This was my first Mary Kay Andrews book and it definitely wont be my last! The Newcomer follows Letty escaping with her young niece Maya after finding her sister dead. Months prior her sister made Letty promise that if anything ever happened to her that she would take her niece and run. Running is exactly what Letty did until she stumbled upon a quirky hotel full of snowbirds in a quiet Florida beach town. The pace of the story keeps you engaged and eager to find out what happens next and how Letty plans to rebuild their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchanged for my honest feedback.

Rating: 4.5 stars

One part murder mystery, one part woman on the run, one part old Florida that only exists in people's memories and small pockets up and down the coast, one part relationship building between two "not really young" people any more and you have THE NEWCOMER from Mary Kay Andrews. it's a delightful book that will have you readin through at a fast pace, hoping the expected "other foot" doesn't drop. Mary Kay Andrews has another stand alone hit that features Florida, the beach, and wonderful characters..

In this book, Letty has grabbed her niece Maya and fled to Florida, running from Evan, Maya's father and the suspected murderer of Maya's mother, Letty's sister Tanya. Because of an old magazine article she found in Tanya's things, Letty's destination is The Murmuring Surf Motel on Treasure Island Beach, outside of Tampa. When she arrives she finds an old style mom and pop motel, populated by an easy going woman who is a soft touch for a sad story, her police detective son, and a group of snow birds who vacation the same time every year.

Trying to solve why it was important to Tanya and avoid being found out by Evan, or arrested by Joe, the cop, keeps Letty on pins and needles. She proves herself invaluable to the motel's owner and convinces the son she isn't a dangerous criminal and they all set about trying to extricate her from her current situation. Satisfying on all fronts. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advance copy. The opinions here are entirely my own. An additional review is upcoming at MysteryandSuspensecom.

As a Floridian I enjoyed the setting in this book and can relate to the descriptions. There was also enough mystery and excitement in the story to keep my interested.

I am new to Mary Kay Andrews even though she has been writing books for over 20 years. I was introduced to her when I read her novel Summer Rental and couldn't wait to read more of her books. I love discovering a "new to me" author. I was excited to receive an advanced copy of The Newcomer from NetGalley and it did not disappoint! It is the perfect summer read. The book is full of intrigue with a little romance thrown in the mix. The residents of the motel Letty is staying at are characters and bring a bit of charm to the story. The ending is satisfying.

I want to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews.
This drama revolves around The Murmuring Surf, a motel on the west coast of Florida that is no longer in it’s prime. You become absorbed with all the characters. How they all come together is really special, sometimes sad and sometimes laugh out loud. A sister’s murder back in New York and searching for a couple of crooks and a cache of stolen jewelry and missing money is the premise of this novel.
Four year old Maya is the best! “Noooo” she says!
Curl up in a comfortable chair, have a cup of hot chocolate and immerse yourself in The Newcomer!
Forget about politics and the pandemic!
Enjoy!
#TheNewcomer #NetGalley

This was very different from other Mary Kay Andrew’s books I’ve read. They’re usually light and fun reads but this one was heavier and darker and I can’t honestly say that I loved it. There were parts that I started skimming because I was trying to get it over with.
Letty is an average woman who’s had a rough past. Her sister has made some bad choices and gotten mixed up with the wrong people. One day Letty finds her sister dead and her daughter hiding. Her sister had told her if anything ever happened to her that it would be her ex that did it and she should take Maya and run and hide to keep him from getting her so that’s exactly what Letty did. She ran to Florida, to a cute little motel that her sister left a picture of in her bag. There she gets “adopted “ by the owner and gets a job and a place to live while she figures out what to do. The owners son is a police officer and he figures out what’s going on with Letty and he helps the FBI set up a sting to get the ex to admit that he killed her sister, and in the process m he and Letty fall in love.
I think it probably would have been told a little bit more enjoyably had it been 50-75 pages shorter, but I liked the idea behind it.

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews will be the #1 beach read. As the title alludes, this book is about a newcomer to an established motel community in Treasure Island, Florida. Letty Carnahan ends up at The Murmuring Surf motel with a four year old, Maya, in tow. You soon find out she does not have permission to keep Maya. Her heart is unmistakably true blue and she soon finds a whole community of support as she attempts to unravel the mysterious death of her sister, Tanya.

