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The Return of Ellie Black
By Emiko Jean
Simon & Schuster, 9781668023938, May 2024, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Riveting. Impossible to put down.

The Rest of It:

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State. ~ from the Publisher

A missing girl found! GREAT news. Except, Ellie is not the same girl she was when she went missing. Something is up with Ellie and the detectives and her own therapist aren’t really sure what happened to her. Why? Because Ellie isn’t talking.

As Ellie tries to re-insert herself into the life she once knew, through alternating chapters we learn what Ellie endured and how it changed her. We are introduced to many characters and the twists keep coming. Was Ellie a victim, or a willing participant?

I really enjoyed The Return of Ellie Black. It was suspenseful without being too dark. The inner workings of Ellie, post kidnapping are very complex and nothing is cut and dry. As she works through the trauma she endured, Detective Calhoun also works through the pain she felt when her own sister went missing years before.

Psychologically there is a lot to pick apart here. The development of the characters over time is excellent and with every page there are twists and turns and it’s the perfect book to lose yourself in. I read it in just a few sittings. Loved it. It will be on my list of faves at the end of the year.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Summer Club
By Hannah McKinnon
Atria Books,9781668025185, July 23, 2024, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Dishy neighborhood gossip.

The Rest of It:

Mayhaven is the best keep secret in Massachusetts. Tucked between old cedars and a spring-fed lake, the Mayhaven beach club has long been the ultimate escape to understated exclusivity. It’s the place where Darcy Birch is supposed to be experiencing the best summer of her life, but there are a few things standing in her way. ~ From the publisher

The Summer Club is all about the Mayhaven “country club”. Quotes because the members and staff of Mayhaven choose not to think of it as a country club per se. To them, it’s an association and not quite as exclusive as a typical country club but don’t be fooled, it is and only certain types are fit be members.

Darcy’s summer is not going as planned. Her love for golf came to an end, so there is no golf for Darcy but her proximity to the course as she works as a summer counselor reminds her daily of what she’s lost. Especially the time she and her dad spent on the course.

Mr. Birch wants what’s best for his family, but he doesn’t understand Darcy’s sudden mood swings or the complicated nature of club membership. As president, membership equates to dollars so when new folks join, he doesn’t really care if they are the right types or not. His board doesn’t agree.

Enter the Creevys. They are rich, loud and flashy and they happen to be Mr. Birch’s neighbor. Parties into the wee hours of the night, statement cars and the hugest monstrosity of all, a gigantic luxury RV, parked where everyone can see it. Mr. Birch is not happy but when the Creevy’s apply for membership, dollars are dollars after all.

There is a lot of tension in this story. Darcy’s reasons for quitting golf are revealed slowly and her relationship with Flick Creevy proves to be a little surprising. He doesn’t really seem like her type, and yet she finds herself drawn to his quiet nature. Mr. Birch is regularly caught putting out fires. Someone is stealing from the club, there’s vandalism, and there is the day to day routine of the inebriated members as they try to tell him how it should be.

This was a good read but I wouldn’t call it a beach read. There are some heavy topics and the tensions run high throughout the story. However, McKinnon held my attention and I literally read it in one sitting.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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