Swan Song has officially been chosen as Jenn Im's Book of the Month for June 2024. A formal review will be published on Curl Up Club's instagram.

Elin Hilderbrand's "Swan Song" is the grand finale in her Nantucket series. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Nantucket, this book seamlessly weaves together multiple storylines and point-of-views, which kept me thoroughly engaged from start to finish.

The story centers around the Richardsons, a glamorous couple whose arrival to Nantucket quickly shakes up the status quo. The lavish parties they throw are legendary, and how quickly they're able to climb the social ranks is even more impressive. But, when their 22-million dollar home suddenly goes up in flames along with the disappearance of their assistant Coco, chaos ensues. Now Chief Kapenash must postpone his retirement in order to solve both cases.

Hilderbrand's characters are richly developed, each with their own flaws and complexities, making them feel incredibly real. From the wealthy and privileged to the local islanders, every character adds depth to the narrative. It was so nice seeing past characters like Blond Sharon and Fast Eddie return in Swan Song. Blond Sharon is going through a nasty divorce after her husband leaves her for his physical therapist. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Blond Sharon's journey towards self-discovery and independence.

As the mystery behind Coco's disappearance and the Richardson's house fire unfolds, Hilderbrand expertly navigates through twists and turns, keeping the suspense alive until the very end. But amidst the intrigue, it's the exploration of love, friendship, and family that truly shines in Swan Song.

Swan Song is a compelling blend of romance, mystery, and drama that will keep readers guessing until the final page. Elin Hilderbrand once again proves why she's earned the title of "queen of the beach read", delivering a novel that is both captivating and unforgettable.

For Elin. Hlderbrand fans, this book was like a warm hug. You will meet all your favorite characters in a known place again. This book followed Chief Ed Kapennash who takes on his final case just days before his retirement. The book includes mystery, romance, and intrigue, all things we've come to expect from Hilderbrand. While not required, I do recommend reading her previous Nantucket books as it will add to your reading experience in a big way.

This book was fun, engaging, and a delight to read. Highly recommend it to all!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Another great Nantucket story by Elin Hilderbrand! It's the final weeks of Chief Ed's career as the chief of police. A new couple, the Richardsons, move to town and begin hosting elaborate parties. At one party, things go wrong, and their house is burned down, and their personal assistant is missing. Can Chief Ed find out the truth in this his Swan Song? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A last book from Elin Hildebrand that is just like her others, filled with the people and flavor of Nantucket and so fun to read. Our patrons are already missing the prospect of another book. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and to Hilderbrand for years of joy. .

A mysterious wealthy couple buy a 22-million-dollar summer house on Nantucket. Extravagant parties at the house and on their yacht have the Richardsons getting involved with the people on the island. There is some romance, secrets and betrayals take place and tragedy strikes. Possibly even a murder. This is classic Hilderbrand, who has woven many past characters into the story as it is her final Nantucket novel. A fitting farewell to Nantucket and all the characters that we have come to know and love. Devoted readers of this author will not be disappointed.

A perfect ending to a perfectly crafted set of novels! Hilderbrand is the gold standard for the beach read, and this, her final entry in the Nantucket series, is divinely executed. I love when an author recognizes that they are done with a specific project and retires it themselves before their writing gets repetitive and stale, and that's exactly what Elin is doing by ending the series here, and with this specific family. Love love love.

Another summertime book by Elin Hilderbrand and I am delighted.

This is the last in a series of Nantucket books that follow the cases of Ed, Chief of police. In this novel he is 3 days before retirement and ready for it. Unfortunately events pull him back in the game.

A wealthy, flashy couple bought a house in Nantucket for $22 million dollars. They have a lot of money and love to spend it. Conspicuous consumption personified.

The Richardson's house burns down while they are partying in the sea. They don't show the appropriate horror and don't seem to care terribly that their young personal assistant is missing. The assistant is friends with Ed's daughter so he feel no choice but to become involved.
Their is a general cast of kooky characters in the book and Ed has to finagle his way through all of this to find the answers.

