Liza, Annette, and Whitney have been friends since their boys were tiny. Now those boys are 15, lifeguards at the local pool and enjoying the first days of summer. Charlie, Robert "Bobcat", and Xavier are at a local swimming hole, when they come home one night, claiming they've found a dead woman on the path. Unraveling this mystery is cop Salvatore, a recent widow who is struggling with his grief while raising his 2 kids.

There were a few things that bugged me about this book. The first is the constant harping on how poor Liza was. I understand she wasn't a crazy rich real estate agent like Whitney or married to an oil baron like Annette, but in the 15 years she'd lived in the neighborhood, it seems she should have been able to find at least a steady job that provided regular income. We were told over and over how poor she was but it seemed to me she hadn't done much to try to make a decent living. Ghost-writing cookbooks? Come on already. Seems like she could have worked in Whitney's office or Annette's husband could have found her something better at some point. The second thing was how things all tied together. Felt unrealistic to me.

3-1/2 stars rounded up to 4 because the overall story was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available April 5, 2022.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I did not connect with the characters or how the story was written. Thank you for the opportunity.

This was a bit slow for me. I always like a neighborhood suspense story but the multiple POVs did not work for me in this case. I did not connect with any of the characters. Just felt overall meh about it.

I found this to be a very odd book, and I'm not really sure what the author was aiming for. On its surface, it's a mystery, but in my opinion, it was neither a gripping nor suspenseful one. We meet the main characters, three "soccer moms" or in this case, I guess, "lifeguard moms." They are Whitney, Annette, and Liz, and for me, these were the three main characters, not their three teen-aged sons who are employed as lifeguards in the summer. I'm not really sure why the book was titled The Lifeguards as that had little to nothing to do with the storyline, unless it is a reference to the moms wanting to protect their sons? Anyway, back to the moms. Whitney and her husband Jules are big-time realtors in Austin, Texas. (They seem to have a specialty of selling high-priced bunkers, which I thought was odd. Is that a thing?) Whitney is mom to son, Xavier, and daughter, Roma, who is something of a psychopath. Annette is married to Louis and mom to son, Robert aka Bobcat. Annette is a Mexican immigrant who works at a daycare and has a crush on the owner of the facility. Her husband Louis is a short control freak who bullies son but adores his wife. It's hinted that Annette only married Louis in order to become a US citizen. Finally, there is Liz. She is a single mom to Charlie. She is from Cape Cod but left when she found herself pregnant to escape her circumstances, including a drug addict baby daddy. She is living among the wealthy in Austin but working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

When we meet the three women, they are having one of their usual happy hours at Whitney's house. Their partying is interrupted when their three sons, who are also best friends, run into the house to announce that they found the body of a college-aged girl at the local greenbelt lake. They tried to revive her with CPR, but they are pretty sure she's dead. The women wake up Whitney's husband, Jules, who swings into action. He tells everyone to go home and forget about everything then calls the police anonymously to report the dead body! So right off the bat, I'm asking myself why?!?!? The three sons are supposedly all good kids, so why the ruse of an anonymous phone call??? I still don't know the answer.

The plot from there on is the mystery of who is the dead girl, how did she die, and what role, if any, did the three boys play in her death. It's told through the POVs of the three women and Salvatore, the police detective assigned to the case. The author did a great job of developing the characters of the three women and their sons. However, the mystery and plotting were lacking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me an eGalley in exchange for posting an honest review.

Kinda boring white people neighborhood drama. Pretty basic chick lit to be honest.

While I loved the Austin setting, it still was a bunch of over privileged, wealthy white people trying to cover up a possible crime.

HARD PASS.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read.

The story is about three mothers who all have their secrets to keep. They live in a very expensive “safe” neighborhood and the three of them all have children at the same time, which grows their bond even further. A murder unfolds in their “safe” quiet town that begins to unravel many of their secrets.
In the beginning, there are a lot of characters thrown your way but it’s all very descriptive and easy to remember.

I really enjoyed that each chapter was a different character’s point of view, this made the story flow and had me eager to keep going. I also really liked the way the book was broken down with each time frame, and the chapter lengths were great. Whenever I had a free minute I would read a chapter. I couldn’t put it down because of the many surprises thrown your way. This is a very entertaining mystery book and one I definitely recommend.

Even though this has a spring release this is a perfect summer beach read if you can wait until then… I don’t think I could have.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing + Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this author’s book, The Jetsetters, so I had very high hopes for The Lifeguards. The book begins when a young adult female overdoses and dies and three lifelong teen friends are suspects in her murder. The book focuses more on the stories of the moms of the three boys and how they cope with this trauma rather than the stories of the lifeguards themselves.

