KILLER SUMMER

Author: Lynda Curnyn ISBN: 0373895224 6/2005 CHICK LIT/SUSPENSE Publisher: RED DRESS INK

Three friends. One dead body. The summer they'll never forget... Sharing a beach house on Fire Island seems like a killer way for best friends Zoe, Sage and Nick to spend summer together. But just as they're dreaming of sunset margaritas and late-night barbecues, the body of their house hostess washes up on the beach. Talk about a buzz kill... Now all Zoe can think about is why the "grieving" husband is planning parties rather than mourning his wife. Nick suddenly has secrets he can't tell a soul. And Sage is trying to score booty as if it's her last summer on earth...which it just might be. Because despite the ocean views and endless parties, Zoe, Sage and Nick have stopped wondering if the good times will last and started wondering if they will...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Lynda Curnyn has mixed chick lit and murder…shaken, not stirred, into an engaging summer romp of a read that you’ll enjoy whether you’re sunbathing at the beach or have no holidays and must read it on the bus heading to work.

It’s a fascinating tale told through the points of view of three good friends, and the murder victim—but never of the killer. The heroine of the tale is a just-turned-thirty wannabe filmmaker who hasn't quite made it yet in any area of her life. Zoe has just lost the best man she’s ever found, and made such a terrible film documentary on dogs she’s embarrassed to put her name on it. She reluctantly decides to put her last bit of money in a share on a millionaire’s beach house on Fire Island. At least she can escape the city on weekends and preserve the illusion she has a life.

Nick, the heterosexual guy on the team, is trying to start his own record label, even though he’s failed at everything he’s tried in his life. His main ambition this summer is to bed the glamorous ingenue daughter of the murder victim. Nick
entertains us by his male antics of using the two girls as sounding boards, sisters, and occasional escape hatches from his problems. His presence is an occasional red herring to the mystery.

Sage is Zoe’s best friend since high school. She’s the exotic one, the man-killer, the one with the hard head for business and she works with the murder victim’s husband. Sage is revealed as having her own problems and ambitions, and she’s a self-made woman. Her character changes are likely the most prominent of the three.

The murder victim is Maggie London, proud trophy wife of Tom London, whose love for her faded a long time ago. Her point of view punctuates the book in counter point to Zoe’s ongoing battle to get someone to listen to her. She believes Maggie was murdered and didn’t kill herself or die accidentally. Curnyn is masterful at weaving all the subplots together so that you don’t realize who the killer might actually be until about two chapters before the end, and even then you’re not sure. Zoe catches on right about the time you do.

KILLER SUMMER was a great read, and Curnyn is so talented she doesn’t lose you in the point of view changes or the threads of the story that a lesser writer might have tossed away. If you love mystery, murder, and chick lit, this is a must read to add to your tote bag. Look for it coming in June and immerse yourself in your two favorite genres. Enjoy!

Laurie Wood