Maggie Bird retired from the CIA so she could enjoy a quiet life in the small town of Purity, Maine. Sometimes it's hard to leave the past behind. Maggie gets support from other ex-CIA friends who have also moved to the area. Since they love to drink cocktails, they have dubbed themselves The Martini Club.
The interim police chief is Jo Thibodeau. The Martini Club members helped her find an abducted girl the previous summer. Now, one of the summer residents has a teenager missing. The relatives of the teenager believe that Maggie's neighbor is guilty and needs to be arrested. Even though Jo figures she can solve this crime, she knows the Martini Club will be on top of all leads.
When the lake, in front of some of the homes, is searched a body is found. This leads to past secrets along with red herrings in the search for the current missing girl. It seems that often people aren't as the seem from the exterior.
THE SUMMER GUESTS is the sequel to THE SPY COAST. Both are engaging reads. I loved getting to know all of the characters in the Martini Club. Tess Gerritsen must done a good bit of research to make them authentic. It is great when authors use more mature characters. They resonate with me as a retired person.
The reader really needs to read THE SPY COAST first before THE SUMMER GUESTS. I hope the author writes more in this fascinating series.

The Martini Club is a book club that meets to enjoy drinks together and occasionally discuss a book. They are all in their seventies and, as ex-CIA agents, they all possess unique skills. They may be retired, but when a teenager disappears they use those skills to assist acting sheriff Jo Thibodeau, whether she wants their help or not. Maggie Bird’s neighbor was the last person to see Zoe Conover. When Zoe visited his farm with his granddaughter he gave her a ride back to the summer estate where she was staying. As a suspect he asks Maggie for help and she gathers the other members of the Martini Club. The Conovers are the wealthiest family living on Maiden Pond and they demand a swift solution to Zoe’s disappearance. She was an avid swimmer and when the police check the pond they find a skeleton that opens a second investigation. Maggie and her friends always seem to be one step ahead of Jo. Their persistence finally connects Zoe’s disappearance to the skeleton and events that had occurred years earlier.

Tess Gerritson’s story is a mystery filled with twists. Her setting in Maine is an idyllic summer destination that hides secrets dating back to the 1970s. Her characters welcome you to pull up a chair to observe their conversations. While their physical abilities may not be what they were as active agents, their minds are sharp and Jo, who suspected that they were more than meddling seniors, has finally learned to listen. Gerritsen keeps you guessing to the end and will have you looking forward to the return of the Maritini Club. I would like to thank NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for providing this book.

Former spies, several local residents, an acting police chief, and summer visitors come together in the second book in The Martini Club crime series. Maggie, Declan, Ben, Irene, and Irene’s husband Lloyd have retired to Purity, Maine. It’s a seaside village with several homes on Maiden Pond. Ready for a quiet life after extensive travel for their jobs, they’ve formed a book club and regularly meet to discuss books and enjoy drinks and potluck dinners.

However, Purity isn’t as quiet as one might think and is full of secrets. Acting Chief of Police Jo Thibodeau ends up with two mysteries that start with a missing teenager there on vacation. When Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance, the Martini Club joins forces to investigate despite Jo’s objections.

The five friends in the Martini Club have depth of character. I loved the analogy that was given between sparrows and spies. Both are unobtrusive, unnoticeable, and slip in everywhere without rousing any attention. However, I didn’t feel like this held true throughout the story. Are the retired spies losing their edge? I also enjoyed getting to know Jo. As acting chief of police, she’s hoping to fill the position permanently while dealing with the ramp up of tourist season, the missing teenager, and a state police detective who doesn’t do a great job of investigating and treats her like she’s his subordinate.

The story immediately pulls one in with a prologue set in 1972 before shifting to current times. It’s told from several perspectives including Maggie, Jo, Reuben Tarkin, a permanent resident of the town, and Susan, the mother of the missing teenager. While this adds to the depth of the story, it also tended to slow the pacing.

The author writes well and makes the scenes come alive. I could easily envision the people and places in Purity and its surrounding area. There’s also a historical aspect that comes into play during the latter part of the book that added another level of complexity and interest. There are several twists, including one that caught me completely off-guard. Additional threads that run through the novel include family, secrets, death, disappearances, influence, wealth, infidelity, loyalty, and much more.

