Very soon to be a series on Netflix starring Nicole Kidman. Suddenly I have the urge to recite the AMC commercial monologue- We come to this place for magic… somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this…
They could be talking about the lovely island of Nantucket, where Celeste Otis and Benji Winbury are set to be married this weekend. The groom’s mother has arranged a lavish ceremony on the family’s estate. Its full steam ahead on the wedding of the summer until the maid of honor is found dead on the beach. Not everything is as picture perfect as it seems and everyone has secrets to hide.
I grabbed this book after seeing the trailer for the Netflix series and having a nostalgia attack for my own childhood New England summer vacations. We went to the Vineyard instead of Nantucket though, that was for the fancy people. And fancy some of these characters most definitely are. My favorite was Greer Winbury, the groom’s wealthy mother, a judgmental mystery writer whose early success is now slipping with each new book. I’m excited to see Kidman play this part, I couldn’t stop picturing her snobbing around the police investigation. She is the true investigative professional!
There are no big twisty surprises here. This is one of those books that you pick up on a day too rainy to get to the beach. You’re entertained well enough for an afternoon and then you leave the book behind for the next vacationer to enjoy. Now I just need to find a good lobster roll.