THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD BEACH AND BOOK CLUB is a World War II-focused work of historical fiction set on the island that has boasted visits from such prominent figures as Princess Diana and Carly Simon, not to mention more than a few presidents. But in Martha Hall Kelly's story, we are introduced to a different sort of visitor: Marigold “Mari” Starwood, who is mourning the loss of her mother.

When Mari arrives on Martha's Vineyard, she plans to meet with Elizabeth Devereaux, a famous and reclusive painter who has invited her to a workshop. It’s true that Mari is an artist herself, but she has an ulterior motive for making the trip. Before she died, her mother, Nancy, had searched Devereaux’s name online and written it on a scrap of paper, along with Cadence and Briar. At 34, Mari isn’t exactly where she expected herself to be. Paired with the grief of losing her mother, her stagnation is starting to chafe. If she can solve this one mystery, though, she feels certain she can move on. Devereaux tells Mari that Nancy had a history with Martha’s Vineyard --- an extraordinary one that begins with the Smith girls.

In 1942, 19-year-old Cadence and her 16-year-old sister, Briar, have just sent their beloved brother, Tom, off to war as a Ranger, the most dangerous of all the military units. Thankfully, tourism on the island is not down, but the military has commissioned a portion of the beachfront, presumably in an attempt to practice for beach landings on coasts far, far away from Martha’s Vineyard.

"This is the kind of book that you finish and then start reading a second time, just to witness the intricate plotting and fall in love with the characters all over again. Good luck putting it down!"

The military has made it quite clear that they don’t want outside help, but with her work as a model builder, Briar has become adept at identifying German warships, and she already has spotted a German U-boat off the coast. Although she has reported it to the military numerous times, they have little interest in the so-called fantasies of a teenage girl, and Briar has since earned the nickname “Briar the Liar.” Even worse, her best friend, an octogenarian war hero named Conrad, died recently. But he left her a mysterious box, one that has the power to change her life forever.

Cadence, meanwhile, wants no part of the war, the military, or her weird sister, with her ratty dungarees and old-man friends. She dreams instead of New York City and a career in publishing. While her job at the Bayside Beach Club doesn’t exactly scream “literature,” it does put her in close contact with the glamorous socialites who frequent the club. And what do rich ladies love more than anything when they’re sitting poolside? Well, a martini…but also books. Of course, these ritzy women don’t have the time or the interest to actually read their book club picks. So Cadence has developed a side hustle reading books, writing reviews, and helping these ladies look smart and well-read at book club. Even better, she sometimes gets to keep the books, which she then shares with friends and writes about in her weekly column, “Up-Island Happenings.”

With the arrival of an esteemed commanding officer, Major Gilbert, Cadence and Briar risk losing their farm, as he has deemed their land the perfect spot for his soldiers’ training. War is creeping ever closer to the farm. Since they are down a hand due to Tom's absence, the Smith sisters and their grandmother, Ginny, have been forced to get a little resourceful. As Ginny explains, “If you can’t move heaven, then just raise hell.” That’s exactly what the girls --- and their soon-to-be sister-in-law, Bess --- do, first by telling off Major Gilbert and then by arriving on the army base themselves to deliver books to the soldiers.

They also begin their own book club, the Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club, which inspires them to develop a new way of typing and printing books on onion-skin Airmail paper. This allows them to compress massive bestsellers into tiny pamphlets, perfect for shoving into a soldier’s supply pack. It makes the girls feel good to aid in the war, especially with their brother on the front lines, but they are still unprepared for just how close the war will come to them.

One night, Briar spots a misshapen form on the beach. She soon meets Peter Muller, a German medic desperate to defect from the military and Adolf Hitler’s sick mission. He tells them that he escaped from his U-boat (Briar was right!) and that the Germans not only have been watching the island, they have been listening to Briar’s radio calls with Conrad’s other old-man friends --- a punishable crime given that radios have been effectively banned. Even worse, Briar has been sharing reports of the military models, soldiers and boats that she sees. While none of it is classified, paranoia is at an all-time high, meaning that anyone could be a Nazi, and Briar unintentionally may have colluded with the enemy.

With America executing defectors and imprisoning anyone connected to them, the Smith girls face an impossible choice: hide Peter and risk arrest for aiding a war criminal, or turn him in and likely risk Briar’s arrest once he starts talking about her radio activities.

Alternating between the Smith sisters’ timeline and Mari’s (with Devereaux reporting on the former), Martha Hall Kelly weaves an irresistible work of historical fiction that champions --- what else? --- books! She has proven herself to be a meticulous researcher, educating readers about everything from publishing to German honor rings, and even the planting of potatoes. But it's in the braiding of fact and fiction where she truly shines. The women at the heart of THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD BEACH AND BOOK CLUB are tenacious, innovative and deeply compassionate, and readers will fall head-over-heels for Briar, Cadence, and even Mari and Devereaux, racing to put all the pieces together. What was Mari’s mother’s connection to the island, and what could the Smith girls have to do with it?

In Kelly’s deft hands and lyrical cadence, a decades-old mystery unfolds, and readers will delight in uncovering the connections between past and present as Mari learns the truth about her history. Pair that with plenty of military intrigue, a forbidden romance, and --- I really can’t say it enough --- a book club subplot, and you have the makings of a perfect book club or summer beach read. It will reinvigorate your faith in the power of female friendships, legacy and, of course, reading. I can’t recall a more immersive book, even in Kelly’s acclaimed backlist, and her Author’s Note gives a clue as to why: she has her own deeply personal connection to the island, and her love for it and its inhabitants is apparent on every single page.

This is the kind of book that you finish and then start reading a second time, just to witness the intricate plotting and fall in love with the characters all over again. Good luck putting it down!