Overall, this entertaining and suspenseful novel has great world-building and characterization. It also has some lighter moments as the Martini Club meet to discuss books, life, friendship, and more that add another layer to the novel. I think reading the books in order would provide more background on the town and the main characters, but it worked well as a standalone novel. I’m looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Thomas and Mercer and Tess Gerritsen provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for March 18, 2025. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

4.25⭐
It's the return of The Martini Club, that Maine-based group of retired ex-spies who lend their talents and experience to helping solve local crimes. When a teenage girl goes missing in Purity, suspicion falls on various locals. Maggie and her friends unofficially track clues, check satellite data and ask lots of questions. While the acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau, has a grudging respect for their competence, she's grappling for control of the case with detective from the state. Well written and cleverly plotted. Entertaining mystery. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie and her former CIA friends, Declan, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd assist Police Chief, Jo Thibadeau in her search for a missing girl.

Susan, her teenage daughter, Zoe, and her husband Ethan are gathering at his family’s summer cottage in Maine for the memorial of Ethan’s dad. Susan isn’t very comfortable with Ethan’s wealthy family, but she’ll put on a brave face for her husband. However, shortly after their arrival, Zoe doesn’t come home after spending the day with a local girl.

The police zero in on Luther, Maggie’s neighbor and friend, as the prime suspect.

I loved The Spy Coast and so I was eager to dive into The Summer Guests. Maggie and the gang dive right in to help find Zoe and clear Luther’s name. In the last book Jo wasn’t too thrilled when The Martini Club (Maggie & friends) horned in on her investigation, but she’s more accepting of their help in this case. I was happy to see them on the same side and Jo slowly becoming one of the gang.

There were several red herrings that kept me on my toes! I was so worried about Zoe and whether she’d be found and felt Susan’s rising panic as the days went by! Ethan’s family was something else!

I alternately read and listened to the story, and I recommend either version. The audio version was a treat as Hillary Huber, one of my favorite narrators performs, enhancing the story, and bringing the characters to life!

The Summer Guests is a captivating read that beautifully blends suspense with deep human emotion. The story follows a group of characters whose lives intersect during a hurricane, and it explores themes of survival, relationships, and resilience. Gerritsen’s writing is engaging, and the pacing keeps you hooked from beginning to end. The characters are well-developed, and their personal struggles add depth to the narrative. While the plot does have a few predictable moments, the emotional depth and thrilling atmosphere make it an enjoyable, immersive experience. Highly recommended for fans of character-driven suspense!

I loved this second entry in The Martini Club series, about a group of retired CIA operatives investigating in small town Maine. Their backstories lend plausibility to their investigations, making their efforts net nearly as annoying as the typical madcap efforts of an innkeeper or bookshop owner. The plot is fast and enjoyable without being too graphic, with a very satisfying conclusion.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

If you read and enjoyed The Spy Coast (The Martini Club #1), you will enjoy this book (The Martini Club #2). However, if you didn't read TMC#2, no worries, you will enjoy this mystery with so many twists and turns in the story line. Just as I think the mystery is solved, more mystery is unveiled.

The Martini Club (also retired CIA agents) have retired in Maine and can't seem to really retire from their work, as they dive in to help the new young police chief Jo Thibodeau (who really does NOT want their help) figure out what has happened to a young teenager who went out for a swim alone in the lake and disappears. As most beautiful places where people love to retreat to in the summer, Purity Maine has their locals and their summer visitors (some just up for a vacation and some have summer homes). This leaves more people to try and question and figure out what happened.

I can recommend this one for those who love a good mystery with quite a few twists in the story!

My thanks to Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for an advnced copy of this e-book.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Summer Guests’, book 2 of The Martini Club series written by Tess Gerritsen, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The Members of the Martini Club, elderly retired spies Maggie, Declan, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd, find themselves involved when the bones of a body are found at the bottom of Maiden Pond and Zoe, the daughter of Susan and Ethan Conover, disappears. Acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau doesn’t always appreciate their help but without it she’d take longer to find out what happened and the identity of those responsible.

After reading the first in the gripping Martini Club series I was keen to read ‘The Summer Guests’ and learn more about this group of likeable former spies who together put their training to good use while enjoying an alcoholic drink or two. The plot has been well thought-out with excitement, intrigue, tension and twists that have kept me hooked from page one unable to stop reading till I’d reached the end. Will there be a third in the series? I do hope so as this has been a thoroughly enjoyable thriller written by a brilliant author.

Our favorite chicken farmer, Maggie, is back with her gang in the second book of Tess Gerritsen’s Martini Club series. Make sure to read The Spy Coast before diving into The Summer Guests. Both books are available on Kindle Unlimited!

Maggie and the Martini Club may have their own reasons for moving to the remote town of Purity, Maine, but their motivations seem to mirror those of many others. In fact, Purity harbors just as many secrets as it does people. Here, we have the classic tension between the locals and the summer residents.

