Such a cute and captivating story. I was hooked from the beginning and it kept my interest throughout

First off, I was so thankful to have both an audio and physical copy of Summers at the Saint because I could not stop reading! Traci’s journey from an Ain’t to a Saint was really something. She definitely had her hands full working at The Saint with some men who really liked to push her buttons. I loved all of the strong female characters and the friendship that developed between Livvy and Felice. One thing I loved about this book was the mixing of genres. I got that southern, elite resort feel but I also got a crazy mystery that when solved was very satisfying and not something I had predicted. MKA is a queen of storytelling and I really loved this one!

We are in the midst of summer, if you haven't picked up the Queen of Beach Reads summer book now is the time. I usually think of Mary Kay Andrews's summer reads as suspenseful women's fiction as they feature women who are finding themselves with some mystery thrown in. However, this year's book Summers at the Saint is squarely in the murder mystery category.

It is still filled with great female characters and there are a number of interpersonal relationships that develop over the course of the story.

I loved the characters. I was sad when the character I was most looking forward to seeing grow through the story turned up dead. I felt sorry for Traci. She was an "ain't" before she married one of the Eddings brothers. Unfortunately, her husband died in a plane crash and while she took his place as CEO of the St. Cecilia Hotel his brother and father never let her forget that she didn't belong. But that isn't the only reason I felt sorry for her. She was doing everything she could to continue her husband's legacy and someone was stealing from her. Did the thief think it was harmless or were they purposefully wanting her to fail?

Not only are the characters great but so is the plot. I didn't want to put this book down. If you are looking forward to a vacation (or weekend) where you do nothing but read, this book would be perfect. I highly recommend grabbing a cool drink, a comfy seat, and this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Friday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/06/take-long-break-from-summer-heat-with.html

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review.*

I really expected a light summer beach read from this book and author and I was surprised to find a death and some shady business practices that needed to be resolved.

Traci Eddings was born an Ain't and then married into the Saint family - The Saint Cecelia being a local resort on the coast of Georgia. After Traci's husband died, he left the hotel to her and she has had to run it with her late husband's family watching her and breathing down her back. And this summer, things are really going downhill fast with workers leaving and Traci having trouble finding replacements. Until she has the idea to create a dormitory where some of the workers can stay for free on the grounds for the summer season. When tragedy strikes her own family, Traci struggles to hold on to control.

Some of the things going on with the hotel, I could spot were issues right away. I think that this was a lighter mystery for the beach fans. I really enjoyed the pacing and the bit of suspense of what happened 20 years ago when a boy drowned in the pool and what happened in the current summer with the deaths and complaints being received. And the multiple POVs did not detract in any way from the story. A solid 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Mary Kay Andrews for this ARC!

I hate that I waited so long to get around to reading this because it was THAT GOOD! Andrews never disappoints with her stories! Especially being a Savannah local, I love the calls to the area!

This story really reminded me of one of her more recent ones Homewrecker! I love that she’s getting into more mystery sprinkled with romance, etc.

Why only 4 stars? The story took a second to take off (it wasn’t until 31% percent I was hooked) but dang it was worth it!

Thank you again for the ARC!

This is the second book I have read from MKA and both have been 5 stars for me. Great writing, great characters, great adventures. If you have not read MKA pick up this book and you will be hooked.

Mary Kay Andrew has done it again! What a different and new storyline compared to many of her other books. I truly enjoyed the mystery thread that drove the story. Truly a summer read!

So, this review is really hard for me! I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the plot. There are several story lines going that really kept me hooked. There were just some parts that were so slow! In the end, I was glad I read it, I just don't think it would be a book that I would go back and read again. Overall, I give it 3.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book took me a while to get invested in and I found the amount of characters someone confusing and hard to keep track of. About 60% of the way through it started coming together a little better and the story picked up.

Summers at the Saint seems like a beach/vacation read but it actually involved murder, drugs and other suspicious behavior.

I didn’t see the “big reveal” at the end coming though so that was a fun twist!

These summer releases are off to a fantastic start!

I have read a few of Mary-Kay Andrews' books and they are always so enjoyable. This one might just be my favorite so far!

Synopsis:
Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.
Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

This book was a roller coaster. It starts out feeling very summer-ey and wholesome, but quickly takes a darker turn when tragedy strikes.

MKA's books always seem to dip into different genres, and this one was no different with themes of mystery, domestic suspense, and a little romance too. She is just such a good story teller and I always get so swept up in the characters. It was a great read! This book is the perfect addition to your summer beach bag. It is a bit longer, so this would be a good one for reading during a summer getaway.

