Summer Secrets

Title: Summer Secrets
Author: Jane Green
Published: June 23, 2015 by St. Martin's Press
Pages: 308
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

June, 1998: At twenty seven, Catherine Coombs, also known as Cat, is struggling. She lives in London, works as a journalist, and parties hard. Her lunchtimes consist of several glasses of wine at the bar downstairs in the office, her evenings much the same, swigging the free booze and eating the free food at a different launch or party every night. When she discovers the identity of the father she never knew she had, it sends her into a spiral. She makes mistakes that cost her the budding friendship of the only women who have ever welcomed her. And nothing is ever the same after that.

June, 2014: Cat has finally come to the end of herself. She no longer drinks. She wants to make amends to those she has hurt. Her quest takes her to Nantucket, to the gorgeous summer community where the women she once called family still live. Despite her sins, will they welcome her again? What Cat doesn’t realize is that these women, her real father’s daughters, have secrets of their own. As the past collides with the present, Cat must confront the darkest things in her own life and uncover the depths of someone’s need for revenge.

My review:

Another great story by Jane Green, this one takes on a heavy topic....alcoholism. Told in two different time frames, the story weaves back and forth between the summer Cat learns about her real father, and the summer she goes back to Nantucket to right her wrongs. Cat was a character that you may want to shake at times, but you can't help but root for. Green does a wonderful job tackling the subject of addiction, and its toll not just on the addict, but also on family and friends. Great setting of Nantucket, it made me feel like I was there. There were several secondary characters who maybe could have been a bit more developed, but this was a story about Cat and her struggles, so the story still flowed without it. As is the case with Green's novels, things work out in the end, perhaps a bit too well (and maybe a bit too rushed), but I like my endings to be tidy, so I was ok with it.

Overall a good summer read, although with a darker subject than normal summer fare. Another success for Jane Green!

I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon with Jane Green on the book's release date. What a lovely lady, and I could listen to her English accent all day!