As someone who grew up in a tourist town, I completely relate to this dynamic. We had the “city-its” who arrived with their SUVs and designer parkas as soon as the snow fell—so I get it.

At the heart of the story is a long-standing feud—one as legendary as the Hatfields and McCoys—between the Tarkin and Conover families. The Tarkin siblings live in a dilapidated house on Maiden Pond, directly across from the Conovers’ summer estate, Moonview—a massive lakefront home. They also live under the shadow of their father, Sam Tarkin, who murdered four people years ago with no apparent motive.

Susan and Ethan Conover are on their way to visit his family with Susan’s daughter, Zoe, in tow. The purpose of their trip is to reunite with Ethan’s family—his mother, Elizabeth; his brother, Colin; and Colin’s wife and child, Brooke and Kit—to spread George Conover’s ashes in his favorite summer spot.

Zoe, an expert swimmer and diver, is thrilled to be staying on the water for a week. After meeting a local girl named Callie, however, she suddenly goes missing. While the rest of the Conover family doesn’t seem too concerned, Susan—newly married to Ethan—is convinced that something is terribly wrong. She’s determined to find her daughter while everyone else seems to carry on as normal.

Enter badass acting police chief Jo Thibodeau. The Martini Club immediately inserts itself into the investigation when Maggie’s neighbor, Luther, is accused of the crime—much to Jo’s dismay. However, recognizing their skills, she reluctantly allows them to assist in the search for Zoe.

When a different body turns up in the pond—and it’s not Zoe—all hell breaks loose.

As always, I try to keep my reviews spoiler-free because I firmly believe thrillers are best enjoyed without prior hints. That said, I can promise you that this book is packed with red herrings, twists, and surprises—you won’t see the ending coming. If you’ve been a longtime reader of Feed the Book, you know that I’m usually pretty good at spotting the killer by the halfway mark. But this time? I was completely wrong. Some sharper readers might figure it out early, but for me, the ending was a total shock.

If you’re looking for a twisty, suspenseful thriller filled with family drama, buried secrets, and former CIA operatives who just can’t settle into a quiet retirement, then you’re going to love this book. It's a great police procedural type book and while you're anxious and worried for Zoe, it's also laugh inducing, with great one liners.

I enjoyed The Spy Coast, but The Summer Guests was more up my alley. It was lighter on the cloak and dagger stuff and read much more like a slow burn small town suspense story. I liked the closed circle feel of the lake neighborhood (felt a bit Riley Sager or Megan Miranda). A really good installment in the series and I look forward to where it goes next!

I don't know what it is about retired spies that makes for such entertaining reading, but this second outing of The Martini Club is perhaps even better than the first. Great investigation and a plot that nicely illustrates the tension between wealthy summer people and the townspeople that rely on and resent them.

EXCERPT: When a child goes missing in a small town, rumors fly, parents hug their children a little tighter, and an army of volunteers magically appears to help in the search. Too many volunteers, it seemed to Maggie, as she scanned the crowd milling around the parking lot of the Maiden Pond boat ramp. Most of these people were locals who'd never met Zoe Conover, yet here they all were, summoned overnight by one of the most powerful mobilization tools ever invented: the town's Facebook page. Maggie spotted familiar faces, Hank from the hardware store, Harold from the PO, and Janine from the Marigold Café. Amateurs all, but ready to help because a missing child was everyone's worst nightmare.

ABOUT 'THE SUMMER GUESTS': When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.

Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.

After a teenager vanishes—and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect—she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.

As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets…before more lives are lost.

MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Spy Coast, and now The Summer Guests has cemented this series as one I have to continue to read.

The Summer Guests is brilliantly plotted with many twists and turns as decades old secrets are exposed in the effort to discover just who has abducted Zoe. The characters are complex, the family dynamics razor sharp. There is one character whom I suspected of something terrible because they set my spidey sense alarm bells clanging. Interestingly enough, they were guilty, just not of what I suspected them of. 🤷‍♀️

Maggie Bird and her band of retired spooks are a tight knit bunch and, unlike the elderly sleuths of many current series, actually have the skills needed to make progress. Not that the local police chief Jo Thibodeau exactly welcomes them. It was interesting to see them doubting themselves at one point, wondering if their advancing years were indeed dulling their minds.

