The Summer Wives

A Novel

By: Beatriz Williams

Narrated by: Kristin Kalbli

New York Times best-selling author Beatriz Williams brings us the blockbuster novel of the season - an electrifying postwar fable of love, class, power, and redemption set among the inhabitants of an island off the New England coast....

In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler arrives on elite, secretive Winthrop Island as a schoolgirl from the margins of high society, still reeling from the loss of her father in the Second World War. When her beautiful mother marries Hugh Fisher, whose summer house on Winthrop overlooks the famous lighthouse, Miranda’s catapulted into a heady new world of pedigrees and cocktails, status and swimming pools. Isobel Fisher, Miranda’s new stepsister - all long legs and world-weary bravado, engaged to a wealthy Island scion - is eager to draw Miranda into the arcane customs of Winthrop society.

But beneath the island’s patrician surface, there are really two clans: the summer families with their steadfast ways and quiet obsessions, and the working class of Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers who earn their living on the water and in the laundries of the summer houses. Uneasy among Isobel’s privileged friends, Miranda finds herself drawn to Joseph Vargas, whose father keeps the lighthouse with his mysterious wife. In summer, Joseph helps his father in the lobster boats, but in the autumn he returns to Brown University, where he’s determined to make something of himself. Since childhood, Joseph’s enjoyed an intense, complex friendship with Isobel Fisher, and as the summer winds to its end, Miranda’s caught in a catastrophe that will shatter Winthrop’s hard-won tranquility and banish Miranda from the island for nearly two decades.

Now, in the landmark summer of 1969, Miranda returns at last, as a renowned Shakespearean actress hiding a terrible heartbreak. On its surface, the Island remains the same - determined to keep the outside world from its shores, fiercely loyal to those who belong. But the formerly powerful Fisher family is a shadow of itself, and Joseph Vargas has recently escaped the prison where he was incarcerated for the murder of Miranda’s stepfather 18 years earlier. What’s more, Miranda herself is no longer a naïve teenager, and she begins a fierce, inexorable quest for justice for the man she once loved...even if it means uncovering every last one of the secrets that bind together the families of Winthrop Island.

©2018 Beatriz Williams (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Read for a Book Club and enjoyed it

It started out a bit confusing so I also downloaded the pdf to read alongside which helped the confusion in the beginning. I ended up getting caught up in the book although I typically read non-fiction. It wasn't the typical romance novel, but the plot was strangely compelling.

Slow to start but great ending

I enjoyed this book! It was slow to start but really picked up in the end. I really enjoyed the characters as well. The book jumps to different eras and points of view but that made the mystery fun as well.

Flawless story and performance!

Ms. B has done it again! This is an extraordinary novel performed by the perfect voice artist! I love the characters and style of this novel, which boosts this author to the very top of my list of favorites. Everything about this story from the setting to the last Afterword sings with beauty, authenticity and historical accuracy. I’m sorry it took me a few weeks longer than expected to purchase this one. Thank you for a terrific listen!

Great listen!

Perfect for a long boring car ride coming back from summer vacation. I was driving by myself and didn’t stop for lunch!

Good read

The story is romantic and intriguing even if a little obvious. But the romanticism was beautiful without being overly cheesy. I enjoyed the listen and would recommend.

The reader’s voice was not exactly to my taste. Her pronunciation at times felt stretched and somewhat annoying. But she did a wonderful job discerning character voices.

A little better than most beach reads

I found the story interesting although I got a little confused with the going back and forth with the time span. I enjoyed the 1950’s setting because it reminded me of my grandparents.

The story had a decent plot that I enjoyed more than your average women’s issues/beach read.

Summer Wives good summer read

Enjoyable story with great character development. I've never been a fan of stories that jump from era to era, but didn't seem bothered by that in this story.

Music to my ears.

Fantastic book. I actually love the interwoven lines, that seem to have driven some reviewers mad. Full of every beautiful detail I crave when listening to a story.

And Kristin Kalbli, gah, what a talented voice. The characters seemed to flow so effortlessly from her.

This is my 1st Beatriz Williams book, but I'll be picking my next right away.

excellent

This was such an amazing story! Plus, the performance just made it come to life!

Mystery, lyrical prose and fascinating setting

Finally a novel worth recommending on its literary merit and enjoyment level. The characters struggle with social position or lack of, distilled on a small island, the hypocrisy of the times, and of money-always money-and the tension eventually expressed in murder... plus a destined romance, make this an enthralling “listen” or read. I only wish the author could refrain from occasionally confiding to the reader with “You know?”