Local sensibilities are upended in the toney Hamptons when rapper and businessman TuSmart hosts a platinum-and-white party aboard a neighbor's yacht, and a woman ends up floating in the bay. This is exactly what the long-time residents of Coco Beach feared when the rapper and all his baggage moved in. Police detective Theo Pratt is determined to track down and arrest the killer, leaving no stone unturned and no one immune from investigation.

MURDER IN THE HAMPTONS is a very strong murder mystery, with a minor romantic subplot. Although the story begins with the actual murder, it consists of a series of flashbacks to the events leading up to the murder and its aftermath from the perspective of different characters. It took awhile for me to adjust to this style of storytelling, but once I did, it worked.

I liked that nothing is at it seems in the plot or with the characters; providing the basis for a solid whodunit. Ms. Carter does an excellent job of throwing out red herrings, thereby keeping the reader guessing...and reading.

There are at least five subplots, all expertly intertwined, which make this a fun and suspenseful read. The explicit detail given the sex scenes was a bit much for me, and wasn't needed in order for this to be an enjoyable story; even with many of the characters focused on lust and sex. Fans of these types of sex scenes will appreciate them, however, as they are steamy and evocative.