The Summer Guests

‘The Summer Guests' is the second book in Tess Gerittsen’s new series about retired CIA agents trying to live a quiet life in the small town of Purity in rural Maine.

The plot of the first book, ‘The Spy Coast‘ was driven by the things that Maggie Bird, a spy turned chicken farmer, had done before she retired. Her past catches up with her with deadly results and she and her friends have to come out of retirement to keep Maggie alive long enough for her to find out who is trying to kill her and why. It was a good spy thriller, told in two timelines, that shared the traumatic events that led to Maggie leaving the service and retiring to Purity while establishing that she and the rest of the Martini Club are still people to be show more reckoned with, even in their retirement. The first book also introduced Jo Thibodeau, Purity's acting Police Chief. She realises that Maggie and her 'book club' are more than they seem to be as they are constantly at least one step ahead of her in working out what's going on.

‘The Summer Guests‘ took a different tack. It was a thriller about an investigation looking for a missing girl that Maggie et al got involved with because Maggie’s neighbour is suspected of abducting and harming the girl. What followed was a clever mystery with themes about family secrets, rich versus poor, summer people versus locals and the corrosive effects of sibling rivalry. It was a good mystery that was made richer by the discovery of possible historical links to the CIA's covert mind control experiments in Project MKUltra.

I had a good time with the book. I enjoyed the mystery and the growing relationship between the oldsters in the Martini Club and Jo Thibodeau. Within the context of an entertaining mystery, I thought the book had some interesting things to say about the abuse of power, the mindset of powerful people who have never been held to account and how family loyalties can become toxic

I’ll be looking out for the third book, ‘The Shadow Friends‘ when it comes out in January 2027. show less

I was SO happy to see the Martini Club characters reappear! Really a terrific story and fascinating to find out what a historical description she provided. I had never heard of MKUltra but it definitely provided terrific material to wind into this book so perfectly!

Finishing the second in the series, I can see that Gerritsen has something of a pattern. First the disiecta membra: several characters are introduced, some past and some present, with no obvious connection. Then Gerritsen slowly builds the skeleton and fleshes it out. An appropriate metaphor for this book in particular.

The retired spies are all interesting and likable characters. A lot of food and drink, as the series title suggests. If only I could eat and, especially, drink, with the impunity of a fictional character!

Well written, with a sense of humor. A very good choice for light summer reading!

Some quotes:

According to their family doctor, old Mrs. Tarkin's death had not come as a surprise because the old woman was eighty-nine, show more and for years she had suffered what he called the dwindles, a slow and inexorable retreat into the grave.
[and now I have a name for something that I have observed more than once over the years!]

If she couldn't imagine it, then it couldn't happen, and she needed some vision of the future.

Whiskey is always a good idea. This is purely medicinal.

That's what happens when one spent too much time with this group: one got corrupted by shady habits and excellent booze. show less

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen is a very highly recommended investigative mystery, and the excellent second novel following the equally stellar first novel, The Spy Coast, featuring the Martini Club of retired CIA agents.

Susan, Ethan and their daughter Zoe Conover are returning to the family summer home on Maiden Pond in Purity, Maine where they will meet matriarch Elizabeth, brother Colin along with his wife Brooke and their son Kit. The family is planning to scatter the ashes of recently deceased patriarch George. Soon after they arrive 15-year-old Zoe disappears and local police chief Jo Thibodeau is called in to investigate. When the Martini club, comprised of retired CIA agents, Maggie, Declan, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd, hear show more about the missing teen teen they jump in to assist with the investigation, but it is much more complicated than it originally appeared.

The well-written narrative is fast-paced, complex, and intricately plotted. The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Susan, Jo, and Maggie and it becomes very clear that there is much more going on than it originally appears. The clues lead all over the place and back in time. Nothing is as simple as it seems when the investigation opens up additional discoveries, leads, and long buried secrets. The contrast between the summer people of privilege and the common year round local residents enters into the case.

