Swan Song

Reading the latest few Hilderbrand books has left me with the sickly, mind-rotting feeling I get after watching too many "Real Housewives" episodes - somehow her books have gone from entertaining to cringey - she seems addicted to using Gen Z expressions and I'm now under the impression that all anyone does on Nantucket is drink excessively (I'm no teetotaler but the amount of booze consumed on every page is eyebrow-raising) and toss mean girl comments at one another - again, shades of the Real Housewives. Just awful.

UUGGHHHH. Well again, EHs last book. Im still sad but hold out the hope for more books to come. I would love to see her do a cookbook! This was typical Nantucket in the summer, it never gets old read ing her descriptions of the people, restaurants and beach haunts we have grown to love. It was a great story. I'm serving Bugle Corn Chips at my next cocktail hour!

Elin Hilderbrand's final book in the Nantucket series (for now), is full of juicy gossip, unsavory people, highlights of Nantucket's beaches and society.
Ed Kapernash, police chief, is retiring after 35 years, and is celebrating at a dinner party with close friends and family. He receives a call that the Richardson's $22 million house has burned down and Kacy's friend, Coco, is missing. Did Coco set the fire and flee?
The book goes back to the beginning of the summer and establishes Leslee and Bull Richardson as a wealthy, brash couple who shake things up with lavish parties. But, is their lifestyle a bit too much?
A great beach read.

Seen through the points of view of various characters, a Nantucket summer has drama, mystery, and glamour to spare. In the last of her novels about the Nantucket community, Hilderbrand describes the impact of some new arrivals on some characters from her other books. There is the wealthy and ostentatious couple that sets out to seduce the island with their elaborate parties and over-the-top generosity, and then there is the young woman newcomer they hire to be their "concjerge." Readers will not be surprised to learn that all is not as it seems, and that if it seems too good to be true it probably is. As always, Hilderbrand's plot and characters pull us in, and we enjoy the journey.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)

Police Chief Ed Kapanesh is finally retiring. He’s looking forward to a quiet end to his career. New owners move into a local mansion and their parties are something that Nantucket has never seen before and are sought out by everyone. So much mystery surrounds this new couple.

Elin Hilderbrand’s last book in her Nantucket saga. I’ve followed this author for years, but have missed a few in recent years. I found the premise interesting, but I feel I missed so much from previous books that I found myself floundering at times. So many Easter eggs, some helped, but if I brushed up on the previous books, I think I would have enjoyed this book more. I can’t say I loved the new characters, and seemed to show more be disappointed in the previous ones. As always, this author can spin a story and her love for Nantucket shines thru. I look forward to see what EH has up her sleeve next.

This is the first audio that I listened to and really enjoyed it. This is my honest opinion. show less

as expected... a upscale Nantucket Island community with the golfing/tennis club/boaters set - hoping for more mystery, less "housewives of Nantucket" vibe but entertaining enough for a beach read.

Readable and entertaining but not enlightening. Perfect for the beach. The Richardsons come to Nantucket, buy the biggest house in the beach plus yacht and throw huge parties that everyone clamors to attend until this get sticky. Bull and Leslee are big spenders and shmooz everyone they meet. The parties are amazing and Coco is their girl Friday doing all the work. Lamont is the hunky boat boy etc.