Surf Motel although the sign says “No Vacancy.” But owner Ava has a tender heart and allows Letty to clean out the storage unit then she and Maya can stay there. Ava’s son Joe is a police officer, and he starts digging into Letty’s background.

The regulars at the Surf are upset that not only has Ava rented to a young person when they consider the motel as a winter respite for seniors only but alsoLetty is someone with a child. As Letty tries to figure out what to do next, she finds she is only a few steps ahead of Evan who has hired someone to make Letty vanish and bring Maya back home to him.

As Joe gets closer and closer to the truth, he finds he has a soft spot for Letty and refuses to believe she could have killed anyone. But when the FBI comes calling, he finds his failure to turn Letty in could have severe repercussions.

Only someone as skilled as Mary Kay Andrews, the Queen of Summer Reads, could write a believable way through this precarious situation. Andrews, a pseudonym for Kathy Hogan Trocheck, is definitely one of my go-to authors for beach reads. A former journalist, she is based in Atlanta with her own hideaway on Tybee Island.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting March 1, 2021.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

This book hooked me from the very beginning and I read it very quickly. I liked the main character, Letty, and found her little niece adorable. This was part mystery, part romance and I found it very enjoyable. It would be a great beach read.

This book made me wish it was summer time and that I was sitting by the pool reading it with a fruity cocktail in hand! I enjoyed the story. It was what I’m used to from having read some of Mary Kay Andrew’s other books. I did feel the book was a bit too long! The story could have ended a 100 pages sooner. But as whole I enjoyed reading about the adventures of Letty and Maya and I figured out the mystery pretty early on. This is a good beach read for when we can finally be back on the beach! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

OMG. I loved this book! I am so impressed by Mary Kay Andrews writing style that I am wanting to read another one of her books right away! Definitely amazing characters and the storyline was fantastic. You will not want to stop reading this one.

Quite a cute book! The romance was there and the chase was not too dominant in the book which made a nice cozy read. This was my first read of Mary Kay and I'll certainly be keeping an eye on her!

Once again Mary Kay Andrews delivers a great beach read. I loved the on the run feeling for main characters Letty and Maya. I totally could envision everything about The Murmuring Surf. Mary Kay does an excellent job of transporting you to the location. This book had it all mystery, murder, family bonds, romance and laughs. I couldn’t put it down. I will be recommending this for everyone’s pool or beach bag this summer! Thanks for the ARC!!

An enjoyable book. The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews. I've read books in the past by author and always liked them but this one for me is a top rated story. With it's setting, characters, dialogue and storyline it really hits it out of the ball park for me. The story has some mystery, some fun characters, great setting and kept me intrigued though the whole book.

3 stars

Letty, the m.c., is in a tough spot. When readers meet her, she is on the run from the scene of her sister's apparent murder...with her four-year-old niece. Her sister, Tanya, has warned Letty for years that her boyfriend/father of the aforementioned niece is bad news, (something Letty knows firsthand, as she actually dated him first), so Tanya has in some ways prepared her sister and child for the possibility of her untimely demise. The race out of town lands Letty and her niece at a beach front motel in Florida, setting the scene for what seems like a contender for a winning beach read of 2021. But...

For the first quarter of the book or so, I was completely on board with the pacing and plot. Then, it started to slowly go...nowhere. There are no surprises. Everything takes forever. I stopped even caring about the safety of the characters. For me, this became a tedious and l-o-n-g road to...exactly where I expected I was going.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not looking for complexity in my beach reads. What I am looking for is some kind of development and excitement. These characters - especially the women characters - deserve more than they get here.

This isn't a bad read, but if you do dive in, know that there is more excitement on the cover than in the pages. I'll give Andrews a try again in spite of my lackluster feelings about this one.

The latest book The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews was a little slow and it dragged on and on for me. There’s really no mystery to it. You pretty much know how it’s going to end IMO. I was hoping to like this more than I did. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

I look forward to reading a new Mary Kay Andrews' book at the start of every summer and was ecstatic to receive an ARC of The Newcomer. I really enjoyed learning about each of the main characters in the story, especially Joe and Lettie. Andrews did a fantastic job of describing the motel and the gulf-style living, and I enjoyed the small bit characters, too! Although there is a murder involved in the story, I found this to be an enjoyable, light story. A perfect beach read for 2021!

