Book Review: ‘The Newcomer: A Novel’ By Mary Kay Andrews

There’s nothing better than a new Mary Kay Andrews novel because she always delivers. Her novel is no exception. It’s character driven, with a good story and people you root for. A good way to start off the month of May before spring arrives (a great book to read at the pool or beach).

Letty Carahan’s life is about to change in a big way. She lives in New York, is an aspiring actress, was involved with a shady guy named Evan, who left her for her sister Tanya and ended up getting her pregnant. On this Sunday morning when Letty goes to spend time with her 4-year old niece everything changes. Tanya is dead and Letty grabs Maya and hits the road. Tanya told her once if anything happened to her it will be because of Evan. She grabs a bag from the closet with cash, clothes and heads for Treasure Island and a small inn called the Murmmuring Inn. By the time she gets there word is out about Tanya’s murder and she’s a suspece who has taken the little girl.

When she gets to the inn she meets Ava the owner and her hard-header police office son Joe. There are not rooms available but Ava tells her she can have the small storage room if she cleans it out. The inn has a cast of regulars that come every year and are not happy about a little girl being there. Letty keeps to herself but Joe soon figures out who she is. He’s also interested in her and so is Evan, who wants his kid back because Maya has been left everything by Tanya, including property that Evan put in her name that she didn’t know about.

Soon Letty is tracked down in Florida and learns a shocking secret about her sister, who the woman is that showed up wanting her and how the past comes back to rear its ugly head. It leads to Maya being kidnapped and a race against time to save her and get the good on the bad guys. And it also may lead to love for Letty.

You can pick up The Newcomer in stores on Tuesday, May 4th from St. Martin’s Press.