Welcome back to the Sunday Salon! It's been a beautiful week in my corner of Connecticut, with the weather heating up and people flocking to the beaches... Which brought back fond memories of my own beach flocking... Whether going to the beach with family or friends, I always had a book in hand. There were always quiet moments that could be filled in some exotic place (of course as a teenager I did read The Exorcist on the beach, not exactly an exotic story setting, but I was glad for all the company around me!).
There are plenty of "beach reads" out there. Books that are lighter, fun, maybe filled with a hunk or two, but today I thought maybe we'd take a look at "literal" beach reads... Books that have "Beach" in their title! And there are quite a few of those too! Here are some of the"beach" reads that have caught my eye...
On Folly Beach by Karen White. I have seen this book everywhere, in the bookstore, in the blogosphere, I think I even saw it floating around BookExpo, and the story sounds like the perfect combination of a mystery, a love story, and friendship. Here's the description you'll find on all the bookseller's sites...
Folly Beach, South Carolina, has survived despite hurricanes and war. But it's the personal battles of Folly Beach's residents that have left the most scars, and why a young widow has been beckoned there to heal her own... To most people, Folly Beach is simply the last barrier island before reaching the great Atlantic. To some, it's a sanctuary for lost souls, which is why Emmy Hamilton's mother encourages her to buy the local book store, Folly's Finds, hoping it will distract Emmy from the loss of her husband. Emmy is at first resistant. So much has already changed. But after finding love letters and an image of a beautiful bottle tree in a box of used books from Folly's Finds, she decides to take the plunge. But the seller insists on one condition: Emmy must allow Lulu, the late owner's difficult sister, to continue selling her bottle trees from its back yard. For the most part Emmy ignores Lulu as she sifts through the love letters, wanting to learn more. But the more she discovers about the letters, the more she understands Lulu. As details of a possible murder and a mysterious disappearance during WWII are revealed, the two women discover that circumstances beyond their control, sixty years apart, have brought them together, here on Folly Beach. And it is here that their war-ravaged hearts can find hope for a second chance...
Karen White refers to On Folly Beach as "grit lit", part of her Southern women's fiction collection of novels. This is definitely going on my "have to read" list , so you can expect to read more about it here sometime this summer. *P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!
Maybe MURDER is more your Summer Style! I have a friend who swears by Stuart Woods as her choice for a great read. He's got a few different series going, his most popular being the Stone Barrington novels, which star Stone Barrington an ex-NYPD detective turned lawyer. But for today's literal "beach" read, I wanted to chat about another series of his... the Orchid series, and the first book is Orchid Beach, a mystery/thriller/police procedural, with his newest character Holly Barker. Here's what the publisher has to say about Orchid Beach...
Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods... Smart, attractive, and fiercely independent, Major Holly Barker, the army-brat daughter of a master sergeant, has been forced into early retirement at thirty-seven as the result of a scandalous sexual harassment case. With the help of her father, she makes the move to civilian life, becoming deputy chief of police in Orchid Beach, Florida, a small beach town. But below the calm, sunny surface of this sleepy, well-to-do coastal island city lies a web of evil and deceit that escalates when a colleague and another associate are brutally gunned down. Holly is alone, a green outsider with no clues to go on, and finding killers won’t be easy for her. Surrounded by a staff of officers she neither knows or trusts, Holly finds help from a most unexpected source – Daisy, a Doberman Pinscher of exceptional intelligence and loyalty who quickly becomes her inseparable companion and protector. But the closer she comes to unraveling the mystery of Orchid Beach, the more dangerous Holly’s life becomes.
How can you go wrong with a woman who loves dogs?! Mystery, mayhem and a good dog sound like a perfect combination to me, AND not only is this book in mass market paperback, BUT it is available on KINDLE for a reasonable $4.99! Here's the link for your Kindle Ready book! It's always nice to be able to try a new author at a bargain price!
If you like your summers filled with Murder, but want that served with a good bit of slapstick humor, Tim Dorsey might just be what you're looking for. He's got this great wacko character Serge Storm who has a strong sense of right & wrong, but is also a psychopath. All his novels take place in Florida, and here's how Publishers Weekly describes Tim Dorsey's "literal Beach Read", Cadillac Beach...
Cadillac Beach by Tim Dorsey... Certifiable nutcase Serge Storms escapes from Chattahoochee, Florida's state psychiatric hospital, and heads for Miami, obsessed with the idea of clearing up the mystery surrounding his grandfather's alleged suicide, which is tied to the legendary dozen diamonds still missing after Murph the Surf's infamous 1964 jewel heist from the Museum of Natural History. Serge's ambitious crusade gets off to an ill-omened start when he awakens the interest of both the mob and the Feds after getting into a graveside altercation with Tony Marsicano, the mob boss who was alone at the deathbed of Rico Spagliosi, a deceased fence reputed to have a part in the jewel heist. In a typical display of off-the-wall buffoonery, Serge starts a specialty Miami tour service, and his first booking is a group of drunken salesmen who, out to play a practical joke on a colleague, mistakenly kidnap Tony, with dire results. Sporadically moving back and forth between time present and nostalgic flashbacks to Miami Beach in the 1960s, the novel chronicles the methodical murders of Serge's grandfather's old cronies as Serge tracks his grandfather's movements at the time of the infamous gem heist and the return of the most famous of the stolen stones.
This is the sixth Serge Storm adventure, and there are plenty more where that came from! *BTW, Cadillac Beach is Kindle Ready!
OK Kindle Owners... Speaking of the beach... If you're bringing your Kindle to the beach, you're going to want to protect it! 2 manufacturers came out with waterproof cases for the Kindle this week...
First M-Edge came out with The Guardian Case, which they claim is the world's first waterproof floatation device for the Kindle. You can read the full press release at Engadget. And here is the link for the M-Edge site to learn more about the case.The Guardian case retails for $79.99. BUT, There seems to be a small problem with the case... I've heard that there isn't a way to access the power switch to your Kindle while it's encased. So if the Kindle goes to sleep, you've got a bit of a reading problem...
The other "Splash Proof" case that came out this week for your Kindle is from KlearKase. This case is similar to The Guardian Case, except that you can access the on/off sliding switch and the recharging port by removing the silicone seals that cover them. This is why it's not 100% waterproof and floatable, but they state on their website that if you dropped it in the water with the seals properly closed, that it shouldn't be the end of your Kindle. But then again, at least you can turn your Kindle on and off without taking the whole cover off. PLUS, the KlearKase is going to sell for $39.99! You'll be able to purchase the KlearKase by the end of June from Amazon. Until then you can read more about it at the KlearKase website.
Hope you've enjoyed the "Literal" Beach Reads suggestions today, and hope you can enjoy the nice weather and the beaches too! What are your beach reads this summer? Are your summer reads different from your year round reads? I'd love to hear all about it! Just leave a
comment and share! Have you read any of today's suggestions? Would love to hear your thoughts on them too!
*BTW, Do your summer reads include ROMANCE? Tomorrow Margaret Mallory's Virtual Blog Tour makes a stop at Chick with Books to promote her historical romance book, Knight of Passion! It's the last book in the All The Kings Men Series and it's a sizzler! I love Margaret Mallory's writing and you can read my review of Knight of Passion tomorrow! PLUS, there's going to be a GIVEAWAY!
Happy reading... Suzanne
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