The Summer Guests is full of menace and suspense. There's so much that I want to say, but as I write it, I realize that it will give away too much, so promptly delete it. My advice? The Summer Guests is #2 in the Martini Club series. If you haven't yet read #1, The Spy Coast, pick it up. It's eminently readable and entertaining. Get to know the members of the Martini Club and local police chief, Jo, before you dive into The Summer Guests. You won't be disappointed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.3

#TheSummerGuestsTheMartiniClub #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published.

Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

When I requested this from NetGalley I didn’t realize it was the second book of a series. Whoops! This isn't the first time I’ve done that, so clearly I need to read synopses more carefully!

That being said, this wasn’t too hard to just jump into. It took me a second to figure out what Maggie and the Martini’s Club deal was, but when someone called them former “spooks” it clicked.

I read (and watched) the entirety of the Rizzoli and Isles series way back when, and found them all enjoyable if predictable. This one fits that same mold. It’s nothing to write home about, and it’s not going to rock anyone’s world but it was an easy read and clipped along at a decent pace. That’s…really all I have to say about it, ha!

“Even though retirement had allowed them to cautiously venture a bit into the light, they would never truly be able to shake that old habit of adhering to the shadows.”

The second installment of the Martini Club takes on a new Maine season and a new mystery with the same quick witted and thoughtful style of the popular The Spy Coast.

Maggie Bird and her friends are retired spies with a predilection for boozy conversation and untangling secrets. Their life in coastal Maine enjoying the quiet reflection of their twilight years may seem predictably ordinary but old habits die hard. Their training, experience and curiosity are baked in, especially when the new police chief needs a leg up. A decades old town tragedy intersects with a new missing persons case and the journey to get to the truth and the solution is anything but linear.

I speak from experience saying that Ms. Gerritsen carefully handles the age old theme of summer people vs locals with the honesty and richness it deserves. Easily read as a stand alone, this new mystery is one with all the makings of a perfect summer read, on the beach, at the cottage or by the pool.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer Publishing and Net Galley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Tess Gerritsen is quickly becoming a new favorite for me. This series was my first time reading a spy/espionage genre and now I’m hooked.
Tess Gerritsen is such a talented author, not only is she a master storyteller but her characters are so well written. I especially love how she is able to write such strong female characters without ever having to dumb down the male characters in order to make the women look stronger. The Summer Guests had me at the edge of my seat and guessing up until the very end. I look forward to continuing on with this series.

Tess Gerritsen, best known for her gripping thrillers, delivers another compelling narrative with The Summer Guests. This novel weaves a multi-layered mystery, where a group of characters finds themselves entangled in an unexpected search for a missing girl. What begins as a straightforward mission soon spirals into a complex web of secrets, betrayals, and shocking revelations.

Gerritsen masterfully builds suspense, drawing readers into a setting filled with intrigue and deception. As the protagonists work to uncover the truth, they stumble upon a series of crimes, each more unsettling than the last. Their investigation takes an unexpected turn when they discover an unidentified body, leading to even more questions. The novel keeps readers guessing, introducing twists that challenge assumptions and deepen the mystery.

The strength of The Summer Guests lies in its well-crafted characters and layered storytelling. Gerritsen balances fast-paced action with emotional depth, ensuring that each revelation carries weight. The interplay of past and present secrets adds a psychological edge, making this more than just a traditional mystery—it’s an exploration of trust, morality, and hidden truths.

With its compelling plot and expertly executed twists, The Summer Guests is a must-read for fans of crime fiction and psychological thrillers. Gerritsen proves once again why she remains a master of the genre, delivering a novel that is as thought-provoking as it is thrilling.

Verdict: A gripping, suspense-filled mystery with unexpected turns that keep readers hooked until the final page. Highly recommended.

The summer guests is the follow up to the Spy Coast and in this book the martini club (a group of retired CIA spies) are searching for a missing teen and helping Maggie to clear her neighbours name. Perfect for fans of a good mystery and is written well just like all the authors works.

This is the second in a fascinating series centered around retired spies who can’t help getting involved in local mysteries. I really like the characters and learning more about them in this book, as they definitely do have secrets that Gerritsen is somewhat subtly hinting at. In this book, the locals are drawn into a current mystery that may be linked to a missing persons case from decades ago. Both cases pit the wealthy summer residents against the year round community, with secrets buried on both sides of the proverbial fence. Lots of family tension, some amateur (but not really? Ex-spies, right?) investigation, and a bit of danger will engage you in this novel. While not necessary to appreciate this one, I recommend reading the first in the series,The Spy Coast, first.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this intriguing mystery.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, and this one did not disappoint! Well-written and with great characters, this is a must read series.

Thank you #netgalley and #thomasandmercer #apub for the eARC.