Golden Girl

With almost 30 novels under her belt, best-selling author Hilderbrand (Troubles in Paradise) has produced another summer read with a twist. Vivian Howe is a famous novelist who lives on Nantucket (same as Hilderbrand, which raises the question of how autobiographical this book might be). But the plot veers away from Hilderbrand’s life when Vivian is killed by a hit-and-run driver. In death, she goes to “the Beyond,” where she is allowed to watch her family for one summer and is granted three “nudges” to influence their behavior from afar. Vivian now learns her family’s secrets, such as her youngest daughter’s affair with a much older in-law. Flashbacks to her early life show Vivian as a whole person and reveal how she and her family arrived at their pre-crash lives. A thread of mystery—who is the driver who killed Vivian?—runs throughout; her son’s best friend had been the one to find her dying at the side of the road, so many on the small island suspect him, especially because of his subsequent odd behavior. Like Hilderbrand’s other books, this title focuses on friendships and family, as well as women rivals and enemies.