When I selected this book, I thought I was getting a nice, fun, summer read. What I got was something very different. Mystery, suspense, backstabbing and a whole cast of characters that start out as strangers, but end up as a cohesive unit. Mary Kay Andrews continues to blur the lines between Romance, Cozy-Mystery and Chick-Lit. This book has all those elements, but to label it just one is a disservice to the author who has crafted a wonderful plot with interesting characters.

Since covid the hospitality industry has faced a challenge and a lot of hotels have struggled just to survive. With newer, flashier competition opening up just down the coast the St. Cecelia is a dinosaur struggling to survive in a modern world. Finding good employees is a constant problem and for Traci Eddings, owner of The Saint, that is so true especially heading into the summer high season. But not anyone can do the job required of a Saint employee. The highest standards must be upheld in the tradition of the 100-year-old hotel and the family that runs it.

This year Traci has an idea that has caused friction with her tradition bound family. In order to attract and keep quality employees, she is building an employee dorm. As the young widow of the owner, Traci has battled her depression and Hoke's family to uphold the traditions of The Saint and make it a profitable enterprise. Traci has felt deeply the chasm between the patrons of "the Saint" and the people who weren't, "an Ain't". As a former Ain't, Traci has had to battle for her position at the hotel and in the family against her father-in-law and her brother-in-law. But Traci is a survivor and is determined to make the Saint a success.

The employees living in the new dorm are a mixed bag. A waiter who has working at the Saint since he was old enough to; a new chef with wonderful ideas; the daughter of Traci's estranged friend; the son of a rich patron who needs to grow up; and her niece who has the hotel in her blood. Each has secrets and each has dreams. Throw into the mix the brother of a long-ago drowning victim who wants to know what exactly happened and the death of one of their own and you have a mystery that will draw them all together or tear them apart.

My thanks to the Publisher, and Author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Summer starts with MKA so with this I’m officially in beach read season!! This book has all the hallmarks of a classic MKA summer book: mystery, romance, complicated families, and strong female protagonists. 🙌🏻 I really enjoyed it, even if it did make me wish I was on a warm beach right now.

Widowed Traci Eddings is the proprietress of The Saint an exclusive resort owned by her deceased husband’s family. As she struggles to keep his beloved hotel afloat, she deals with her conniving brother-in-law, disgruntled staff, and a series of mysteries that lead to the death of someone she loves.

The story is also narrated by various staffers who live in the on-site staff dormitory and a man in town to solve a crime from the past. There are lots of subplots, including a romance and 2 murder mysteries, but the heart of this novel is about Traci reclaiming her life and her hotel.

Why I Liked it: I’m a sucker for a resort setting, and since I read this one on my recent spring break, the vibes were vibing. While the large cast of characters were a struggle at first, I quickly got them straight and found value in each of their perspectives.

Traci Eddings whole life is the Saint Cecelia Hotel. She started out as a worker, and then became an owner/ manager. This summer, Traci has to deal with family strife, friendships fractured and mended, and the murder of a much loved girl. Will
The Saint ever be what Traci needs or wants it to be? With tenacity, love and friendship it can and will. Mary Kay Andrews is the best at telling this southern quirky mystery tales. Another fabulous book! Thank you to NetGalley Macmillan Publishers and Mary Kay Andrews for the advance ebook.

this was my first mary kay andrew’s novel and it grabbed my attention right off the bat. this mix of mystery and romance made this a super fun read, the setting was described beautifully and i felt like i was there, i could picture it perfectly in my head. traci was a likable and interesting main character. overall there was just a bit too much going on and felt overwhelming to my brain at times.

Summers at the Saint was the first book I have read by Mary Kay Andrews, and it did not disappoint. Set at the Saint Cecilia hotel, it follows the staff and owners of the hotel as they reckon with a horrible accident twenty years prior and another mysterious death in the present day. They chapters are told from multiple points of view, enabling you to really understand all the characters. This is the perfect vacation read. There’s some romance, a mystery, and a great setting. I will definitely be checking out more books by Andrews.

Could summer be much better for spending idyllic time at St. Cecelia Hotel and Resort or The Saint as it called by staff and guests on the Georgia coast. But if you were Traci Eddings, who grew up on the other side of the causeway, this was a dream. She worked summers as a lifeguard with her BFF Shannon, until one terrible accident changes both their lives and while Traci goes on to live out her dream marrying the love of her life with on of the owner's sons and Shannon life is not idyllic and she becomes a single mother and life has not been kind. But circumstances 20 yrs later bring the two back together when Shannon's daughter comes to work at The Saint. Traci's husband has died in a tragic accident and she has been trying to keep everything afloat, despite her money grubbing brother-in-law and his wife, staff problems. Traci really needs to find away to keep The Saint from closing. And things start to happen, the murder of her beloved niece after a party on the grounds, items going missing, complaints about the quality of good offered in the rooms and the head chef and concierge leaving after many years to more money at another resort up the coast. But Traci will do every thing she can to make this summer at The Saint profitable and that they can carry on, with the help of people she would never have thought could be on her side.
I just loved, loved this book. I honestly could not put it down. It was one of those books you read late on into the night and don't want to do anything else until you have finished. It was a real good page turner. It is filled with mystery, intrigue and lots of great characters and finding out who the real master mind behind all the bad things and murder will blow your mind. It's a book you will want to read at the beach or the backyard or anywhere that is your favourite place to read..
I received a ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press

Another great novel from Mary Kay Andrews. As always, she mixes her Southern beach setting with intrigue and mystery. This was the best of all worlds for those who enjoy women’s fiction, a bit of romance and a whodunit mystery. A beautiful setting and interesting characters made this a book that I couldn’t put down. Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Another entertaining book from Mary Kay Andrews. I loved the character relationships and interactions. I looked forward to picking it up to read, but wasn't a "can't put it down" for me. The ending was predictable in many ways. I was entertained and it was an easy breezy read.

