Coco does not know anyone on Nantucket, when she follows wealthy newcomers the Richardsons to the island where they have just bought a huge house and hired her as a concierge. They are also new in town, and their wild ways and wealth have everyone talking, right up until one night after a party, their house burns down and Coco goes missing. With just a few days til retirement, Ed, the Chief of Police, makes this case the swan song of his long career.

This book is also the swan song for the books set amongst the inhabitants of Nantucket that Elin Hilderbrand has written about for years, and it’s a great final book for what is loosely a series. I’m interested to see what she’s planning on writing next. (Apparently she’s using a New England boarding school as her location) In my opinion, most of her Nantucket books can be picked up and read, you don’t need to read them in order or anything. But I do like seeing main characters from other books pop up as background characters in others.

The book opens with Ed’s retirement party, following a recent heart attack, and how the party is broken up by news of the Richardson’s house being on fire and we get little juicy tidbits about them. Then it goes back in time to Coco coming to the island, how she hopes to get her screenplay optioned, her making friends with Cheif Ed’s daughter Kacy and the Richardsons settling in. It’s mostly the past leadin gup to that night, with the present day investigation peppered in. I really liked this, because we get these little bits of the story pieced together, like we know that the Richardsons have done something to make most people on the island avoid them, but we don’t know what. We know the Richardsons have some very wild parties, but we don’t know how wild. It’s a drama, mostly, but there’s also a gossipy feeling to the mystery angle that makes it really fun.

Of course, in these books, Nantucket itself is almost like a character. I can almost smell the salt air and feel the breeze on my skin when I read these, and I like that. It’s not a place that I’ve ever been, so I find the way it’s described as quite beautiful. It seems quite cliquey in a way, but then there are also some lovely small town things about it too. I like that Hilderbrand shows us not just the wealthy, not just the WASPy people, but how the other half live there too. Coco is not wealthy at all, for example, and marvels at some of the homes and the prices of things. Also worth noting is that not all the characters are straight or white, and they’re written very naturally and sympathetically when they’re not. I do love the way that Hilderbrand writes some of her side characters, with their obsession with getting into the local clubs or being known to be into everyone’s business. These characters made me laugh because they remind me of people I know.

For me, this book was really good fun. It’s the perfect Summer read and made me want to get more of the authors books as the days heat up here, (as if I need more books on my TBR). It’s not too heavy, with lighter moments and the dramatic plotlines, the gossipy nature of some of it, but it’s also not too light, with the quite serious question of where Coco is and a house being burned down, and a few things of that nature. The beachy location, with people out on their boats and going out for ice cream, is also just right. And while there are a few plot threads to follow, the author has really plotted it well, so that it moves along at a good pace and there’s a lot of intrigue and tension to keep you turning pages.

I think Elin Hilderbrand has done it again. And I also think this is a good, solid story to wrap up her Nantucket set books. It should please fans or newcomers.

Read It If: of course if you’re a fan of Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket stories, this will be a must read, or if you like a dramatic read in a beautiful location, this is for you. The mystery, drama and intrigue and Summer vibes are all really good.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of this book for review.