I found the story line to be very enjoyable and loved the short chapters and how the story unfolds through different viewpoints, news articles, text messages, and group chats. However, there are so many loose ends never explained at the end of the book that left me with so many unanswered questions. I felt like the ending was rushed.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions listed above are my own.

3 women, all at different life stages, come together in the newest book from Amanda Eyre Ward. One thing unites them all; their love for their sons.

In this gripping realistic fiction piece about how far a mother is willing to go for her boy, readers are granted a peek into the life out of 3 protagonists and the secrets they keep. One, a single mom just trying to make it in the well to do community she and her son landed in years ago. Another hides the secret of a family member plagued with a life of danger and destruction. The last living in a loveless marriage, dying for another chance with someone from her past.

When their 3 boys come home one night after finding a dead woman on the trail, the mom’s tight knit bond begins to unravel and we see what each mother is willing to do for the sake of her son.

The plot kept me engaged although some of the subplots had me curious about why they were included until they came together at the very end. Well written, thoughtful, and intriguing, this book did not disappoint.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was a real page turner! Set in Austin, Texas, this story revolves around three families that live in the same wealthy neighborhood. The dynamics that unfold when you see below the surface of a neighborhood where it is all about appearances and shallow relationships, reveal that all is not what it seems and sometimes money cannot solve your problems. The story begins when three boys, the lifeguards, report finding a body on the Greenbelt (a park like area adjacent to their neighborhood). The three boys, report their discovery to their mothers who are friends, best friends. The mystery of the girl’s death and all of their connections to her unravels their perfect world revealing the true colors of all of the characters. A well-developed story with characters that all seemed to be hiding something, this book kept my attention and moved quickly. An excellent beach read!

What should be a carefree summer turns out to be nothing of the sort when there are secrets and a past that won't stay in the past. The Lifeguards pulls you in from page one and keeps you wondering who is keeping what secret and when will all secrets be revealed?

I did not enjoy this book. I found the mom's incredibly annoying. No one talked about anything and no one wanted to actually be a good mom. The beginning was slow, and it did pick up by the end but it was kind of rushed. Not to mention there were still so many questions I was left with by the end.
I also felt like the characters were similar and hard to keep track of.

#NetGalley #TheLifeguards

Loved this! Particularly the complex relationships between the mothers and sons. Female friendships, social climbing and privilege, teenage boys, drugs, mental health, and a beautiful neighborhood in Austin make this story hard to put down. What does friendship look like? And, would you choose friendship over your children? These questions and more may come up for the reader. There is a mystery at the heart of the book that will keep you turning pages quickly. Highly recommend for lovers of Chick Lit, Mysteries, and books about female friendships. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books for the Advanced Reader Copy!

Three fifteen-year-old boys in Austin are best friends and lifeguard together. When a girl turns up dead and it's found out that they were there, who is telling the truth? Their three best friend moms will do anything to protect their sons.

I have mixed feelings on this one. It sounds like a thriller, but it is not. This family drama mostly worked for me. I liked the storyline and how it unfolded. I liked how the secrets seeped out in a measured way and the relationships between the moms and the sons.

One thing that really bugged me, however, was all the Austin-y name dropping. It was everywhere- names of restaurants, roads, and landmarks. I would much have preferred for some Austin easter eggs and it to feel less like pop culture over-references. My husband is from Austin, and we've spent a lot of time there. At first the places I knew were fun to see in the book but then it was just too much. It definitely needed to be toned down. Also, some of the writing was not great. Her storyline out shown her writing style. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it could have been better with a little editing.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance readers copy for review.

“The Lifeguards” is a thoroughly entertaining story that centers around three teenage lifeguards who find a dead body, and their moms who would do anything to protect their sons. Set in a pricey enclave of Austin, this tight-knit set of best friends sticks together through thick and thin… until they don’t.

This novel is well written and skillfully plotted - I was sucked in from the moment Liza tells the reader that by the end of the story, one of the moms will be divorced, one will be gone, and one will be in a forbidden love affair. Told in alternating perspectives of the three moms as well as the lead detective on the case, the reader really gets into the heads of the adult characters. As a mom, I totally understood their motivations to protect their sons at all costs. The moms also have blind spots when it comes to seeing their sons’ faults clearly, which I sympathized with and found very realistic. The ending was a tad rushed and left me wanting more details. I don’t mind an ambiguous conclusion, but would have liked a few more loose threads tied up.