3.5 Rounded up to a 4

Summer is not complete without a read by Mary Kay Andrews. This novel is set at a prestigious resort on the Georgia coast, The Saint. The Saint is one of those places were the ultra rich like to vacation year after year and are waited on by the "Aint's" of the world. This novel was mostly mystery with a love story thrown in. There were lots of characters and so many "modern" day things thrown in that I felt could have been left out or done differently.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this title.

Wow what a magnificent story. Mary Kay this was a marvelous read! This book was so well written that you never know how it was going to end. Lots of twists and turns.

Great read loved it.

Prepare yourself for a nonstop reading marathon. Summers at the Saint has it all! Once I began this book I could not stop reading it. It is full of juicy secrets, bad behavior, good people, bad people, romance, love, evil misdoings. What more could you want? Besides wanting to stay at the Saint yourself.

An exciting story that has love, mystery, skulldughery and friendship all in the mix. A real page turner.

It isn't summer without Mary Kay Andrews. Her keen sense for detail and drama, sets up the backdrop nicely to tell the tale of the Saint. The St. Cecelia or the "the Saint", needs lots of work and elbow grease and Mary Kay Andrews brings us along for the ride. Can the past and a tragic death derail their progress? You've got to find out. This beach read brings nostalgia and a touch of romance to your summer in only the way Mary Kay Andrews can do. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Summers at the Saint is set to be released on May 7th.

This is a great story about an elite resort on its own island. It's become very expensive for the help to live locally so the CEO of the resort has noticed that she's losing key staff and it's extremely hard to bring new people in. She decides to update a rundown storage building into a dorm. Traci, the CEO, is a fairly recent widow and has issues with her in-laws who own the resort.. As the story progresses, the reader begins to learn about how rotten things are at the resort.

This book is packed with descriptions of dealing with a resort; its rich guests and members, staffing issues, and so on. But the real, but hidden issues are revealed slowly. When a death takes place, at the resort, the mysteries start to become apparent to Traci.

The book wraps up by revealing all that has been happening below the polished facade of the resort. A tangle of lies, conspiracies, and the web of co-conspirators are unraveled by the end of the book.

Wonderful, riveting story. I listened to the book. The narrator was fantastic.

Mary Kay Andrews is the queen on contemporary romance mystery. Summers at the Saint doesn't deviate from her typical style with its intriguing murder mystery, strong female characters, and a light romance. Summers at the Saint is entertaining and a quick read. Of course, the audiobook version is always done well. I have everyone one of her books and I highly recommend everyone of her titles.

Thank you for the advance copy.

I always know when summer is almost here: there's a new novel by Mary Kay Andrews on the horizon. My guilty pleasure almost every year. I know I will be entertained, I know I will keep turning pages, I know I will enjoy.

The setting is an exclusive hotel on the coast of southern Georgia. St Cecelia, affectionately known as The Saint. At the beginning of the story, I was slightly worried because there are a lot of characters introduced very quickly. But, happily, they are easy to track as they each get involved with the others very quickly. The plot becomes quite convoluted but MKA's simple writing style makes it easy to follow.

A lot happens in this book. We experience a tangled web of extortion, blackmail, arson, theft, murder and scandal. What more could a reader want? Oh yes, there is also a bit of romance. We meet characters we like, we dislike and some that we are uncertain of.

As always, with MKA, The Saint is a perfect beach or airplane book. Easy to read and interesting. I couldn't wait to see how it would turn out but I didn't want it to end. Dilemma!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

I really enjoyed this book!! It was not what I was expecting going it, but I would say it exceeded my expectations!! My last MKA book was her newest Christmas novel, which I enjoyed, but made me think this was going to be more surface-level. Instead, I found myself deeply invested in the plot of this story. I loved all the characters and how they all had such a unique backstory and purpose in the unfolding of the events. I have already recommended this to several people and will definitely do so in my bookstagram review post that will be posted prior to release day! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Traci is trying her best to hold everything together. After her husband past away 4 years ago the responsibility of keeping his family resort falls on her shoulders. The Saint, a 5 star resort, that had always divided the area into those that are “saints” and those who “ain’t” is just struggling to stay a float. When she has to replace some staff Traci hires her niece to help with guest relations, a new chef that finds herself down on her luck, and the daughter of her former best friend. Soon secrets are discovered and the lives of her staff are in danger.

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book. I have read others by this author and this is definitely my favorite. The way the story unfolded and how all the characters intersected was so enjoyable. I thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this amazing book.

“Summers at the Saint” by Mary Kay Andrews
Some folks are just NOT nice people !?!
A smorgasbord story that kept me turning those pages to find another twist in the road and another path to follow. There is romance and intrigue that kept me reading long after my eyes were saying “I need a rest”. For me this was a long read, but I am glad I took this journey. Happy Reading ! !