Maggie and her friends in the Martini Club are settling back into normal life after surviving the threat of their past, when a teenager goes missing. Maggie wouldn't get involved, but her next door neighbour is the prime suspect and the girls wealthy family are pushing for an arrest, but Maggie is sure he's innocent. As both the Martini Club and the police begin to investigate it becomes clear that the town of Purity holds some long buried secrets.

This is the second book in the Martini Club series, and one I'm glad I requested from NetGalley. It has introduced me to a new series by Tess Gerritsen and I am here for it.

Maggie, Declan, Ben, Irene and Lloyd are a fascinating bunch. It's very easy to forget that they are all retirees with the escapades they get up to. Despite having a clear disregard for the rules when it suits them, they are a loveable bunch, and I appreciate the way they take Jo under their wing and help her along in her role as acting police chief.

The mystery at the heart of this one definitely caught my attention. The references to MKUltra had me doing some research, and got me wondering what else organisations like the CIA and MI5 have tried to brush under the carpet over the years. I had several thoughts on what had gone on in Purity over the years, and am pleased to be able to say that some of my suspicions were accurate. That said I hadn't figured it all out so certainly didn't spoil the ending for myself.

I've really enjoyed the first two books in this series so am hoping there will be more to come. There's also a good chance of me going back and re-visiting some of Gerritsen's older works (I did start the Rizzoli and Isles series many years ago but would have to start again as it has been so long). There is plenty to choose from in the back catalogue!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK and Transworld Publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

It was so good to be back with the members of The Martini Club in the second instalment of a fabulous series that’s fast becoming one of my favourites.
There are so many amazing characters in the books and I love them all but Maggie and Jo Thibodeau are my favourites and I can’t wait till we are treated to be a part of their lives once more and hopefully trying to solve another great mystery.
The book has a brilliant plot line that kept me guessing and some great twists that I didn’t see coming and although this is the second book in the series it could still be read as a standalone but I would urge anyone to read the first book as it’s too good to miss.
So for me a 5 star read that I absolutely devoured and many thanks to Tess Gerritsen for a brilliant read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This series continues to give readers a great read. The Martini Club returns with another fast paced tale, alongside a great cast of believable characters who give the truth to the phrase 'there is life in the old dog yet'. This is one of those mysteries here there is much more to a story than it seems and so the investigation gets going. Finger pointing and accusations galore make this an entertaining read too. Great fan of Tess Geritssen and after reading this I continue to be.

Another meeting of the Martini club and a welcome return it is. Secrets and lies in this twisty thriller. Well plotted with interesting chracters that keeps you reading. Highly recommended. Thanks to Random house UK and Netgalley for this review ARC.

Another brilliant read from this author. I almost read it in one it was so engrossing. .
A small town with locals and summer guests but all of them have many secrets and when the secrets start to spill out a killer stops at nothing to protect themselves. Loved it!

The second book in The Martini Club trilogy did not disappoint, I was invested from the beginning.

Tess Gerritsen is one of my favourite authors, I adore her books and this one is no exception. From the start we are thrown straight into the action with multiple murders and then in usual Tess fashion there’s various other plots that all eventually come together through twists and turns to a great conclusion, and I couldn’t get enough!

I love the characters in this series, their back stories add to their complexity and this combined with the small town setting makes it the perfect summer thriller read!

An easy 5 stars for me and I can’t wait for the next instalment.

Thankyou to Random House UK, Transworld publishers and NetGalley for the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review

Susan and her daughter Zoe are going to Purity to stay with her new husbands family. They are holding a memorial for her father-in-law who died recently.
When her swimming mad daughter goes missing, she is frantic and the family are quick to point the finger at various local people.
What the person responsible hasn't counted on is the involvement of the martini club, a bunch of ex-spies, who like to keep their hand in.
When a much bigger story is unearthed they are afraid that Zoe has stumbled across something that has been hidden for many decades.
An entertaining read that I couldn't put down.

The Martini Club is back in session and these retired spooks have another mystery to solve!

They may have set up a "book club" as an excuse to get together to eat and drink Martinis but they quickly find out that retirement is not really for them and they are plunged into another murder to solve!

Maggie and co may move a little slower, not be quite as sharp as they once were but underestimate them at your own peril. Some may overlook them, being pensioners, but this lot still know plenty of ways to dispose of a body and leave no evidence behind!

I really enjoyed the way they just enveloped Sheriff Jo into the club and just started to turn up and solve crimes. Poor Jo has decided to just let them do their thing and reap the rewards.