Elin Hilderbrand's Swan Song really is her swan song - longtime fans will recognize many familiar characters and Easter eggs throughout this book, which focuses on one last police investigation for retiring chief Ed Kapenash. This book has a LOT of characters and would probably be a little overwhelming for those new to Hilderbrand books. But Elin fans will delight in spending one last summer in Nantucket with all their faves.

Elin Hilderbrand's new book will certainly be a hit this summer for two main reasons. First...she always delivers her much anticipated book for beach time and she NEVER disappoints....great story & great characters - I can definitely see this as a Netflix series! Second, she has appropriately named this book Swan Song - not only for what it means for Ed the Chief of Police but also for Elin. You my friend are bowing out graciously, but I don't know what I'm going to do without your book every summer. If you ever change your mind and unretire...your readers will always be here for you! Enjoy your retirement and thank you for many great books!

So much fun! Rich families in the Hamptons behaving badly. I loved most everything about this story. The mystery, the characters, the setting. I would highly recommend for a fun, light read that will keep you turning the pages.

As a huge Elin Hilderbrand fan, I have been anxiously awaiting her final novel. I am equal parts saddened by the end of an era and thrilled at the perfection of this novel.

For Hilderbrand fans, we are being blessed with an absolutely amazing summer novel. Mystery, drama, love, gossip, sandy beaches, and so many great Nantucket friends.

I had been saving this to read while on vacation this spring and I highly suggest you do the same.

Thank you Elin for so many wonderful novels! I think I’m going to go back to the beginning now and start over again!

A great swan song indeed for the years of stories from Nantucket. Engaging, descriptive, fun, and sad-it has everything you'd expect from a Hilderbrand novel.

Devastated that this is the last of the Nantucket books- I so enjoy the characters, scenery, descriptions, etc. You could totally read this as a standalone. Such a great way to end this chapter!

Say it ain't so! Elin can't actually be "retiring" from Nantucket novels. As "Swan Song" makes clear, she's the reigning queen of the summer novel, with all the detailed descriptions of the privileged life on the island as delicious as ever. My favorite Elin books are the one's revolving around a love story plot ("28 Summers") but a close second is a large ensemble group with an intersecting plot ("The Hotel Nantucket"). "Swan Song" fits into the latter and is a beautiful goodbye to a cast of familiar characters - but naturally, three strangers must first come to town to shake things up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ARC copy of “Swan Song” in exchange for an honest review.

❄️Instead of focusing on our snowstorm outside praise the Lord that I am happily enjoying summer in Nantucket thanks to @netgalley and @elinhilderbrand @littlebrown. The much anticipated Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand will publish June 11th and Elin says it is the end of an era as it is the last of her Nantucket-based summer novels- at least for now!

❄️It is most appropriate that Swan Song begins with a retirement party for Chief of Police Ed Kapenash. Ed has been on the case in Nantucket for pretty much all of the novels set there. And on the night he hopes to celebrate his career and retirement the event is interrupted by the news of the well-known Richardsons’ house burning to the ground and the prime suspect going missing in the waters surrounding their home.

❄️And on that premise- off we go on a wild wonderful ride of parties, gossip, name-dropping, decadence, fabulous catered food and drinks, costumes, entanglements, love, families, beaches and reminiscing about Nantucket. And of course, Elin helps us solve the mystery and ties it all up in a Lilly Pulitzer bow.

❄️I loved this Swan Song. It was like going home for a visit and quickly getting drawn in to the drama and happenings. I will miss these characters and I hope some will come visit again. For now- I’m going to ignore my snowy surroundings and see if I can figure out how to make a deep-fried olive stuffed with sausage and a French 75! 😋

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. It is another page-turner by author Elin Hilderbrand. I read this book in less than two days as I could not wait to see who burned the house and did it. I'm said to see the series wrap up, but a great book to do so.

