The Summer House: The Classic Blockbuster from the Author of Lion & Lamb

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Flossy Merrill convinces her adult children Paige, Sam and Clementine to bring their families to their Rhode Island cottage to celebrate their father’s seventy-fifth birthday. All have reasons they would rather be anywhere but Rhode Island. Sam and Evan are dealing with adoption struggles, Paige’s husband David is looking for work and her teenage children are beginning to draw away from her overbearing ways and Clementine is a young widow dealing with her own small children and the loss of her beloved husband. Renewing their collaborative efforts, James Patterson and Brendan DuBois present readers with an intense and thrilling read in this new standalone novel. Working a military investigation angle, the authors do more than pump up the US Military, able to spin a mystery like few others I have read of late. In a small Georgia community lies a large house, referred to by locals as the Summer House. However, after seven civilians, including one child, are slain there, the moniker Murder House seems a better fit. Under 48 hours after the bodies are discovered, four Army Rangers are arrested and taken into custody. Enter the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and Major Jeremiah Cook. When Cook’s team is summoned from Virginia, they are tasked with going down to ensure that the Rangers receive the justice they deserve, as well as discover the culpability that may be involved. When Cook and his team arrive, they receive cold shoulders from the local sheriff and police force, as well as the local military personnel. It would seem that the case is fairly straightforward and any more people snooping around is an insult to all involved. However, Cook has his Army psychiatrist attempt to interview the Rangers to get a better idea of what happened, coming up short as they shut down. Soon, one of the Rangers takes drastic measures so as not to share anything. The local D.A. is happy to move forward, hoping for some capital crimes to boost his notoriety. While Cook feels that things are moving along, he cannot help but wonder if he is missing something, as though there is more to the story that no one wants to share. When his commanding officer is temporarily replaced, Cook is told the team is being sent home and their report will be buried. Could there be a cover-up involved to ensure no truths see the light of day? Working on a hunch and without permission of his superiors, Cook sneaks off to the other side of the world to get some answers, hoping his hunch is more than a gut feeling. As the list of witnesses diminish and increased violence leads some of posit that someone’s trying to erase the truth, the CID team must act fast to get some answers for themselves and the locals. A thrilling ride that leaves the reader in the middle of an intense read throughout. Patterson and DuBois have outdone themselves with this piece. Recommended to those who love investigative novels with a military twist, as well as the reader who enjoys some of Patterson’s better collaborative efforts.

The Summer House by Keri Beevis | Goodreads The Summer House by Keri Beevis | Goodreads

Within the family, Sophia says, “there was just an unexplained but self-evident tolerance for whomever”. As a child, she was never explicitly told about the nature of Tove and Tuulikki’s relationship – homosexuality would still have been classified as an illness in Finland at the time – but she could see that they loved one another, and that the other members of her family accepted them. One thing that threw me a bit when I started reading was the way the writing jumped to first person whenever the story was from Cook's point of view. I'm not entirely sure of the purpose for it, unless it was to emphasize that in spite of all the characters, this was HIS story. But I adjusted and ended up enjoying his perspective when it came around. This book was super suspenseful and wonderfully written. I do love her writing style. Great transitions from the past to present day as we learn, through slow but growing suspense, about the horrific circumstances that have shaped our characters’ present lives. Loved the twists and the subtle clues the author left her readers like breadcrumbs, leading to an incredible reveal and conclusion! Just wow!! The plot, with its myriad of twists, kept me interested until the final 10% of the book when the author seemed to be in a hurry to finish and, all of a sudden, we're being told the story rather than experiencing it as we had earlier. I must say that I really enjoyed this book. I've always wanted to have a summer house by the ocean. These three siblings and their parents became very real to me in this story. I was drawn in right away with Clem losing her husband. I really wanted her to find happiness.

My Year in Nonfiction 2023 #NonficNov #NonfictionNovember #NonfictionBookParty #bookblogger #blogger Interestingly enough, no one, from the local sheriff to officers on the nearby military base, seems to want Cook and his men around. The Night Ninjas are not particularly well-liked, and the evidence seems incontrovertible. But Cook is determined to work the case by the numbers, even when the head of the Night Ninjas strikes a deal to plead guilty on the condition that the remaining members of his team are exonerated and released.

Books – Review of The Summer House - Much Ado About Everything Books – Review of The Summer House - Much Ado About Everything

Hi, I'm Keri Beevis, and I'm the author of the bestselling psychological suspense thrillers, Deep Dark Secrets, Dying To Tell, The Sleepover, and The Summer House. The Merrill’s are a family steeped in tradition. The weather-worn summer house on the Rhode Island coast has been in the family for decades; a place that holds some of their fondest memories together. They always spend their first day on East Beach, eat their final family dinner together at the picturesque Ocean House hotel and take turns saying a private goodbye to their very own stretch of beach before heading home. As Flossy and Richard’s children have gotten older and established families and responsibilities of their own, it’s become increasingly difficult to get them to agree to spend time at the house that was once so special.

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While I enjoy Keri Beevis' books and am a big fan, THE SUMMER HOUSE was not my favorite. Yes, there were a lot of twists and red herrings—however, due to the number of characters (way too many), there was not enough overall character development, too much evil and bad things, and not enough balance with the good. I did not care for any of the characters. NO humor. As Cook and his team struggle to put together pieces of evidence that just won't fit, powerful forces rally against them to try to ensure that damning secrets are buried along with the victims. A dark and enticing psychological thriller combined with a Whodunit plus many added secrets,a romance and a brimming with anger revenge…..what more could we want? THE SUMMER HOUSE was a heartfelt, lovely read about a family I think most readers could identify with.

The Summer House [Book Review] - Reading Ladies The Summer House [Book Review] - Reading Ladies

I am so glad to have read this book. The author brings real emotion to the characters. The story is superb and flows logically with a few surprises thrown in. Highly recommended! This book was such a breath of fresh air and just what I needed to get excited for summer! It was everything I love about a summer read--beach house setting, great characters, and a feel good story that makes your heart happy. Normally in books with chapters with multiple characters, I almost always have that one (or two!) character that I'm not as excited to read about. Not so with The Summer House! I loved each character and did not find myself bored or wanting a certain character's chapter to be over. I loved each character's story and journey throughout the book. I found myself wishing I could go hang out at the house with this wonderful family.

There was something very relatable about this family and these characters. The story revolves around the Merrill family’s annual stay at their summer beach house. Flossy and Richard Merrill have their three adult children, their childrens’ spouses and their grandchildren come to stay with them at their summer house together for one week in July. The sibling rivalries, parental stresses, childhood drama, family traditions, captivating memories, hidden secrets and life tragedies were all told in such a way that it felt like this family was familiar. I grew to love each and every character.