Review by Booklist Review
Greg MacAvoy insists on taking his wife, Tess, out for a sail to celebrate their twelfth anniversary. Their marriage suffered a rough patch when handsome music teacher Greg faced allegations of improper conduct with one of his high-school students. He denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by the school board, but suspicion and rumors swirl in the small island community, while Tess has acted out of character. The special trip ends in disaster when the coast guard finds their boat capsized and the MacAvoys dead. Each member of the group of friends who call themselves The Castaways handles the news differently as they try understand what happened and wonder if they could have prevented this tragedy. Each couple the Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers holds a piece of the puzzle as they struggle to come to terms with each other and the group they formed. Hilderbrand provides the perfect summer read as she explores love, loss, and, ultimately, absolution.--Engelmann, Patty Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In the close-knit group of four successful Nantucket couples who call themselves the Castaways, Greg and Tess MacAvoy "had what everybody wanted." Or so it seems to Delilah Drake, the voluptuous bon vivant Castaway married to staid farmer Jeffrey. But when Greg and Tess sail to Martha's Vineyard to celebrate their anniversary and mysteriously drown, their deaths stir up more secrets than there are tourists on the island's golden beaches. Hilderbrand (Barefoot) goes deep into each of the surviving Castaways' hearts, revealing old affairs and new entanglements. Was Greg involved with someone else? Was Tess going to leave Greg for Addison Wheeler, the rich Castaway married to the pill-popping Phoebe? Hilderbrand will reveal all, as well as plenty of other tidbits that aren't as interesting-including how long Delilah was in labor with her first son, the titles of songs that come on the radio at important moments and the lengths Addison went to get a stoned Phoebe to sleep with him. Readers of women's fiction who don't mind digressions should be satisfied with this tale of knotty relationships set against the lovely Nantucket backdrop. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Nantucket in summer, four chummy couples, romantic intrigue and a possible murder, in the latest from Hilderbrand (A Summer Affair, 2008, etc.). The book opens with the death of Greg and Tess MacAvoy. Sailing from Nantucket to Martha's Vineyard for their 12th anniversary, the beloved couple is found drowned, trapped under their boat. Ed Kapenash, Nantucket Chief of Police and one of Greg's best friends, has to break the news to his wife Andrea, Tess's cousin. They are joined in mourning by rich, cultured Addison Wheeler; his wife Phoebe, a pill-popping zombie since her twin's death on 9/11; wild Delilah Drake (in love with Greg); and her stoic husband Jeff. Inseparable for years, the four couples loved and respected each other, vacationed together, watched each other's children; in fact, they seemed to have an idyllic life of friendship on the islanduntil the death of Greg and Tess uncovers all their dirty secrets. The toxicology report finds heroin in the bloodstream of sweet, overcautious Tess, a kindergarten teacher and doting mother of twins. Ed also finds five phone calls on Tess's phone from Addison the morning of the sail. Were the MavAvoys' deaths an accident or a murder plot gone wrong? Much of the mystery hinges on what happened between Greg, a music teacher at the local high school, and April Peck, a student who several months earlier accused him of sexual misconduct. With a few strings pulled by Ed, Greg's career was saved, but the strain of the scandal has unforeseen consequences on the surviving friends. In mourning, each feels somehow culpable; slowly they confront together the sordid underbelly of their seemingly respectable lives. If the plot becomes a bit stretched at the end, never mind: Hilderbrand has a master's touch at characterization, making the novel's players seem so familiar that the revelation of their secrets is irresistible. Great fun, and with a few poignant moments too. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
