THE NEWCOMER by Mary Kay Andrews
When you read a Mary Kay Andrews book you not only learn about a lead character or two, you learn about a community. This has been the case with many of her past novels and it is certainly true in her latest novel THE NEWCOMER. And most of the people you meet here are wonderful human beings while even the bad guys are interesting. Then you add in a touch of MKA humor, swirl it around in a suspenseful story, add a little romance and you have the perfect summer read.
In THE NEWCOMER Letty Carnahan is on the run with her four year old niece Maya in tow. She has discovered her sister Tanya dead in her New York apartment and she thinks her boyfriend Evan did the deed. So she does what Tanya always told her to do if anything happened to her – grab the money she has stashed, take Maya and run. And run she does, all the way to Treasure Island, Florida.
In the bag in which Tanya kept her stash, there is an advertisement for the Murmuring Surf Motel. So that is where Letty heads. If Tanya kept the advertisement there had to be a reason. What Letty finds there is a community of senior citizens who have fled the cold of the north during the fall and winter seasons. She also finds a safe haven for her and Maya – but is it?
Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark is she knows her characters. She knows how they act and react, how they think and even dream. Her knowledge of them makes them believable to the reader. Believing in them and knowing them makes reading about them and their adventures more enjoyable.
There used to be some soap or other product which in their ads would say “take me away from here.” And it was suggested that if you used the product you would be transported to a wonderful Shangri-la type setting where you could forget all your problems. Mary Kay Andrews fans know that when they open the pages of one of her books they are saying to her, “Take me away from here.” She responds by transporting the reader out of their world into hers.
In THE NEWCOMER the reader gets to trade his/her world for a visit to Treasure Island, Florida for a few days. There the readers can forget their problems and bask in the sun while others entertain them. It makes for a grand vacation all for the price of an MKA book.
So pack yoour bags (just kidding), pick out your favorite lounge chair, get THE NEWCOMER and open its pages. Look out Florida here you come.
THE NEWCOMER is published by Saint Martin’s Press. It contains 448 pages and sells for $28.99.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
