March 26, 2021
The death of a woman at Boston's Seafarer Hotel affects all the people staying there. The hotel manager, Jean-Paul Savant, regrets moving from France to take on a new responsibility; he should have stayed in Paris with Marie and their new baby, Isabella, rather than moving them to a new country. Carol O'Dell came to the Seafarer to relive old memories and perhaps make new ones. She's meeting an old classmate for dinner and hopes there are still sparks. Will this be a night of new beginnings? Gwen has surprised her fianc�, Jason, with a weekend away at the Seafarer for his birthday. Though their relationship is sometimes rocky, a romantic weekend is the perfect opportunity for Jason to finally open up to her, before it's too late. Riley and Tom are planning their wedding; Tom's mother, involved in every little detail, has booked a tasting at the Seafarer. They arrive at the appointment willing to give the hotel and its amenities a try, until the woman in the pretty yellow dress falls from a balcony to the patio, right outside their dining room window. VERDICT Book a room and be sure to pack this enticing summertime read by Francis (The Summer Sail). Readers who enjoy books by Mary Kay Andrews and Fannie Flagg will want to know what happens next at the Seafarer.--Jane Blue, Northumberland P.L., Heathsville, VA
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April 15, 2021
Francis (The Summer Sail, 2018) sets her latest at the recently restored and reopened Seafarer hotel in Boston, with its impressive history and air of glamour that makes it a destination for special occasions. The novel follows a handful of customers who intersect one fateful afternoon, and presents, via flashbacks, the stories of how each arrived at that moment. When a woman falls (or does she jump?) to her death from her room's balcony, her story ends and those of the other players begin to unfold. Jean-Paul is a French expatriate juggling the management of the hotel and life as a new father. Riley is a bride-to-be attending a tasting. Claire is a recent widow hoping to reconnect with the one who got away. Jason is a troubled grad student on a weekend getaway with his girlfriend. Who is the dead woman, and what happened? This engaging tale maintains a pleasant level of suspense throughout, and the satisfying conclusion to the mystery will leave readers with some things to think about. Add this to beach reads along with those by Elin Hilderbrand, Nancy Thayer, and Dorothea Benton Frank.
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