My first Tess Gerritsen book and it was a good thriller full of twists and turns. I like the Martini Club characters, they reminded me a little of the Thursday Murder Club characters. A really unexpected ending!

The book is the second in the Martini Club series. I haven't read the first book, and this one works well as a standalone.

Maggie is a former spy, living in the quiet town of Purity, Maine. She and her former CIA friends have created the Martini Club, and assist the local Police Chief Jo - whether they are asked or not. When a teenager visiting Purity for the summer disappears, Maggie is determined to prove the innocence of her neighbour. Can Maggie and her friends help find the teen, and work out the strange history of her family?

I loved the elderly spies, and the book was a quick, easy read, with writing that draws the reader in. I really liked Jo, who was torn between accepting help and sticking to the rules. I look forward to reading the third in the series - and have already purchased the first to read now!

A missing child leads the Martini club to put aside their bird watching retirement and once again use skills that they attained while working within the CIA to locate her. The main opposition to their help is the child's family who are wealthy out of owners who have expensive summer cottages by the lake.
When I got this copy I had not read the first book so set about with that one first, this is not required as the book is superbly written and covers all the salient points that even if you have not read The Spy Coast you will not miss out. It is full of twists and turns where not just the police but also our ex spooks are lead down the wrong path with incorrect assumptions, needless to say they do solve the case and much more besides.
The characters are superb and I love that fact that it is focusing on an older generation, ones that to all intents and purpose would be overlooked. The are well crafted complete with the inevitable aches and pains that would be common in this generation. Also there is moments of light hearted humour like with the Waiting for God type reference in the care home.
I can't wait for the next one.

A big welcome back to the Martini club, a loose configuration of ex spies living in the aptly named Purity (it’s not so pure :) For those of you who have not read the first in the series “The spy Coast” the Martini club comprises unofficial leader Maggie, Declan, her possible boyfriend, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd. Retirement has brought little respite for the five and when a young girl Zoe is reported missing they are determined to help acting chief Jo Thibodeau solve the case, even if acting chief Thibodeau does not want any help.

Susan, Ethan and their daughter Zoe are travelling to Maiden Pond to scatter the ashes of Ehtan’s father George. There he will meet with George’s widow Elizabeth, his brother Colin, wife Brooke and their young son Kit. However all is not well in this family, when Zoe disappears, the past resurfaces and deadly family secrets emerge with near fatal results

I thought this was an excellent story weaving parts of questionable CIA history (and educating me in the process)with a top notch edge of the seat thriller. I love this new series that the author has commenced, what a wonderful direction for her to take, and a treat for the reader. Highly recommended.

What a brilliant book to kick off the new year!

It centres on the disappearance of teenager Zoe, who was visiting Purity with her mother and stepfathers family. Once the Martini Club’ get involved, truths come to light, family secrets are uncovered and long standing mysteries are explained. The Summer Guests was a gripping read which kept me guessing until the end. Tess Gerritsen has written this in a really clever way that weaves the lives of multiple families through the one main plot.

I hadn’t realised this was the second in the ‘martini club’, I look forward to reading the first!

Huge thank you for the ARC of this excellent book.

A very welcome 2nd book in the Martini Club series by Tess Gerritsen. I have always liked her books but this particular newer series is great! The characters (Maggie, Bird's Book Group) are funny at times, warming and determined to help Jo the Police Chief to solve her crimes.

This story is about a family of regular summer visitors, who own the biggest of the house on the lakeshore and a young girl that goes missing. Now one of the groups friends and neighbours is accused of being involved and therefore the Martini Club, get cracking and help Jo to solve the crime.

It's a terrific read, it keeps you guessing all the way through, with characters you grow to love and loathe!

Bring on no 3 in the series please !

Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for ARC.
This is a second in a new series by the veteran thriller writer Gerritsen.
Maggie Bird is retired and living the good life in Maine, with a close group of friends of a similar age. Year round residents in a tourist area, they are braced every year for the influx of wealthy, entitled people flocking to the lakes, bringing money but also attendant inconveniences. Early this summer a young girl goes missing, and the girl's family seem to think the likely suspect is one of Maggie's friends. Despite being asked not to interfere by acting police chief Jo Thibodeau, Bird and her 'book group'/neighbourhood watch/something else altogether can't help but think that's the only way to give the girl a chance at surviving.
Of course, small town, wealthy visitors, everyone has secrets they are afraid of exposing to the light and this hampers Thibodeau's investigation. The unofficial book group has resources the local police definitely don't have.

As you'd expect, Gerritsen knows her job, and this careens along very well from chapter to chapter, giving the reader exactly enough to keep us turning the pages as fast as we can.

To say it's based on a true story of government corruption and cover-up would be stretching a point, but the seed of the idea is rooted in real-world USA recent history and if you're not aware of that shocking scandal you will find the ending extremely satisfying.
I read as a stand-alone but I think it might be good to get the 'book group' back story so I'm ready for that next.

This is the first Tess Gerritsen book I have read for a while and I really enjoyed it. This is the second in a series at the Martini club, but it didn't matter that I hadn't read the first.
Maggie and her friends start investigating the disappearance of a girl, one of the summer guests.
Family secrets are unearthed as they work, alongside acting chief, to solve the crime.

