Elin Hilderbrand’s seventh novel, A SUMMER AFFAIR, is once
again set on tranquil Nantucket where Claire Danner Crispin’s
life is anything but. Juggling a household, four children and a
husband leaves her little time for anything else. She used to be
quite an accomplished glass blower. But after an accident in her
workroom when she was pregnant with her fourth child, Claire
hasn’t returned to her work. Life is hectic enough. Claire,
however, is a people-pleaser and has a hard time saying no, which
is why she finds herself as the co-chair of the biggest charitable
event of the season ---the Nantucket’s Children Summer
Gala.

Instead of much needed time with her family, she is running off
to meetings with Lockhart (Lock) Dixon, the handsome founder of
Nantucket’s Children. But Claire is no fool; she knows full
well why she was appointed. It’s a semi-well-known fact that
she used to date rock star Max West before he was an international
superstar, and they hope she can get him to perform at the gala.
Claire hasn’t spoken to Max (or “Matthew,” as he
was known then) in years. Last she heard, he was doing another
stint in rehab…or was he getting divorced? She hopes he will
remember her fondly and help her look like a superstar to the gala
committee.

But the beauty of this small island masks a lot of pain going on
behind closed doors. Claire struggles with her memories of Max and
simpler times. Even though she loves her husband, Jason, a burly
island contractor whose favorite thing to do is relax with a beer
and watch “Junkyard Wars,” she sometimes wonders where
their carefree spark has gone. She is also troubled by her recent
attraction to Lock, who is also in a complicated marriage. Claire
would go crazy if she didn’t have her sister-in-law, Siobhan,
to confide in. Siobhan runs a local catering business with her
husband Carter, Jason’s brother, and provides Claire with
no-nonsense Irish wisdom while also acting as her moral compass.
Siobhan has issues of her own, including Carter’s growing
gambling problem and her ex-fiancé’s renewed interest in
her.

Guilt seems to play a major role in A SUMMER AFFAIR. Claire
feels badly that her workaholic ways led to her youngest
child’s developmental problems. She is conflicted about her
burgeoning feelings for Lock, as well as feeling guilty that his
wife, Daphne, has never been the same after an accident following a
girls’ night on the town with Claire and some other local
women, where they knew she had too much to drink. Daphne recovers
physically but constantly barbs and snipes at everyone. Lock feels
tremendous guilt on behalf of his teenaged daughter, Heather, and
sticks with Daphne mostly for Heather’s sake and out of
well-intentioned loyalty.

In addition to the characters who are donning hair shirts, we
have Gavin Andrews, the slimy assistant at Nantucket’s
Children, who is brazenly skimming funds from the charity right
under Lock’s nose. Gavin hopes to abscond with the money
before anyone is the wiser. And there’s Isabelle French, the
cold and capable divorcee who is co-chairing the event but seems
more adept at making Claire feel inadequate.

A SUMMER AFFAIR captures the beauty and the small-town coziness
of Nantucket but also demonstrates that islanders have just as many
problems as city dwellers. We follow Claire and the other
characters through treacherous waters as they try to navigate their
complicated lives. The subplot of the returning rock star boyfriend
ends up being a little superfluous, though the domestic issues
prove more interesting. Hilderbrand has taken great strides in
developing her characters this time out. They are real, flawed and
struggle with their own inner demons. They may make mistakes, but
they are truly human. And, as in life, their flaws and their labors
make them much more relatable.