Never get attached--Private nurse and protected witness Claire Turner lives by this motto. Fleeing a treacherous past, she knows no other way.
Never give up--In the twilight of his life, George Bellamy makes it his final wish to reconcile with an estranged brother. He and Claire journey to Willow Lake--where it all went wrong for him fifty years ago.
Never let go--George's grandson Ross is ruled by a fierce devotion to family and a deep mistrust of the mysterious Claire...yet sparks fly whenever she's near. In the face of a wrenching loss, amid the enchantment of Willow Lake, Ross and Claire dare to risk everything for love.
I have left this review like 4 times and it never shows up - not the greatest of her workJuly 22, 2010 M. Hammon(Decatur, IL USA) I found the book a little hard to take. The heroine is in witness protection but apparently doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut. Not the greatest of Wiggs' works.
Nice Beach bookJuly 12, 2010 EMTP EJ(Washington, DC USA) I really like Susan Wiggs.
I won't comment on the plot as I think others have done a very good job of that.
The story is interesting and diverting from daily life. In addition to this title have read others by the author and I do find that some of the male characters seem so lack depth.
A great tale otherwise and kudos to Susan!
Well done romantic mysteryJune 24, 2010 David N. Parker(Colfax, NC USA) When George Bellamy was told he had only months to live due to an inoperable brain tumor, he began making a list. A list of things he REALLY wanted to do before he died. But he would need help.
George hires Claire Turner, an experienced young private-duty nurse who specializes in terminally ill patients. All her efforts are toward helping her patients live out the balance of their lives as they wish. Her job - keep them as comfortable as possible. But George selects her as a perfect potential mate for his bachelor son Ross, who has just returned from Afghanistan. When Ross finds out Claire has taken his grandfather to Willow, a small resort town in the Catskills, he is sure she is after his grandfather's money.
Not many romantic novels open with a battle scene in the heart of Afghanistan, where Ross is a medevac helicopter pilot. This is a new and interesting way to develop a character, and Susan Wiggs does it well. The reader is led to see Ross as a strong but caring male protagonist before he interacts with the other players. Similarly, George and Claire become well-developed characters during their leisurely road trip to Willow.
While the story is a strong study of families and their interactions, Claire's missing background also develops as a mystery. Who - or what - is she running from? Why does she try so hard to avoid becoming enmeshed in the families she serves so well?
not one of her better effortsJune 15, 2010 Umm Lila(Mt. Monadnock USA) The Summer Hideaway is part of Susan Wiggs Lakeshore Chronicles series, which takes place in upstate New York and involves multiple people from the same family. This book suffers from too many cliches about social class, and the plot is too divided between the history of a grandfather and the romance he is promulgating between his son and his nurse. Neither story feels sufficiently complete.
Another Welcome Romantic GetawayJune 7, 2010 Bookreporter.com(New York, New York) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
George Bellamy has lived a full life. He grew up in a wealthy family and never had to go without, despite the hard times following WWII. As a young boy, he survived a life-threatening illness and now has a large family with children and grandchildren. Despite a successful career and traveling all over the world, there are still many things on his bucket list that he needs to take care of before he dies. And according to the doctors, he may not have that much longer to live.
When he and his nurse, Claire Turner, "disappear," his family goes into an uproar and calls the police, claiming that a gold digger has kidnapped him. However, when the police finally catches up to them, George maintains he wasn't kidnapped and that he and Claire are on their way to a specific destination. He tells them he has personally hired Claire to take care of him, and she is only doing as he has asked her. He knows his family would have a hard time believing that Claire is nothing more than his nurse, but they are also finding it difficult to believe that he is dying and that he refuses any further treatment to prolong his life. George and Claire are headed for Camp Kioga, a place that holds many fond memories for George and will help him reconnect with a past that no one in his family knows about. It is yet another task on his bucket list that needs to be taken care of before he dies.
Claire enjoys her work with the terminally ill. Some wonder why she works for people who she is destined to know for only a short period of time --- the heartache must be unbearable --- but Claire has her reasons. She chooses not to put down roots and keeps her personal life private in order to protect herself and those she loves. Like George, she too has a past that not many know about, and she is trying her hardest to keep it that way.
When George's favorite grandson Ross returns from the war, Claire meets him and soon finds herself falling for him. George thinks his plans of finding Ross a wife are slowly falling into place, because he also notices that Ross develops an attraction for Claire. Claire knows that opening up to Ross will only put his life in danger, so she continues to shut him out of her private life, even with his growing interest in her. Despite her better instincts, Claire spends more time alone with Ross than she should, developing a bond and breaking one of her rules of life never to get close to anyone.
While George's matchmaking is part of the charm of THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY, the main storyline is George's confrontation with his past, the years he spent at Camp Kioga as a young boy with his family, and in particular the brother to whom he had not spoken in decades. Idyllic scenes are depicted as George reveals in flashbacks the summer adventures with his brother Charles and a young girl they meet at the camp who changes both their lives. Their summers are spent swimming and fishing in the lake, dinner parties at night, and in later years, George's recovery from a serious illness.
No one today knows that George has a brother, let alone a woman from his past with whom he had once been in love. Tension mounts as he prepares for the reunion with his long lost brother; he doesn't know if Charles will even want to see him. But the other issue is Jane, the young woman who stole his heart as well as Charles's.
There are two love stories that run through THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY, two romances that will remind the reader of Susan Wiggs's skill as a storyteller. Claire's involvement with Ross creates an appealing storyline on its own, as the reader knows she cannot ever get close to him without endangering either of their lives. At the same time, George's story of his past and how it leads him back to Camp Kioga keeps the reader engaged until the very last page. For those who have been following The Lakeshore Chronicles, this will be yet another wonderful getaway to be savored and enjoyed.
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