Convoluted sudser about the search for the mother of a newborn abandoned on a North Carolina beach, 20+ years after the fact. At times an engaging read, and Chamberlain lays out plenty of red herrings. Most readers will be “close, but no cigar” with their guesses. It’s the conclusion where things go from unlikely to “oh, come on,” as coincidence piles on coincidence and plot threads get tied up in a tidy bow.

Can’t really give this one anything higher than a C. ( )

2.5 stars

One summer morning, eleven year old Daria finds a baby girl, placenta still attached, lying on the beach at Kill Devil Hills, NC. She swoops the baby up and takes her to the beach cottage where her family summers, and thus the baby is saved. The family adopts the baby and this story picks up 22 years later as a boy (now a man) who spent his summers in the cottage opposite theirs comes back as a true crime television host to try and solve the mystery of who the mother was and how this baby came to be on that beach.

There are implausible coincidences, several twists and turns, with individual stories lapping in and out of the central one, and characters who misunderstand one another and carry both guilt and erroneous assumptions. There is the gratuitous love affair that, again, seems a bit implausible and a sisterly love that I can honestly say, having five sisters of my own, isn’t likely to be found out in the real world.

I never know what to write about this kind of book. It was fine for what it is. I didn’t completely figure out the twist before the end, and with this kind of book that is the most important thing. If you asked me what it was about a month from now, I might not be able to tell you, because it is not meant to leave a lasting impression or change you in any way.

Sometimes you just want to read something that is 100% escapism, and for me, this was that.
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"She'd run the distance of several cottages when she stopped short. Had it really been a baby? Could it have been a doll, perhaps? She looked back over her shoulder. Yes, she was certain it had been a real, human baby".

Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain

First, might I say..wonderful cover art! I would give a star for that alone!

That being said I didn't like this as much as I expected although it was an interesting read all the same. It was not as ethereal as I expected.

But it has several good points to recommend it.

It is an easy and fast beach side reading which isn't a bad thing. And I enjoyed reading about the mysterious baby on the beach and the family who takes her in.

It also takes place on North Carolina's outer banks.The setting is spectacular. This is perhaps the perfect light summer read. It is engrossing.

I would say this is a pretty quick read and it was just a bit to "cozy" for me and more of a romance novel, in my mind, then a really tense mystery.

But that being said, it is a solid three star read and is absolutely not a bad book.

Perfect book to put in your beach bag. ( )

Another wonderful story by Diane Chamberlain. This one had a few twists that kept me guessing. I think some of the fine details could have been left out to make the story a bit shorter as it felt too drawn out at times. Loved the characters and of the setting. ( )

So many twists, left me guessing and hooked right til the end. Couldn't put it down once I got into it. ( )