Summers at the Saint

3.5 stars. This was my first Mary Kay Andrews novel and probably won't be my last because I really did think that this was fun and kept me on the edge of my seat at the end. First, let me tell you about the things I really liked. The characters were thoroughly fleshed out and their dynamics were fun. I felt this was part social commentary - with touches on class disparity, race, and homophobia. The middle was a little hard to get through, but the last few chapters - WOW! PLOT TWIST PAGE TURNERS!

Now on to the things that irked me while reading: There were too many characters. After reading some other reviews, it seems this is common for a Mary Kay Andrews novel, so probably doesn't bother her fanbase much. Although they were fleshed out and done well, it was almost too much. Similarly, there were TOOO MANY PLOT LINES! When I reached 50% I was asking myself what this book was actually about?? Romance? Mystery? Just contemporary/women's lit? I think there were parts that went on too long, and a lot of repetitive conversations so that each of the many character could be caught up to what was happening. The romance between the main character and someone else (no spoilers) honestly, didn't add anything to the story and could have been left out completely to shorten things a bit. I think the cover is misleading and the prognosis too, to an extent. It is not a romance beach read. This is a mystery novel with a romance subplot and a lot of other stuff going on. I definitely thought it was a fun read, but a lot to process.

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.