As temperatures drop and days grow shorter in the Northeast, Palm Beach comes alive. High season brings many lively social gatherings under the sun. Whether you’re immersed in the scene or dreaming of coastal life from afar, these six novels capture the essence of resort life.
A Palm Beach Wife by Susannah Marren
From the outside, Faith Harrison has it all: a lovely house, a busy social calendar and the Palm Beach community’s adoration. But as her husband’s financial blunders put a strain on their affluent lifestyle, Faith has to determine what is worth saving. Susannah Marren’s debut novel is a tale of the women who keep the world together while gloriously, and perhaps purposefully, ignoring it. It is a beautiful and insightful book, full of charm and wit that lingers long after the last page. This book also has a captivating follow-up, A Palm Beach Scandal, that you don’t want to miss.
It Happens in the Hamptons by Holly Peterson
Spending the summer as a single mother in the Hamptons, Katie Doyle experiences the difference, or lack thereof, between the locals and the summer people. While trying to balance surf lessons, community events and the pressures of Summer in New England, Katie navigates romance, friendships and family drama on the beach. Throughout the novel, Peterson provides a humorous, meaningful and true-to-life description of the East End, which makes for a warm, enjoyable and engaging book for the time of the year.
The High Season by Katie Bishop
High Season by Katie Bishop is a psychological thriller about memory, trauma, and truth. Nina Drayton’s nightmarish memories are of her sister Tamara’s drowning, a drowning that was never solved some twenty years ago, and a case that was sensationalized in the media. Nina was a child witness in the murder trial, and now, with a true crimes docuseries about the case, the unspoken and hidden parts of the case are being reexamined. This forces Nina to acknowledge the secrets that her family has kept hidden–truths about herself triggers the trauma examination, and the trauma pertaining to her family will leave Nina shattered.
The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward
The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward is a novel on family, forgiveness, and second chances, and does this in a witty and heartfelt manner. To try and repair the family ties that she guardians, seventy year old Charlotte Perkins hopes to get some of her kids who are estranged to get together for a cross-continental family vacation. They are now an actress, a venture capitalist, and a fatigued mother, and the holiday is a luxury cruise that Charlotte won. By the end of the trip, as the family voyages from Athens to Barcelona, Charlotte’s dreams of family togetherness and connection are dashed, as are the families hidden disgraces and resentments, are brought to the light.
Montauk by Nicola Harrison
This novel centers around a New York socialite taking a break from the high-strung societal pressures of the Gilded Age to have a summer escape at Montauk in 1938. There she finds romance with a fisherman and the chance to experience the coast’s unspoiled beauty. Before the era of luxury hotels and Instagram, the Hamptons were a dreamy escape. With a seamless blend of history and romance and atmospheric detail, Nicola Harrison’s Montauk immerses the reader in a captivating and evocative coastal tale.
Wherever you are, these novels deliver the perfect blend of sunshine, scandal and sophistication.
