Swan Song

I put off reading this as I’m really sad that it’s Elin Hilderbrand’s last Nantucket novel. (But also happy for her: rest is good, she deserves this!). And of course, it did not disappoint. This one is a mystery, which I thought was fun. The novel surrounds a glamorous couple, The Richardsons. They move to Nantucket and immediately make waves, purchasing a $22 million home (with its own upstairs party room and octagon shaped porch) and yacht, Hedonism. The couple quickly becomes the talk of the town with their wild parties, loose morals, and debauchery. Everyone wants to be invited, (and everyone also wants to know how they got all that money!? As the book opens, we see their beautiful home burning to the ground and their personal assistant Coco disappearing). We are then taken back to the beginning of summer where we get to know the members of the town and try to figure out what the heck happened. Blonde Sharon (a loveable gossip, going through a divorce), the soon to be retired police chief and his daughter Kacy (who becomes close with Coco), and a slew of other memorable characters. The book alternates timelines between the beginning and the end of summer as we try to solve the mystery of what exactly happened to The Richardsons home (and who these mysterious people are!).