#TheSummerGuests #NetGalley This is the second book in the "Martini Club" series but is perfectly capable of being read as a stand alone. Great writing, s you would expect from Tess Gerritsen, plenty of action and drama and twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. I am really warming to the characters of Maggie Bird and co and I can't wait for the next installment in this series. A great 5 star read.

The Summer Guests is the second book in the series of ‘The Martini Club’.
I read this as a stand-alone and it was easy to follow without having read the first installment.
When a visiting teenager goes missing on her first vacation in Purity, Maine, the already overworked acting chief of police Jo Thibodeau can do without the interference of a group of retired CIA agents who want to use their skills to help her investigate the disappearance.
A cosy crime in the style of The Thursday Murder Club, this novel is full of well-developed and likable characters.
A fun and engaging story, expertly plotted with tightly woven twists and turns throughout.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

I love Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series, but I just can't develop the same excitement for this series. The writing is great as always, but I don't feel as attached to these characters and the books are much slower which I don't love. The story here was fine, but it kind of dragged in the middle and then it never really got as exciting as I wanted it to get. There were also so many characters, both new ones and ones from the previous book that it was sometimes hard to keep track. If you like a cozy mystery this one is for you but it wasn't really my thing.

When a young girl dissapears and a close friend is suspected, Maggie Bird and co are drawn into another of Jo Thibodeau’s cases.

Missing girl Zoe is one of the summer visitors vacationing on Maiden Pond in the cottages owned by the Conovers, Greenes, Tarkins, and Arthur Fox.

The Tarkins are disgraced after a terrible incident with their father in the 70s. The others are a tight-knit clan with shared secrets.

In their search for Zoe, the police find a skeleton in the pond. What has Zoe walked into, will they find her alive, and what other secrets does Maiden Pond hold?

I much prefer Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles series and haven’t developed the same attachment to the Martini Club. A middling thriller which is a take on cosy crime with a peppering of ex CIA.

The first Tess Gerritsen book for this reviewer and the story stands so well on its own that I was unaware that it is the second book in a series, featuring the ‘Martini Club’ - a group of retired secret service personnel who ostensibly meet for martinis and a book club, but who really love solving crimes. When a teenage girl goes missing, police are at a loss where to begin looking for her and the Martini Club become involved, not always with the enthusiastic support of the police, but they plough on regardless, and undoubtedly add plenty of necessary skill, patience and extraordinary experience to help find the missing girl. There are many characters here, but they are all well drawn and there is no confusion - just a cracking good story and some very accomplished writing!

Excellent writing as always from this author and a great mystery.

I love these characters, you will enjoy these books if you like The Thursday Murder Club and even if you don’t because although the premise is similar this is less Agatha with more of an edge.

This was a DNF for me. I love crime novels, but this one had too many characters who weren’t followed up on soon enough after being introduced for the reader to remember who everyone was and keep the storyline straight. Due to this, I gave up 10% of the way through the book as it was a chore to read rather than gripping me

The Martini club is back with the second in the series and this time a girl goes missing from the lake and the club get involved in the investigation to find out what happened to her.
I enjoyed this one, but didnt love it as I do with the Rizzoli and Isles series. The characters of the Martini club are great, but I always feel like I want to spend more time with them rather than what's happening elsewhere.
The crime itself was intriguing, lots of potential baddies that kept me guessing throughout.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Spy Coast, so was thrilled to receive an advance copy of The Summer Guests from NetGalley.
It’s great to be back in the company of the Martini Club, a group of retired spies who seem to have ended up somewhere where their skills are sometimes needed to help out the local police chief (whether she likes it or not). This book sees the arrival in Purity of Susan and Ethan Conover and Susan’s daughter Zoe. They have come to Purity for a memorial service for Ethan’s father, but then Zoe disappears and a lifetime of family and community secrets start to unravel.
The book bounces off in several unexpected directions, keeping the reader on their toes. The characters are believable and it’s nice to see the growth in confidence of police chief Jo.
A very enjoyable read.

A totally satisfying and fun read!

I kind of ‘fell into’ reading this book straight off the back of a Lee Child short stories that my brother bought me for my birthday. And wow am I glad I did! I’ve read Tess’ books before but I don’t think I’ve had Martini Club book.

Everything about this book was brilliant. Well paced, structured and with lots of mystery and puzzles to solve. I enjoyed the banter between the Martini Club members and the hostility of the family involved.

An excellent read! I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mind boggle. And I cannot wait to read more from this series.

Thanks you to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Just as good if not better than The Spy Coast Tess Gerritsen’s secondMartini Club book is a total delight. It is a beautifully written artful thriller with twists turns and red herrings all the way through.

Maggie Bird and her friends interact seamlessly and help their new friend, acting police chief Jo solve a young girl’s disappearance.

Of course it’s not as simple as that but the reader is drawn in by the strength of the plot and characters and the descriptions of life in Maine where tensions exit between year round residents and newbies visiting for the summer.

I can’t wait for the next one!

The Summer Guests” is the second novel in The Martini Club and I enjoyed it as much as the first, I liked the characters and found the storyline intriguing and full of twists and turns.