Neither Nantucket nor Hilderbrand needs any promotion, but here we are: on the eve of his retirement, Nantucket Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is interrupted at a dinner party by a 911 from dispatch: the house bought by the new money Richardsons, who have been dazzling and upsetting the status quo all summer, is on fire while they on the water hosting a yachting and fireworks party; their personal concierge Coco, a friend of Ed’s daughter Kacy, is missing, presumed overboard. The narrative moves back and forth from the dinner party to the summer events preceding it, with fashion, romance, fantastic catering, restaurant hopping, and a mystery to tie it all together: Was Coco pushed, or did she jump or fall? Who set the house on fire, and why?

In Hilderbrand’s thirtieth and (supposedly!) last Nantucket summer novel–her own swan song–reader’s will appreciate all the familiar touchstones: Bartlett’s farm tomatoes; last call and dancing at the Chicken Box; letting the air out of the tires to drive on the beach (how do they refill the tires after the cruising on the sand?); water and cocktails with lemon (Almalfi lemons, no less; if they don’t come from the Italian coast, they’re just sparkling lemons). Fans will delight in the allusions to previous novel, from characters like real-estate mogul Fast Eddie and his wife Grace, to landscaper extraordinaire Coe Benton to gossip Blond Sharon and Scandalous Steamship guy Romeo. Pink Laurent-Perrier champagne is a throwback to The Blue Bistro, my personal favorite Hilderbrand novel. The Gray Lady is practically a character herself, with her cobblestone streets, busy dock, rose-covered cottages, isolated and rustic Tuppernuck island, and beautiful beaches.

The weaving from various characters second person points of view to a first person collective royal we is brilliant and works so well. The writing is good, the plot tight, and the details juicy and lushly written, but this book had a “more of the same” feel for me. I found The Hotel Nantucket and The Five-Star Weekend to be stronger reads with more unique plots, situations, and characters. Swan Song is stand-alone and does not depend on your recall for other books in the series to enjoy it, but readers who remember who’s who will get the most out of the references and characters. I also don’t love the cover, which features neither a swan dive or any scene mentioned in the book; I want the octagonal hot-tub or deck of triple eight Pocomo Road with an ocean view in the background. That said, I’m sure the spine will look nice next to all the other blue and tan beach-themed hardcover Elin Hilderbrand books on my shelf.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #SwanSong via #NetGalley courtesy of Little, Brown and Company.

I hate that this is Elin's last Nantucket book. I always look forward to her titles and being on Nantucket in her books. Ed is about to retire as chief of police. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. Avery expensive home is purchase by a couple that everyone is eager to know. They hold extravagant parties that everyone wants to attend. Then the home burns down and an employee goes missing.. So begins the mystery and a great read.

This was the final book in her Nantucket series, and this was HER swan song. We meet a wealthy couple who decide to set their roots in Nantucket, and make a big first impression on the town people. They host lavish parties with no expenses spared, but can we trust them? Are they here for the right reasons ? I loved every second of this novel, and I will be booking a trip to Nantucket immediately. Once again, Elin Hilderbrand does not disappoint! The old characters we all know as friends are back. In addition, we gain some new ones that we will all love to hate!

A real Swan song for Nantucket!

I loved Hilderbrand Nantucket serie, so maybe my review is positively biased.
The author has the capacity to expertly describe a scene. You can feel the warm breeze caressing your sunkissed or sunburnt skin and smell Leslee Richardson overpowering vanilla perfume .
The funniest part for me was Leslee importing Sorrento lemons for an obscene price.Yet, I could see and smell those unique fruits as Coco made herself a drink with it.
This summer reading book is very captivating as you want to know all the nitty details.
The author offers well painted characters who are human and make bad choices . Don’t we all?
Farewell Nantucket! I will miss you 😢

I would like to thank # NetGalley for letting me « travel » to Nantucket one last time .