Bad summer people

In Rosenblum's scintillating debut, liars, cheaters, and scoundrels converge on Fire Island for the summer, where a series of shake-ups to the seasonal routine culminates in the discovery of a dead body. A prologue features eight-year-old Danny Leavitt's discovery of the body, which Rosenblum doesn't identify or describe until the end, but which Danny excitedly takes to be a murder victim. The reader is then treated to colorful portraits of the cliquish seasonal community members without knowing which one will die. Rosenblum starts with broad strokes before really digging in to the various players, noting how the "men measured themselves by their net worth and women by their tennis games." Rachel Woolf, 42, is the reigning gossip queen; Danny's mother is a "B-lister"; lawyer Sam Weinstein and private equity investor Jason Parker, both married, continue a bitter rivalry over Sam's wife, Jen, whom Jason dated first. Every island event--from Fourth of July to the Bay Picnic--is overseen by a 73-year-old curmudgeonly widow, Susan Steinhagen. Rosenblum does a terrific job of establishing the setting and atmosphere, and adds complexity to the plot by revisiting events from various points of view. This is wickedly entertaining. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. (May)

Not all wealthy, poorly behaved White New Yorkers go to the Hamptons in the summer. Welcome to Fire Island. In addition to its famous gay enclaves, nature-y, narrow Fire Island sports a few towns full of heteronormative families with inherited cottages or gorgeous new builds, spending the summer playing tennis, drinking cocktails, and observing wholesome annual traditions. Kids go to day camp and are otherwise looked after by full-time nannies. Cars are not allowed, so everyone owns a bike to ride around the boardwalks that serve as pathways. In Salcombe (the B is silent, thank you), said boardwalks were raised three feet above the scrub after Hurricane Sandy. Someone could easily bike over the edge and break their neck and, indeed, someone does right at the start of the book. But who the victim is and whether it was an accident remains to be seen. First, meet the cast of unhappy characters: Lauren Parker, the "ice queen"; Jason, her cheating husband; Sam Weinstein, Jason's best friend and rival; Jen, his cheating wife. A handsome, down-on-his-luck tennis pro and a lonely, unmarried gossip round out the Shakespearean ensemble. Trouble is brewing the moment they disembark from the ferry. In juicy chapters that alternate viewpoints, it seems at first that there are too many regulars to keep track of. But, as the same names keep popping up over and over, readers get a sense of how claustrophobically small the community is and how, as in any small town, everyone is in everyone's business. Herein is a wonderful experience of schadenfreude. These characters are so readable and so terrible. They think highly of themselves but consistently have the worst impulses, and, as the book wears on, it becomes delightfully clear that they are incapable of resisting. A heck of a beach read. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.