Book Review: The High Tide Club, by Mary Kay Andrews

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Chick Lit
Date Published: May 2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 480 pages/16 hours 40 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000 acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her. Josephine’s cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter with Brooke, who is an attorney, but Brooke knows that Mrs. Warrick has long been a client of a prestigious Atlanta law firm.
Over a few meetings, the ailing Josephine spins a tale of old friendships, secrets, betrayal and a long-unsolved murder. She tells Brooke she is hiring her for two reasons: to protect her island and legacy from those who would despoil her land, and secondly, to help her make amends with the heirs of the long dead women who were her closest friends, the girls of The High Tide Club—so named because of their youthful skinny dipping escapades—Millie, Ruth and Varina. When Josephine dies with her secrets intact, Brooke is charged with contacting Josephine’s friends’ descendants and bringing them together on Talisa for a reunion of women who’ve actually never met.
The High Tide Club is Mary Kay Andrews at her Queen of the Beach Reads best, a compelling and witty tale of romance thwarted, friendships renewed, justice delivered, and true love found.

My Rating:

 ★★★

.....For being enjoyably average.

My Thoughts:

Definitely an average, predictable, and slightly mindless read.

I've never read Mary Kay Andrews before, and I tend to avoid books that are labeled "beach reads" or "chick lit". This novel was clearly both.

It is certainly a fairly quick read, and the pace of the story is okay, but I found the storyline mediocre and very predictable, to the point where I knew what the ending would be like by the time I reached the halfway point, and had to wait patiently for the characters and the story to catch up. There were a couple of plot events that I admit I didn't see coming, but I found I didn't really care.

There were some positive aspects, however. A lot of the characters were likable, uncovering the secrets of four women was interesting (and a little sad) at times, and there were some moments involving Brook and her 3-year-old son that made me smile.

Overall, this wasn't a masterpiece. It was leisurely paced with genial characters, but with a very predictable plot. A decent chick lit story and a good beach read, but not what I normally go for.