The true heart of Letty is pure, we are given insight into her quirky personality and fall in love with her flaws and all! Her checkered past shared via glimpses of flashbacks has you cheering her on as she changes her whole life to be the best aunt to Maya. You will fall in love with this little girl and the quirky cast of characters at The Murmuring Surf are hilarious.

Poignant scenes are shared between Letty and Maya as they struggle with Tanya’s death. The last scene of the book will have you cheering and crying all at once. Happiness and sorrow are intertwined with grace,

Obviously, it would not be a MKA book without a steamy love interest, in this case it is helped along by the son of the motel owner, This book has it all —- romance, humor, mystery, family secrets, and redemption!

I was provided a free advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Mary Kay Andrews for the advance readers copy of The Newcomer for my honest review.

Mary Kay Andrews never disappoints. The Newcomer is a fun fictional mystery. It is a perfect “beach read” type of book. The protagonist female Letty is on the run with her 4 year old niece. The story has just the right amount of romance and lots of twists and turns. I throughly enjoyed this book.

Beach Read 2021! We read for a variety of reasons and sometimes we need that bit of light reading, where we know that all will end well for the good guys.

Letty's sister Tanya has led a checkered life. Letty finds her sister's body on the floor of her condo, and Tanya's little girl hiding. Letty knows she must keep Maya safe. She grabs Tanya's emergency bag (with a bunch of money and a huge diamond ring tucked into the bag) and heads out, her only clue is a scrap of paper with the name of the hotel, the Murmuring Surf.

Murder, stolen cars, kidnapping, the list of terrible things goes on. Letty knows she is being followed and does her best to keep herself and Maya alive and hidden. She finds the motel, old, rundown, in need of freshening, and housing a group of senior snowbirds who look on any child with suspicion. After all, they do not want their routines disrupted and that little girl might just do that. The owner needs help, and Letty starts working for her. The owner has a son who is a police officer - he is a real hottie! And he asks far too many questions. Letty knows she did not murder her sister, now to convince the law of that - and keep herself and Maya alive in the process.

Mary Kay Andrews, well-known for her beach reads, has, over the years, gradually taken on darker topics and she does this one very well.

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of those stories that end and you want to keep on reading. Highly recommend!

The Newcomer is an entertaining page-turner in women's fiction. Letty Carnahan is on the run with her niece and wanted for her sister's murder. At her wit's end, Letty runs to a little motel on a Florida beach that was on a magazine clipping among her sister's belongings. Letty convinces the motel owner to rent her a room and gets a new job in the process. The "newcomer" at the motel, Letty is put through the wringer by the locals but quickly finds her place in her new home and a new love interest on the horizon. When danger comes calling again Letty finds out who her friends are. Letty is a very likable, sympathetic, and interesting character and her love interest, Joe can win over the toughest of hearts for a great read anywhere or anytime. Mary Kay Andrews always promises a good time and never disappoints. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Mary Kay Andrews has done it again! A little mystery, a little romance, and a whole lotta fun! Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book.

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorite authors! So much so, that I count down to her new release every spring. And then I proceed to pass the book along to numerous family members when I am finished. Last year, I had the privilege to review an ARC copy of her 2020 release and I was super excited! And I still bought the book on release day and passed it along to the other MKA fans in my family. Needless to say, I was thrilled when St. Martin’s Press reached out and asked me to review her 2021 release through NetGalley!

The story centers around a woman named Letty who finds her sister, Tanya, murdered in New York City and flees to Florida with her 4 year old niece, Maya. Convinced her sisters ex-boyfriend, Evan (the father of Maya) killed Tanya, Letty plans to hide out at a small beach hotel until she finds a way to prove his guilt. But Letty’s escape has made her a suspect and now not only is Evan looking for her and Maya, she’s now wanted by the police. Letty soon finds herself taken in by the owner of the hotel Ava and the long term residents who arrive every winter as she tries to piece together what really happened to Tanya.