This book will appeal to a wide variety of readers – fans of both women’s fiction and psychological thrillers will really enjoy this novel. It has vibes of Liane Moriarty, Robyn Harding, and Celeste Ng’s “Little Fires Everywhere”.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This was my first novel by Amanda Eyre Ward and I was sucked in rather quickly. I zipped through this book in a day. The suspense captures you immediately. However, there are too many story lines from the beginning and too many things left unanswered at the end. Mainly, what happened in the bunker?? How did they get out? It was wrapped up rather suddenly and left too many pieces open.
The fact that each character had a major secret was almost too much, too dramatic, and too unbelievable. The minor love story was very predictable-- as soon as the detective entered the story, it was clear how it would end. But yet we didnt see that developed. The went from recognizing each other to being one big happy family.
That being said, I was still hooked. Couldnt put this book down and felt drawn to these lifeguards. I was rooting for each of them as the story evolved.
This novel would make a perfect beach read if you lower your expectations but want something fast paced.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy.

This book was much better than I expected, it was the story of three mothers, with secrets and what they will do to protect them and their families. It picked up steam and I got so involved I skipped dinner to finish it. Characters grew on me and grew themselves as they faced a challenge separately and together and decided what truths they would live with. Liked how the first chapter became the last chapter

If you were to make a love child of “The Push” and “The Guest List” you would have this book!

Following the lives of three mothers, Liza, Annette and Whitney as well as their children, we are shown that the love of a mother means no sacrifice is never too great..

Liza ran away from home as a pregnant teenager to save her son Charlie. Annette was an immigrant who was willing to do anything to become an accepted part of society. Whitney, who’s twins could not be more different, isn’t afraid to take matters into her own hand when it comes to her family or her booming real estate business.

For me, as a mother, it was easy for me to put myself in the shoes of each mom and try and figure out what I would do if my child was being accused of murder.

I felt like the beginning half of the book was all good information, but very fluffy. I love the descriptiveness that we are given and the inserts if other mixed media (texts, online postings, newspaper articles) to help make the storyline seem real

Overall I think this is a great book, and anyone who loves mysteries/thrillers will enjoy it.

(Also extra bonus points for the Mary Kay inclusion, that part made me literally laugh out loud)

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Jetsetters has been on my list for a while thanks to Reese’s Book Club so I recognized this author and took the chance on reading her latest novel. I really enjoyed it, but with a couple of exceptions that left me with mixed feelings!

The Lifeguards is about three mothers and their three teenage sons who get mixed up in a murder investigation at the start of the summer in Austin, Texas. This novel has many points of view and jumps around in the timeline. I found it quick paced and the mystery was intriguing as the suspense built more and more. From a thriller perspective, I loved it. It had me hooked halfway through and I couldn’t stop reading.

I loved it until the very end when I actually thought I somehow skipped a chapter. The way the story ends is so vague, it’s as if the author wanted to leave it to the reader’s imagination but in my opinion, too much was left unaddressed. There were a few innuendos but there were many loose ends and things that are never concluded, it was incredibly frustrating! I actually couldn’t believe it ended this way after such a great build up.

The other thing that bothered me about this novel was the statutory rape that is never addressed. I’m not sure what the point of having a twenty-one year old girl sleep with a fifteen year old boy was for, especially because it isn’t addressed by anyone - not the police, not the parents, not even the boy himself. The girl makes a comment in her diary about how she could get arrested, which she absolutely could, and yet that’s the only mention of the offense. I just found it disturbing and unnecessary to the plot.

I also found it hard to distinguish two of the moms in this story. The third mom, Liza, narrates from the first person and is the only single mom so it was easier to keep track of her but for some reason I struggled with separating the other two women and their sons.

Besides those things I actually did really like this book. I was fully expecting to give it five stars until the awfully ambiguous ending. Overall though, I loved the family relationship dynamics and the twists and turns that led to a mostly unpredictable outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book.

I found this book entertaining, but don't judge this book by its cover! While it looks like it would be an easy breezy summer beach read it is far from that. This is a mystery with a dead body and a complex plot.

The story is driven by its characters, each of them is well developed and had depth, but I am not sure if I really liked any of them. There were times I was unsure of the relationships that the parents had with the sons.

The author was excellent at giving us rich descriptions of the setting, and small details that I really enjoyed, and helped me see the places, parties, and people perfectly in my mind.

My biggest problem with the book was I felt that the ending was rushed.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read.