You don’t even know the level of excitement I had when I received the email from my library that this book had come in. A heat wave had just hit, and The High Tide Club seemed like the perfect beach read for a hot summer’s day. And, while I don’t plan on going near any beaches this year, you can bet your bottom sand dollar that I plunked myself down under my pergola to read this, pretending that the grass surrounding me was sand and the stretch of driveway to my right was actually the ocean.
Good news — The High Tide Club did not disappoint!
This book has it all – murder, intrigue, historical romance, modern romance, and an educational bit of estate and eminent domain law, for those of you looking for a touch of the cerebral with your summer read. The story starts out simply enough, but it quickly becomes filled with unexpected twists and exciting turns. This is another book using two timelines to reveal its story, one in the 1940s and one in present day, and both are equally engrossing – especially when you see how one starts to affect the other. Surprises run rampant among the characters, both those in present day and in flashbacks, and the startling revelations keep you guessing and gasping until the very end.
This novel takes place in the South – Georgia, to be exact – so the entire story is infused with genteel Southern charm and all the hurry of a lazy summer’s day. Even though shocking secrets are divulged, you never once feel overwhelmed with the seriousness of the shit that’s repeatedly hitting the fan. All you feel is eager to learn more, and your fingertips itch to turn just one more page in order to see what happens next.
As a Northerner who doesn’t get much opportunity to venture below the Mas-Dix, I’m always intrigued by stories that incorporate the Southern way of life. Andrews novels reliably feature quirky, loveable characters in settings and circumstances that seem particular to the South, and The High Tide Club follows suit. It’s steeped in the culture and history of Georgia, and the situations binding all of the characters together are heavily influenced by the South’s simultaneously proud and problematic past. In this respect, The High Tide Club moves beyond a mere beach read, addressing both the good and bad aspects of a society still learning to comfortably blend a previously divided way of life—black and white, rich and poor. Timely issues are addressed head-on, which I admired, but the reader isn’t hit over the head with them, which I greatly appreciated. While the topics of race and class are unavoidable when referencing Southern history, I wasn’t looking for them to take center stage in this particular read—and they don’t.
This is my fourth Mary Kay Andrews novel, and I’m already looking forward to reading more from her. The first books of hers I read were the Christmas novels in the Weezie and Bebe mysteries – Blue Christmas and Christmas Bliss – and last summer I read her then-newest, The Weekenders. Her novels are always filled with a lot of sass and a lot of fun, and The High Tide Club is one you’ll want to read on the next sweltering summer day with a cool glass of lemonade or sweet tea by your side.
What beach reads are you looking forward to this summer?
And, check out my inspired recipe for this read — Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake!