Again, everything about the novel is excellent the writing, plot, and characters. There are several twists and surprises. Once started it was impossible to put aside. I enjoyed the first novel so much, which introduces these characters that I would recommended reading it first, but readers could still enjoy this outing as a standalone. The first novel does provide much more background information about the Martini Club.

I loved The Summer Guests as much as I did the first Martini Club investigation in The Spy Coast and I hope to see them again. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2025/02/the-summer-guests.html show less

In this sequel to THE MARTINI CLUB, a group of retired spies is back on the case when a teenage girl disappears, and Maggie's neighbor is the prime suspect.

Sheriff Jo Thibodeau is called to the Conover home when Zoe Conover, newly adopted daughter of younger son Eathan, goes missing. While Zoe's mother Susan seems very upset, the rest of the family are seemingly writing the disappearance off as typical teenage behavior.

As Jo investigates, she learns that Maggie's neighbor Luther Yount was the last one to see her before she disappeared. He dropped her off at the boat dock near her home on Maiden Lake. Despite the fact the Zoe is an excellent swimmer, Susan demands that the lake be dragged in case something awful happened.

But there are show more other clues. Her backpack was found along a highway some miles from town and the lake and her cell phone is discovered in the bed of a local lowlife's truck. But Zoe isn't found, and the lake is dragged. Divers find a skeleton that is definitely not Zoe but is a mystery of its own.

The Martini Club are putting their skills to use to clear Luther's name, find Zoe, and identify the bones found in the lake. Their investigations lead them to a secret government operation that took place at Maiden Lake during the 1970s and a possible identification of the body in the lake.

Then Zoe is found by some hikers in still another direction from her phone and backpack. She is severely injured from being thrown from a scenic overlook. Brain surgery and other broken bones keep her hospitalized and in need of guarding until the Martini Club manages to put all the pieces together and find the person who wants her dead.

This was an engaging story told from multiple viewpoints. I liked the way the past and the present were woven together to make a thrilling plot. show less

This is the second in a new series “The Martini Club" by best selling author Tess Gerritsen. It features retired spy Maggie Bird and her fellow former CIA operatives who dub themselvesThe Martini Club and now reside in Purity, Maine.

A teenage girl, the grand daughter of a wealthy part time resident on the local lake, disappears and acting police chief Jo Thibodeau is faced with finding her. Maggie and her crew can’t resist getting involved in the investigation. When the skeleton of another young woman is found at the bottom of the lake, long held town and family secrets are revealed.

I really enjoy Gerritsen’s writing, and am a long time fan of her Rizzoli and Isles series. She has a great talent for captivating her readers and show more this book is no exception.

The story is well plotted, entertaining, and suspenseful. It makes an engrossing read, one I couldn’t put down. It is nice to have “mature" characters featured and so charmingly. There is some lightheartedness and I particularly appreciated the reflections on aging. I live in a resort area; Gerritsen realistically portrays the tension that often exists between locals/year rounders and visitors/part timers.

I have read both books in this series, however, this one can work as a stand alone. I can’t wait for the next installment.

Thanks to #NetGalley and @AmazonPublishing and #ThomasandMercer for the DRC. show less

A big welcome back to the Martini club, a loose configuration of ex spies living in the aptly named Purity (it’s not so pure :) For those of you who have not read the first in the series “The spy Coast” the Martini club comprises unofficial leader Maggie, Declan, her possible boyfriend, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd. Retirement has brought little respite for the five and when a young girl Zoe is reported missing they are determined to help acting chief Jo Thibodeau solve the case, even if acting chief Thibodeau does not want any help.

Susan, Ethan and their daughter Zoe are travelling to Maiden Pond to scatter the ashes of Ehtan’s father George. There he will meet with George’s widow Elizabeth, his brother Colin, wife Brooke and their show more young son Kit. However all is not well in this family, when Zoe disappears, the past resurfaces and deadly family secrets emerge with near fatal results

I thought this was an excellent story weaving parts of questionable CIA history (and educating me in the process)with a top notch edge of the seat thriller. I love this new series that the author has commenced, what a wonderful direction for her to take, and a treat for the reader. Highly recommended. show less