The old case murder investigation and the current missing person case are soon linked and I loved the way the dynamic septuagenarians just got stuck in. There was no way they weren't going to help find Zoe, especially when their poor neighbour got involved. The Conovers as a whole were a horrible bunch and I felt so bad for Susan, her hubby & Zoe. They were the only decent people in that family!

This was akin to a vintage murder mystery with a very modern feel and I really enjoyed the way the author interspersed the "them via us" tension between the Summer people and the regular townspeople.

My favourite scene involves Maggie going into full "mama bear" mode and I would have totally helped her bury the body and then help look for the "victim"!

Book 2 in The Martini Club series from the talented author Tess Gerritsen who captures her readers attention with another 5 star read, mystery, suspense, family secrets, murder and humour.
The Martini club has 5 members who are retired CIA agents, they meet up for book club, food, gossip and of course martinis, ( my type of book club) they are highly entertaining. As in book 1 they once again are stepping on Jo Thibodeau’s toes, Jo is the chief of police, there is a missing teenager, Zoe, the granddaughter of a well off family who own one of the summer homes in Maine. Jo could do without the interference of The Martini club 5, and frustratingly for Jo, they always seem to be one or two steps ahead of her.
Hold on to your seat as the story picks up pace, lies and buried secrets are revealed, an old grudge between two families, one family are summer residents and very well off, the other being a year round family made up of just a brother and his disabled sister.
Can Zoe be found safely, and will it be Jo or the Martini Club 5 who solve the mystery?
This is a highly entertaining read, I would suggest reading book 1 first “The Spy Coast”. I will definitely be looking forward to the 3rd instalment.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Another brilliant offering from Gerritsen. The Martini Club are fantastic and I love that Jo is slowly being worn down and accepting their help. I enjoyed the second book much more than the first, this one was an actual mystery novel rather than a spy novel.

I am a big fan of this author - both her wonderful Rizzoli & Isles series, as well as her stand alones and I really enjoyed the series opener to this, her new series, when I read it a couple years ago.
If you ever wondered what old spooks did post-retirement, wonder no more...! In this book we catch up with the members of the Martini Club - Maggie, Declan, Ingrid, Ben, and Lloyd - now all in their 70s, and all with intelligence services backgrounds, they still have a lot to give and even though their bodies may be a bit weaker than in their heydays, there is nothing wrong with their minds, ever enquiring, much to the chagrin of the local police chief Jo when they inveigle themselves into her cases... but I get ahead of myself somewhat...
After a rather intriguing opening chapter, telling of a rather nasty road accident, we begin proper with a family reunion. It's a sad affair as it has been called to say goodbye to George Conover, the patriarch of the family who has sadly died recently. Leaving behind his widow and two boys, well, men now, with families of their own. It is the first time in ages that the younger son, Ethan, has returned to the lake house, and the first with wife Susan, and her daughter Zoe. They are bringing with them Elizabeth, George's widow, who is bringing George's ashes. Already at the house is Ethan's older brother Colin with his wife Brooke, and their sickly son Kit.
Completing the group of mourners are Hannah and Arthur old family friends... And then there's Tarkin who also lives on the lake and has a bit of a feud with the Conover's, but I'll leave you to discover over what for yourself.
All is going as well as it can until Zoe goes missing. She was swimming in the lake but then went off with Callie, the granddaughter of Maggie's neighbour Luther. He claims he dropped her back but...
And so begins a delicious and rather convoluted and interconnected tale which definitely kept me on my toes throughout, although I did guess a few things early, I wasn't prepared for the whole truth when it was eventually revealed, leaving me, at the end, wholly satisfied.
I do love Maggie and her crew. We bonded in the series opener and that bond has only strengthened during my time with them in this book. One thing I am very envious of though is the wonderful food and drink they all indulge in. Warning - don't read this book if you are hungry!
Pacing is perfect and matches the narrative all the way through and is delivered in a no nonsense way with no additional waffle or padding, meaning that the story gets on with itself very well indeed. And when you find out how the opening connects with the rest, well...! Food for thought, and a wee bit scary.
All in all, a cracking follow up to what was a favourite series opener. Roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

"Summer people brought money. They also brought trouble, which was why Jo would never be out of a job."

Book 2 of The Martini Club series see the retired spies in Maine helping local cop with another case, after a summer visitor goes missing.

I really enjoyed this, more than the first, perhaps because the setting and returning characters were familiar to me. There is plenty of intrigue and secrets to reveal in the pasts of both the locals and the titular summer guests. A great installment in this series.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

it was lovely to dip into the lives of these people again....the martini club aka retired spies who had all come to live near each other in purity maine....

a young teenage girl has gone missing and at first its thought that she was abducted from the area....but as things start to unravel and things start to appear in weird places nothing is adding up about the girls disappearance

and then they dragged the pond where she had been swimming .....and found something


what a ride this book gives you... cant begin to tell you all how much this series is thrilling and entertaining everyone one of the characters that we meet are amazing and its great to find out more about the martini club members... they are brilliant even if they are human...

