A delightful novel by the New York Times bestselling
author of The Weekenders.
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.
Even at the end of
her life, Josephine seems unwilling or unable to face her
past, deliberately evading Brooke's questions. 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. What follows is a tale of a
romance thwarted, friendships renewed, justice delivered and
true love found. It's Mary Kay Andrews at her Queen of the
Beach Reads best.