STILL SUMMER
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Grand Central Publishing
Fiction
ISBN-10: 0446578762
ISBN-13: 9780446578769

• Read an Excerpt

STILL SUMMER opens with unknown criminals stealing a boat and killing the captain. A young American man works with Spanish-speaking Ernesto and Carlo. He hopes to earn enough money running drugs to start a new life but meanwhile is disgusted with his partners.

Next we meet Tracy, Holly and Janis, who are greeting high school friend Olivia. Twenty years have passed, and while the other three women have enjoyed staid, steady lives full of family and helping careers, Olivia is a glamorous and wealthy widow who has been living in Italy. Olivia is treating Tracy, Holly and Janis to a luxurious Caribbean cruise during which they plan to gossip, drink, sunbathe and eat.

Michel and Lenny are the co-captains of the Opus, a gorgeous 53-foot sailboat. They work hard to make their ship worthy of the huge sums of money passengers pay to cruise in it.

Tracy is both delighted and apprehensive when her college-aged daughter, Cammie, agrees to fill in when Janis backs out of the cruise. Tracy's fingers are crossed that she and Cammie can smooth over their recently tumultuous relationship and become close once again. Yet Tracy feels jealous over Olivia's friendship with Cammie before they even set foot on the boat. Olivia has the money to buy Cammie jewelry and other luxurious items.

Olivia is not the only person enamored of lovely Cammie. Michel can hardly take his eyes off her, although he knows she is clearly off limits. But Cammie is far from oblivious of Michel's charms. At the same time, Olivia wonders if she won't make a connection with the handsome sailor. Tension rises among the three, fraught with jealousy and spite, as a love triangle develops. It is true love for one of the women and Michel; lust only for Michel and the other woman.

But the romantic maneuverings turn out to be nothing in comparison to what happens next. The ladies' wonderful vacation turns into a nightmare when they find themselves in the middle of the ocean without Michel and Lenny. Although it is unimaginable that anything could be worse than inexperienced women lost at sea with malfunctioning equipment, when a strange boat approaches the Opus, the terror intensifies. As their troubles continue and grow worse, the true colors of each begin to be apparent.

Some may find the beginning of STILL SUMMER to be a bit slow and bogged down with backstory. However, it's worth persevering because Jacquelyn Mitchard is skillfully weaving a net to catch the reader; halfway through the story, the book becomes a true page-turner, nearly impossible to put down. Mitchard walks a fine line between setting forth a multilayered story and juggling too many characters and plot lines, but she manages to knit the subplots together into an exciting, satisfying and enjoyable whole.

      --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

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