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Book Summary and Reviews of Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

Swan Song

by Elin Hilderbrand

  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • Published:
  • Jun 2024, 384 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author brings her Nantucket novels to a brilliant finish: when rich strangers move to the island, social mayhem and a possible murder follow. Can Nantucket's best locals save the day, and their way of life?

Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is about to retire. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But when a 22-million-dollar summer home is purchased by the mysterious Richardsons—how did they make their money, exactly?—Ed, Sharon, and everyone in the community are swept up in high drama. The Richardsons throw lavish parties, flirt with multiple locals, flaunt their wealth with not one but two yachts, and raise impossible hopes of everyone they meet. When their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms. The last of Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling Nantucket novels, Swan Song is a propulsive medley of glittering gatherings, sun-soaked drama, wisdom and heart, featuring the return of some of her most beloved characters, including, most importantly, the beautiful and timeless island of Nantucket itself.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A stranger comes to town, and a beloved storyteller plays this creative-writing standby for all it's worth." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Hilderbrand's final Nantucket novel will draw old and new readers out of the woodwork ... There are plenty of Easter eggs for longtime fans, but even those diving in to her exquisite writing for the first time are in for a treat: a story that feels like it's being told over cocktails at the Oystercatcher, perfectly paced for maximum drama with characters you can't get enough of. This is aspirational escapism at its finest." ―Booklist (starred review)

"Elin Hilderbrand is the doyen of the beach read, the queen of all things sun, fun, and intrigue, one of the best to ever do it, and Swan Song is the cleverly titled final installment of her popular Nantucket series ... You'll see all your old favorite characters from the previous Nantucket novels, and this final act is chock-full of all Hilderbrand's hallmarks, from family drama to romance." ―Harper's Bazaar

This information about Swan Song was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Elin Hilderbrand Author Biography

Elin Hilderbrand is the author of twenty-eight novels, including The Hotel Nantucket. She is a proud 1991 graduate of Johns Hopkins University where she majored in Writing Seminars. In her senior year at Hopkins, Elin had her first short story, "Misdirection," accepted for publication in Seventeen Magazine.

After a short stint working in publishing and teaching in New York City, she moved to Nantucket permanently in 1994. She attended the University of Iowa writers workshop and earned her MFA in 1998, and published her first novel, The Beach Club, in the summer of 2000. Her 2019 novel, Summer of "69 SUMMER OF '69 was her first novel to debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. She is the mother of three children and loves riding the Peloton, cooking, and going to the beach. She...

... Full Biography
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