March 2025

I realized the other day that lately I have been reading more stand-alone titles than series books. But I was excited to pick up THE SUMMER GUESTS, the second entry in Tess Gerritsen’s series that is set in the town of Purity, Maine, and features a group of ex-CIA agents who have settled there. They have a book club, they drink martinis, and they call themselves the Martini Club. They also are the bane of police chief Jo Thibodeau as they nose their way into crimes, bringing their unique set of skills. Jo tells them to “stay away” when a teen goes missing, but this only motivates them to help as much as they can.

Purity has a small year-round population that swells in the summer when the summer people and the tourists arrive. In THE SUMMER GUESTS, there is tension between a moneyed summer family and a local who the family is quick to blame. Bring on the Martini Club to suss out what actually happened. Tess is a terrific storyteller, and she has a firm grip on her cast of characters, which makes the story really move.

The first book in the series, THE SPY COAST, also was a Bets On selection. You do not need to read it in order to enjoy this one, but you will want to go back and do so.

I interviewed Tess about the opening installment last year, and she talked about how the idea for the book came to her. Be sure to watch the video or listen to the podcast.