#Review | The Fiancée by Kate White

They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst?

Summer’s looking forward to a break from hustling for acting work in Manhattan when she, her husband Gabe, and Gabe’s nine-year-old son arrive at the annual family get-together at her in-laws’ sprawling estate. On the agenda are leisurely gourmet meals, tennis matches, and plenty of relaxation by the pool.

But this year, Gabe’s brother Nick has invited his new flame Hannah, whom Summer immediately recognizes from a few years before. Oddly, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend claims not to know her. Yet she charms the other family members, and after Nick announces that he’s proposed to Hannah, Summer doesn’t have much choice but to grin and bear it.

Then the reunion is rocked by tragedy when a family member is found dead. Though the doctors attribute the loss to natural causes, a grieving Summer fears that the too-good-to-be-true Hannah is involved, even as Gabe dismisses her suspicions.

How far will Summer go to expose the truth? As she investigates just what Nick’s fiancée might have done to keep her perfect image intact, she begins to fear that the first death might only be the beginning . . .

It’s been a long time since I have read one of Ms. White’s books and after turning the last page not only did I have to process what I just read but also ask myself why it’s been so long.

The story takes place in Buck’s County, PA. The ironic thing is that I read the majority of this book on our ride to my son’s house is the next county over from Buck’s so the scene was so easy to visualize because we have been on this drive many times. And then to make it a little eerier, we came upon a situation (vague to avoid a spoiler) that was very similar to an incident in the book.

I love books with family dynamics and then add in a thriller, this book had everything that I enjoy in a story.

It’s the week of the Keaton family reunion when all 4 brothers and their significant others not only gather at their parents’ house but truly look forward to it with its cottages, pool, tennis courts, and the mass amount of land. Why wouldn’t it be a perfect family getaway? Except this year turns out to be not the fun gathering but a somber event when one of the family members is found dead. Then in the midst of this grief, another body is found on the property. Could it be that one of the Keatons is a murderer? Or could it be the new additional guest that is introduced as one of the brother’s fiancée after a couple of months of knowing her?

This story gripped me from the beginning and held me captive until the end. I usually have 1 or 2 suspects on my radar but this book wouldn’t give it up. The suspense was fluid, the writing descriptive where I felt that I was part of the story. The characters believable, even to the point where I would like to be friends with a couple of them. All in all, I loved this book!!!!

And I know one thing is true, it won’t be such a long time before I grab another Kate White book. I am already looking forward to her next book!!!!!!

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