The Martini Club is back and open for business with Maggie, Ingrid, Lloyd, Declan and Ben. They are all retirees and live in Purity, Maine. Acting chief of police, Jo Thibodeau, is called in to investigate the disappearance of a teenager called Zoe Conover. The Conovers are summer visitors and live in a cottage called Moonview on Maiden Pond. Maggie and the Martini Club are no ordinary retirees and they use their skills to help Jo uncover the truth behind Zoe's disappearance and the skeleton. How are the events connected? The Conovers are a family with lots to hide and they will do everything to keep their secrets hidden. The story is full of twists and turns with a few nail biting moments. It was a fast paced read and the sub plots came together with a dramatic ending.

I have not read the first book in this series but The Martini Club reminded me of The Thursday Murder Club group.
The mystery of a missing teenager was interesting and the relationships - or lack of - between the Conover family was almost toxic.
I am not sure how much the retired spies brought to the story.
The mystery itself made this a page turner but I was not totally convinced by all these people living in the same area of Maine.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Tess Gerritsen/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Many thanks to TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this free eARC.

The Matini Club goes from strength to strength and is so much fun to tag along with!

Tess Gerritsen is one of my all-time favourite writers. I’ve read the paperback of book one already and loved it. Hubby and I are waiting for the paperback of The Summer Guests to release, so I was beyond excited to see the review copy of this available.

This second book in The Martini Club didn’t disappoint. In fact, I enjoyed the read so much I forgot to make highlights of the lines that stood out for me. I read this every opportunity I got, and were I able I’d have pulled an all nighter to read this in one go. Alas, life gets in the way, lols.

As ever, this group of retired CIA operatives remains quirky, nosey, and provides plenty of laughs with their antics and banter. The characters continue to entrance, and the chief police officer, Jo Thibodeau, grows on you more and more.

So, here’s one quote I did manage to grab to share with you:

‘ … she found a toxic waste dump of dirty underwear and socks on the floor.’

I cannot recommend this author or series highly enough and trying not to hold my breath as I wait for book three! The Summer Guests gets a resounding five stars from me. Go and grab this book. Grab the series! I love how different these are to other books I’ve read by this author, yet they remain quintessentially Tess Gerritsen.


***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.


5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.

4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.

3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.

2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.

1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

As a long time fan of Tess Gerritsen, I was really looking forward to reading this ARC, and I can tell you that I wasn't disappointed!
This was a great story, about a young girl who disappears from the family's lakeside holiday home in the remote town of Purity.
A local book group, lead by Maggie Bird takes it upon themselves to help acting police chief Jo Thibodeau solve the case (even though Jo herself isn't too thrilled), and hopefully find the missing girl.
Maggie's book group isn't all that it seems, as each member is actually a retired spy who has settled in the small town to live out their 'retirement', but they have things on their minds other than drinking martinis, and bird watching.
This book was a great read, and one not to be missed from fans of Tess Gerritsen. A1

Everything Tess Gerritsen does is pure gold and The Summer Guests does not disappoint.
The story flows effortlessly and takes so many twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end.
I can't wait for the next installment of the Martini Club.

The Summer Guests(the martini club2) by Tess Gerritsen: ratings story 10/10, characters 10/10, easy to read 10/10,
I was kindly given advance ARC copy of this novel by NetGalley and Random House Uk, a thrilling sequel to The Spy Coast, I literally couldn’t stop reading this, the story grabs the reader’s attention right from the first paragraph till the last
#tessgerritsen #thesummerguests #themarttiniclub2 #spystory #crimefiction #musthavebooks #mustreadbooks #NetGalley #RandomHouseuk

This is a great crime thriller.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and this is another gripping story.
Maggie has moved out to Maine to enjoy a quieter life from her former job as a spy. However, her and her friends can’t help but be drawn in by crimes and trying to solve them.
When a teenage girl goes missing from near the Summer lodges, Maggie steps in to help as her neighbour is under suspicion.
Maggie and her friends know he would never harm anyone especially when he is bringing up his teenage granddaughter.
The girl’s family are rich and influential and it seems some are hiding a few secrets, but her Mum is desperate to find her.
A few other local people are under suspicion but Jo, the Police Chief shares Maggie’s view that they aren’t the ones who took the girl.
Secrets from the past come to the surface and soon Jo and Maggie realise the abduction and a past murder may be linked.
This is a great thriller that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Random House UK for the opportunity to read this book.