What I liked: As is true of all Mary Kay Andrew’s books, I loved all the main characters - especially the older hotel residents. At first they resent Letty “The Newcomer,” but they soon grow to love her and are all eager to protect her and Maya. I also loved Ava the hotel owner and how she cared for her kids, Letty, Maya, and all the residents. There were
numerous light hearted funny scenes with the residents, as well as heartfelt ones. There was definitely some suspense, which I love, but I will say it was not as much as in her previous books. I also liked that the language wasn’t as bad as some of MKA’s other novels. I did read this one on a Kindle so I don’t know the official page count, but it was a super fast read for me and maybe a little shorter than one of her typical books.

What I didn’t like: Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I can’t say I really disliked anything in particular. I did find this one slightly more predictable than some of MKA’s other recent releases. And I thought the tech genius friend and nanny cam videos were a little too convenient to the plot line. But other than that, I can’t think of anything negative about the story.

While The Newcomer was not my favorite Mary Kay Andrews read, it was definitely still a great read. I love her wide cast of characters and how she weaves suspense and love into her stories. I was honesty sad to see it end, which is typical for me with a MKA book. I highly recommend and will be purchasing this book to share with family and friends when it is released! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

The Newcomer is an exciting, well-written story that takes the reader into the lives of Letty and her four-year-old niece Maya. When Letty discovers her sister dead in her New York apartment, she grabs Maya and runs. Tanya, Letty's sister, told Letty that if anything ever happened to her that the guilty party would be Maya's father/Tanya's ex, Evan. Not knowing where to go, Letty finds a magazine in Tanya's bag that features an adorable little motel called the Murmuring Surf. The book mainly takes place at this quaint and very special motel ran by Ava and her son and daughter, Joe and Isabelle. Joe is local law enforcement which really helps when things start to get crazy at the Murmuring Surf. The Newcomer has the best characters anyone could ask for as they are all full of personality and colorful. In fact, they start to become family to Letty and Maya as the story moves forward. Letty even accepts Ava's offer of a job to run the front office at the motel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Mary Kay Andrews and light mystery and action storylines.

Thank you to Netgalley, Mary Kay Andrews, and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is about Lettie and Maya. Maya is Lettie’s three year old niece. It is a good book but in my opinion not a great book. A few of the scenarios were predictable and a little far fetched. But it kept me entertained I thought the characters were well developed and fit into the storyline well. This author definitely has talent and I would recommend this book and with read another book from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

This was a different sort of book for Mary Kay Andrews. I really enjoyed it a lot. The writing style is the same of course as is her great character development but the story is a little different. This is a little more towards a thriller. The story still has lots of great characters and she makes you love most of them. The main character is suddenly needed to care for her Niece and it takes off from there and doesn’t stop.
This is a great and enjoyable read.

This book provided a wonderful escape. The setting of a small beach town provided the perfect backdrop to this mystery/thriller. I thought there was a great balance between intense thriller moments and relaxing slice of life storyline. There was time for characters and relationships to develop and reveal themselves. I especially enjoyed the romance subplot. This book really hit the spot.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC: 3.5 rounded up--beach reads are not my usual genre, so I'm a bit stumped on how to rate this book, but for pandemic reading, it was an easy read and pleasurable. A mildly twisty mystery of a woman on the run with her young niece who finds respite in a slightly tacky motel in Florida and a love interest in the owner's policeman son. Some of the dialogue and plot development could have benefited from a bit more editing, but for escapism, this was just fine.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy of this book to read in return for an unbiased review.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and I don’t know if I got an early copy of the book, but there were a ton of editing mistakes. Also I think the book was longer then the story needed it to be. Also I went Into the story because of the suspense factor, but there wasn’t much actual suspense in the story. It felt more like a romance with a dash of mystery and at the same time the romance aspect felt rushed.

I liked the characters in the book, but otherwise I was happy to reach the ending.

This was my first Mary Kay Andrews book and I’m ready now to tackle her backlist. The Newcomers seems to be a combination of a murder mystery, drama, romance and comedy. The storyline was interesting, I loved her characters and the laugh out loud moments.
As the book opens, Letty and her niece, Maya, are arriving in Florida...on the run after discovering her murdered sister’s body. While they temporarily set up their lives in the Murmuring Surf Hotel, we get involved in the drama of running a hotel, primarily occupied by older snow birds, and the mystery is somewhat in the background.
The focus switches about half way through the book when the murder and associated/related crimes take center stage.
Overall...an interesting book and relatively quick read. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read The Newcomers in exchange for an honest review.