The Weekenders

A Novel

By: Mary Kay Andrews

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney

Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.

So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.

Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

Not MKA's best. Not even her 20th best....

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD (relationship only, not the murder): The book takes all the fun out of dysfunctional. The narration is very good, but the story is depressing, and not in any redeemable way. There is a murder mystery, which is not the worst ever written but is nothing remarkable. There is the trademark dose of MKA snark with some clever putdown quips. There is a romance, but the story provides no reason for a happy relationship ending other than a couple of evenings in bed. Riley, our heroine, seems to have few admirable qualities. She supposedly had a highly successful career at one point, but when we meet her she is a bullied doormat, subservient to her 12-year-old daughter, overbearing mother, drunken brother, and even her murdered husband. I never understood how she could forgive and accept the most heinous offenses of her family members but still hold a grudge against her college ball date, Nate, for getting drunk and throwing up. She kept revisiting his youthful offense in spite of overwhelming evidence of his currently excellent character and his unwavering mature devotion. The only reason for the eventual happy ending was Nate's long-standing obsession with the girl he loved years ago and her eventual grudging acceptance of him. This story has such a hastily concluded and unresolved happy ending that I can only see a bad future for Nate. He ends up with a spoiled and bratty step-daughter, an alcoholic brother-in-law, a snobby mother-in-law, and a wife who sides with her dysfunctional family over the one truly good person in her life.

Really?

I know I’m old school, and I make no apologies for that, but the daughter character in this book made me crazy, as did the mom. The little witch could call names, cuss, say anything she wanted with no reprimand whatsoever from the mom. The unreality of that situation took me totally out of the story several times. What a shame, as the storyline was interesting, but the character interaction was not realistic.

loved it!

easy to read, at the beginning one gets hooked and story keeps you wondering up till the end

Review

Story is a good Sumer read but had so many holes in the plot Too many charters and too many sub plots

Always a good listen

I love listening to any Mary Kay Andrews book while driving on trips. I have enjoyed all, as well as this one. Not my favorite of her books, but it hit the spot!