by Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Bantam/Penguin Books Australia, 2025
Review
by Carol Woeltjes
We’ve all read an opening paragraph that leaves us unmoved, perplexed, or worse, bored. The Summer Guests is not one of those. It starts with simple fact, the behaviour of someone on the last day of their life. Of course, they didn’t know it was the last day. If they had maybe they would have chosen something more adventurous than a blueberry muffin. But, then again maybe the reliable blueberry muffin was the perfect choice given the mayhem and death that follows.
Purity, Maine, an idyllic sounding place perfect for lounging by the lakes tranquil waters during the summer or retiring to a farm after a career as a spy. Yes, I said spy. Maggie and her fellow retirees and members of the Martini Club ‘book group’ were spies. And I guess, old habits are hard to break. When the daughter of a prominent summer family goes missing the Martini Club can’t help themselves and begin to ‘assist’ the local acting police chief, Jo. This incongruous pairing leads to some startling results. Now I don’t want to play favourites, but Maggie and Jo are simply the best: tenacious and principled but also kind and flawed. My sort of people.
Themes of privilege abound throughout the novel. But it being told from multiple perspectives lets you in on the experiences of the haves and the have-nots. The families who only come for the summer own the biggest houses and expect deference and thanks while the locals are torn, they want their quiet town back but need the cash injection that comes with the summer visitors. This reminded me of small coastal town my in-laws retired to, quiet and sleepy during the off season, but inundated during holidays. Simply buying bread and milk becomes a challenge that requires an extra early morning dash to the shops. But, back in Purity, the resentment goes back decades, as do the secrets some will kill to keep.
Those secrets are really not safe around the Martini Club. I loved how Tess Gerritsen uses the invisibility of aging as an advantage. It’s refreshing to read about older people who are filled with life and activity while acknowledging they should no longer climb trees lest an injury ensue. There is also a healthy dose of reflection throughout the novel. Many of the characters are not afraid to confront their past and present failings, which makes them all the more likeable and relatable.
I adored this novel. The plot is gut-wrenching edge of your seat stuff, the characters are filled with humanity or crisp and detached and the twists are delicious and not what I was expecting. I flew through the pages.
The Summer Guests is the second in the Martini Club series, I haven’t read the first, but I definitely will now. There are a few hints as to what when down before, but nothing can deter me from spending more time with the Martini Club, hopefully they will make me a member, not sure if I have any spy skills to contribute though.
Publisher’s blurb
THE MARTINI CLUB ISN’T OPEN TO EVERYONE . . .
Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis), and some gentle birdwatching.
But trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive.
For acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau, summer brings its own problems – packed streets, bar brawls, petty theft. And now, a missing teenager down by the lake.
When their good friend becomes a prime suspect in the girl’s disappearance, Maggie and her Martini Club must put down their binoculars and roll up their sleeves. Leaving Jo to deal with not only a powerful family desperate for answers, but a meddlesome group of retirees.
Can Jo and the Martini Club find a way to work together, as they uncover one of the deadliest scandals their small town has ever seen?