There are still two weekends before summer is unofficially over. If you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you’re not spending it at a mansion in the Hamptons with your closest friends, take Kiernan Scott’s latest thriller, The Getaway, to the pool. It’s an excellent reminder that Hampton billionaires are jerks and your best friends can kill you.
Every year, Marshall and Marley and their closest couple friends go to Marshall’s brother Lincoln’s enormous estate in the Hamptons. But this year, it’s going to be different. Lincoln divorced Marley’s best friend Lily (who’s drying out in rehab) and replaced her with Hazel, who just had his baby. Sean and Suzy (and her little dog Winston) along with Josh and Juliet (who are always having the worst fights) don’t know what to expect this year. Who are Grant and Gemma, and why are their obnoxious teen daughters always filming everything? And what’s this about a hurricane?
When the couples arrive, they’re stunned to find envelopes left for each of them, just like Lily used to leave. But instead of Lily’s gentle words of encouragement, the anonymous writer has revealed their biggest secrets and greatest fears. It’s no surprise that the friends start turning on each other. And then the bodies start to fall.
The premise reminded me a bit of the Netflix series The Four Seasons. I love the show, but I never understood why Anne didn’t just kill Ginny. She could have made it look like an accident. But she was too nice a person.
There’s no one in The Getaway that’s too nice, except maybe Marley, so I had some trouble getting into the book. I expected most of the drama to be centered around the friends trying to deal with Hazel while still feeling loyal to Lily, and that’s not really a factor. Lincoln is a jerk; everyone screams at each other; there’s a rapper and a wild party on the grounds for some reason; the teens are obsessed with their internet followers and Suzy’s dog.
Still, the book is a very well-structured locked-room mystery, and Scott pulls a rabbit out of hat at the midway point, revealing a tie that had previously been concealed. It’s tough to keep track of so many different characters, but the location is lushly portrayed, and the storm is realistic and terrifying. The ending is emotionally satisfying.
Setting a locked-room mystery during a storm is becoming an increasingly popular choice, and fans of the genre have many of these books to choose from. Summer may be almost over, but hurricane season lasts until the end of November. Choose your friends carefully before sharing a house with them.
Listen to this book on Speechify!
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