Beach Thriller

 

Beach Thriller by Jamie Day
6/9/26; 368 pages
St. Martin's Press 

Beach Thriller by Jamie Day is a very highly recommended psychological suspense/family drama and a great beach read. Day always dependably writes entertaining thrillers. 

Holly Sinclair is being evicted from her apartment in NYC so she has no choice but to move to the dilapidated beach house in Beauport, Massachusetts, that she inherited after her mother recently passed away. She's a struggling writer who is broke and needs to get her next book written asap. Holly was traumatized as a teenager after Anna, her older sister, was potentially murdered in Beauport and she left the area eighteen years ago with no plans to return.  Gail, a local  realtor, is right there when Holly moves in, making plans for her to sell the house and sending Evan, a local handyman, to help her make repairs. Holly also reconnects with Serena, the town psychic.

Soon after moving back, Holly discovers Jade, a runaway teenager who has been squatting in the house. After a bumpy start, the two make peace with each other and Holly allows her to stay there. Jade found pages of a book in the attic which she brings to Holly's attention. Holly had started the book, Beach Thriller, as a teenager and it is the unfinished true account of events years earlier. Jade soon finds a job with the wealthy Carmichael family, whose estate holds bad memories for Holly as the place where Anna died. When Jade is at the Carmichael's she also notices that there are secrets being kept there. 

The plot unfolds at an even pace in the first part allowing trepidation and suspense to gradually build up until the until the pace picks up later leading to an exciting and dangerous end game. Through chapters told from the point-of-view of Holly, Jade, and someone who only identifies themselves as The Watcher, the tension and suspense build and grow dramatically throughout the novel. There are also excerpts for Holly's unfinished book Beach Thriller from eighteen years earlier telling readers about events from the past leading up to Anna's death. 

All these points-of-view combine to make for a detailed plot which immediately grabbed my attention and I was all in, concerned for the safety of both Holly and Jade while trying to figure out the identity of The Watcher, whose chapters seem subtly threatening and unsettling. Holly finds herself trying to uncover what really happened to her sister Anna and suspects a cover-up from the police and the Carmichael family. The suspense is found both in the past and the present.

Both Holly and Jade are interesting characters and you will become invested in their stories and safety. Additional characters are all suspects for The Watcher at one time or another while reading, although there are a couple who were seemingly written to be your main suspects. Among the other supporting characters there was added additional drama in all their stories. Serena, the psychic, was one character who didn't really provide information fully necessary for the development of the plot. 

Beach Thriller is a perfect choice for readers who enjoy psychological suspense mixed with family drama. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.