The Newcomer story revolves around Letty and her four-year-old niece, Maya. After Letty’s sister is found murdered, Letty beats it out of town taking the now mother-less Maya with her. We soon learn how resourceful Letty can be. In fact, when Letty arrives at the Murmuring Surf Motel (with Maya in tow) she has very little money and a broken down car. Yet, Letty manages to win over the owner of the Murmuring Surf Motel who gives her shelter and a job.

The band of snow-bird senior citizens are regulars staying at the same shabby old motel as Letty. The seniors are a quirky bunch and are quite curious about Letty and Maya. There are some humorous moments as the seniors argue and vie against each over trivial issues. I laughed as the seniors would spring into action to beat each other out in an effort to switch rooms when a vacancy would occur.

Between the nosy seniors and the police officer son of the motel owner, I expected Letty and Maya to be found quickly. However, Andrews did her magic by sprinkling this mystery story with some much needed goodwill and a bit of romance as well. Overall, I found The Newcomer to be an enjoyable summer read.

This was your typical Mary Kay Andrews read. I enjoyed it, but I think it is best served up on a beach or poolside with a cocktail in hand. There was nothing groundbreaking here, but it was an enjoyable read.

The Murmuring Surf hotel is more home away from home than hotel. Each year senior snowbirds gather to watch, sun, gossip on Treasure Island in Florida. Letty, on the run with her niece Maya after her sisters murder uses a clue she thinks her sister left to end up at the Surf hotel. Ava has raised two kids at the Murmuring surf ,a daughter and a son . Her son has feared that her soft spot has kept her from turning the kind of profit the surf could realize. Joe her son and a local cop is suspicious of Letty and her circumstances and keeps an eye on the “newcomer” . Ava see'sLetty as a godsend who organizes and puts systems in place that Joe has urged his mom to adopt for years. The death of her sister puts into motion revelations of secrets that Letty suspected but could not prove. The least of which was who really killed her sister. A little romance along the way never hurts, and Letty and Joe are happy to oblige. A nice clean departure for Ms Andrew’s I hope this isn’t the last of this genre. Happy reading

First, I would like to offer a special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for the pleasure of getting to read this book before it comes out in print.

This novel falls under the genres of mystery & thrillers, romance, and women’s fiction – a perfect trifecta!

If you can’t go to the beach, why not read a novel where a beautiful beach is the main setting, right?

I was ready for a book that I could enjoy and read quickly. This novel struck a balance between being suspenseful and edgy and then light and even funny at times. Oh, and let’s not forget the romance.

Letty and Joe are the two main characters but the other characters are quite strong. Letty is on the run from New York with her niece in tow. She has nowhere to turn and limited funds. Following a clue from her murdered sister, she ends up at a small mom-and-pop seaside motel. The owner quickly befriends her but her handsome police detective son senses that something is off and is wary of Letty.

I appreciate the attention, detail, and development of all the characters in this novel. I could definitely picture each character and this novel would make a fantastic movie. I like a book where I am curious to see what unfolds – this makes a good book when you want to turn the page and find out more.

I definitely recommend this book. So whether you are lucky enough to be reading it on a beach or in the comfort of your own home, this novel is available on May 4, 2021.

First I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Newcomer in exchange for my honest review! I love Mary Kay Andrews so this one has been on my tbr for a while! I was so excited to find out I was approved to read it early and share my review! I like how Andrew's has a true talent for storytelling and developing characters. I thought this was a fantastic beach read and honestly one of her best yet! I will be telling everyone I know to buy it and I will personally be buying my mom a copy for her birthday!

Such a sweet story! The mystery was gripping and kept me holding out to see how it would end. I loved the characters, especially Letty and Joe. It felt like a good chick flick movie but with a little bit of crime/murder sprinkled in. Definitely would make a great read for a long day at the beach. I look forward to checking out Andrews' other books.