The Newcomer A Novel

LOVEEE

I kept waiting for the twist that never happened, it was too obvious and the only reason it was a page-turner was because my imagination was better than what actually happened

I gave this book 3.5 ✨ (view spoiler)[ I am not really sure how I feel about this book. I really loved the atmosphere of the murmuring surf and most of the characters (obviously excluding Evan and Rooney for obvious reasons). The mystery and FBI investigation were also really cool concepts. My main gripe with this book is the length. It was just soooooo long. I feel like all of the same elements could have been fleshed out in a way that was not as long. In terms of characters: The villains were definitely villains and there were not many redeeming qualities to be had. I also appreciated that Tanya was more of a morally gray character because it made her character feel more real. Letty's character was also pretty interesting. I was so happy that her character got everything she wanted at the end because she totally deserved it. Maya is also such an amazing character. The only character that I felt I should have liked but didn't was Joe. Don't get me wrong I am all for enemies to lovers or even slight dislike to lovers, but I just felt like their relationship wasn't for me. More specifically, I felt like Joe was too pushy with Letty. Dude, if she doesn't want a relationship right now, don't keep pressing and also don't make everything about a damn kiss you shared. Letty is trying her best to raise her niece and she is still grieving her sister, give her a break. (hide spoiler)]

I got to say, I did enjoy reading The Newcomer. There was just a few tweaks that I had problems with. It was a slow paced for me. I need to know the backstory asap. It kept dragging out. I could not focus what was going in the book. And that’s bad for me especially when I want to know the whole story. I cannot leave a book unopened. I have to especially if it is a thriller genre book. Besides the slow paced and dragged out story, it had some potential. I won’t spoiler it for anyone.

This is the first book I read by Mary Kay Andrews. It is an easy read with a bit of adventure and a bit of suspense. It feels like a good time to read something like this. Letty’s sister Tanya is going through a messy break up with her boyfriend baby-daddy (Evan) Tanya is worried that her life is at risk and that if something happens to her her ex-boyfriend has killed her. Tanya warns Letty that if she dies that Letty must take Maya and go on run to protect her daughter and she must not let Evan get custody of Maya. Letty grabs Mays when she finds Tanya dead and heads out of state. The story unfolds giving us some background history on Letty and Tanya’s relationship as sisters. We learn more about Tanya along the way. As we continue to read as how the story comes together with love, stability and freedom. I enjoyed the book. I do agree it could have been a bit shorter and some parts were not necessary to the story. Overall a good beach read. Hopefully this summer we’ll get to enjoy the beach.

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press for sending me a physical copy of this ARC - I was not expecting it and it was a complete surprise when it landed in my mailbox! My very first book swag! Also, thank you to Macmillan Audio for supplying a copy of the audiobook for me to listen to! I went back and forth from audio to reading, and it was a huge help with fitting this into my schedule that way. It took some time to find my footing with the cast of characters that The Newcomer has. I noticed as Letty settled into The Murmuring Surf Motel, I did as well. The mystery of Tanya's past, how Letty would prove that Evan murdered her, and why Tanya had the magazine clipping of The Murmuring Surf in her bag kept me turning the pages. I wanted to see how this all would play out. There were chapters that would flash back to when Letty was living in New York, how she met Evan and how Tanya met Evan. They worked quite well in the story, and did not confuse you as you read as to where in the timeline you were. The POV would also change from Letty, to Joe, Vicki, and sometimes Letty's friend Zoe. The cast of characters that stayed at The Murmuring Surf were entertaining to read about, although I must say that this is the first beach read I read that did not have me wanting to move my life to Florida and start running a motel! Most of the characters were of the older generation, and could be classified by today's standards as "Karen's" and "Ken's" as they are always complaining if they do not get their way. Maya is Letty's 4 year old niece, and Mary Kay Andrews did a great job in portraying just how 4 year olds can be. Maya fit into the story seamlessly and was well thought out in all interactions with everyone at the motel, and with her dad. The picture I posted above will make much more sense after reading about Maya at the end of the story! There were a couple of things that kept me from absolutely loving this story though. I have to warn you that while I did enjoy the story, it is very lengthy and can be very slow at times. I did put the book down to start another book for my book club, and struggled to pick it back up again. As I mentioned before, it took some time for me to really fall into Letty's world, and I hope this will not discourage some readers. There is also a plot line of romance between Letty and Joe, the cop who happens to be the motel owner's son. This plot line really confused me, as Letty went from being an irritation to Joe to all of a sudden being his love interest. If a man ever pursued me the way he did with Letty, I think I would run the other way. I also didn't really believe that Letty had fallen for him, as her whole time was spent worrying about Maya or Evan, and trying to plan her next move. Then, poof! She would be batting her eyes at Joe. It just felt a bit disjointed for me. As for the audiobook, I did like this narrator a lot, and she kept me from turning it off and focusing on the print book. My only irritation was her voice for Maya, as any adult imitating a child irks me to no end. Luckily, Maya doesn't have too many lines in the story, so I was able to overlook it and enjoy the rest of the story.