Please note, there is some death and mention of rape so please proceed with caution if these may be sensitive topics for you.

This is a great read for summer!
At first, I was unsure about this book because I felt like so many characters were introduced, and it seemed like so much was going on. The structure at the beginning was iffy for me.
However, I was not prepared for where this book would take me! I expected a fun summer romance. I wasn't expecting the twists and turns this book would take!
It was pretty obvious as to who was behind the mystery, but the reason why caught me by surprise!
This is definitely the type of summer book I love and I would definitely recommend it!

Mary Kay Andrews really knows how to set a summer scene. I wish that I could stay at the Saint- the way it was described was beautiful and instantly drew me in. That being said, I unfortunately felt like this novel fell as little flat for me. I felt like it didn't have as much direction as I wished that it would have. It was part mystery, part love story, and part beach read. I felt like it was trying to do too much, which caused it to lose a little bit of its plot. This is possibly a "me problem," and I'm sure most will enjoy this book during the summer. Overall, it was a like, not a love. No matter, I will still read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

There is no complete summer book list without a Mary Kay Andrews book on it. Every summer I look forward to Andrews dropping another book. All her books have just the perfect blend of summer and a suspenseful "whodunnit" plot. Coming in at 400 pages, you can read this in a day or week. IMO, all of MKA books are best read by a body of water but of course you can read anywhere :)

Very typical Mary Kay Andrews’s book. Great southern description and detail; lots of things going on - romance, mystery, humor; not sure who’s good and who’s bad; maybe a few too many characters. She continues to be an awesome author!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Read if you like:
👙 Vacation Resort
🎭 Family Drama
❤️ Romance sub-plot
🔍 Mystery
🥰 Found family
🕵🏼‍♀️ Amateur detective
💰 Southern money
🔪 Murder

I thought I knew what I was getting into when I picked this book up, but I was wrong in the best of ways. Summers at the Saint is the newest book by Mary Kay Andrews and it was not the light-hearted plot I had anticipated.

The St. Cecilia hotel resides in a small town on the Georgia coast. The Saint is a posh resort that divides the small town into two groups— the “Saints” and the “aint’s”. As you can guess, the locals make up the group of aint’s and the only way they to be invited thru the gates of the 5-star resort is through employment. That is exactly how Traci first stepped foot onto the property 20 years ago as a lifeguard. Fast forward to today, Traci fell in love with the heir to the resort but he tragically died in a plane crash, leaving her the owner of the resort. She tries her best to keep her husband’s legacy alive, but the tension within Eddings family is so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Everything is stacked against Traci as she runs the hotel through encounters of jealousy, deception and murder.

If you are looking for a book to enjoy while you are at the pool or beach, this “whodonit” story is it.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Summers at the Saint! All opinions in this review are my own.

Mark Kay Andrews is such a comfort author for me! I love the stories she writes and this one was no different! Such a good beach read 🙌

This is the best beach read so far this summer. Mary Kay Andrews has done it again with the murder mystery filled with family drama. The cover tricked me into believing this book was light and frivolous but no it catches your attention and holds it. This on does take a minute to get into the multi pov writing but once you get settled you will be hooked.

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (I know I am late on reviewing). I have read quite a few of Mary Kay Andrews' books and I can't seem to get into them. I like them enough but overall; they leave me feeling underwhelmed. I was expecting a light summer read about helping make a cute beachside resort better, but there was a much deeper story line (lying, murder, stealing, etc) that really surprised me. I was not expecting the story to go that way. There were also a lot of different points of view, and it seemed chaotic at times trying to follow along from all different perspectives. I settled on three stars because this is an easy read and still enjoyable, just wasn't my favorite.

The perfect summer beach read. Mary Kay does a fantastic job describing the Saint Cecelia and I could imagine just what it looks like. And even wanted to stay there myself!

Tracy has one summer to turn the hotel around but then tragedy strikes. Traci and the employees she has scraped together for the summer set out to uncover the secrets that The Saint has been hiding for years.

I loved the cast of characters and this book has a little bit of something for everyone. It has the southern beach setting, a love story and a bit of mystery.

What a wonderful story. I'm used to humor and lots of shenanigans in a Mary Kay Andrews book so this was a nice surprise. Although a more serious book, there's a lot of interesting characters to follow with a bit if intrigue and mystery. The relationship that develops between Whelan and Traci is a joy to experience. They both experienced great loss and hardship in their lives, so you cheer them on as they learn to trust each other and open their hearts to love.

Although I received a free ARC ebook from Net galley and the publisher, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are honest.