Book Review: Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

I discovered author Elin Hilderbrand on a beach trip with the book Barefoot, so it was fitting that I completed her final Nantucket-based novel, Swan Song, on the beach as well. I’ve never been to Nantucket, as I mostly visit beaches in the Carolinas and Florida, but you can bet it’s on my bucket list of places to visit, thanks to Elin’s ability to set the reader right in the middle of the island, along with her gorgeous descriptions of food. She’s written 27 novels all set on Nantucket, and her final one did not disappoint, although I may have a love-hate relationship with the ending (don’t worry, no spoilers!)

Here’s the synopsis:

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.

Swan Song features many characters, including Chief of Police Ed Kapenash, who have been featured in other Hilderbrand novels. Although I’ve read them all, I don’t believe you need to be familiar with them to read Swan Song. Hilderbrand skillfully weaves them into the narrative with enough context that the reader won’t be lost. However, if you want to brush up on some of these characters before reading Swan Song, I’d suggest The Castaways (the Chief, his wife Andrea, and their friends Addison and Phoebe and Jeffrey and Delilah are the central characters in that book). The Rumor will give you some context on Blond Sharon’s love for gossip as well as Fast Eddie and his wife Grace. Blond Sharon also appears in The Five-Star Weekend.

The character Blond Sharon decides to take an online writing class while she’s deciding what to do with the next chapter of her life, and her instructor describes how many novels begin with the premise “a stranger comes to town” or “a person goes on a journey.” Both of these plots have been the premise of several Hilderbrand novels, including my favorite, The Blue Bistro, and Elin’s debut novel, The Beach Club. In Swan Song, Colleen Coyle, or “Coco,” is an aspiring screenwriter, and when she meets the wealthy Richardsons in St. John and learns Bull Richardson has credits as a movie producer, she schemes her way into a summer job with them on the island.

The Richardsons are wealthy and flamboyant beyond belief—just the type of people the Old Guard of Nantucket despise. They purchase an ostentatious home, and Leslie Richardson sets about throwing exclusive, lavish, scandalous parties and ultimately pitting the residents against one another. The book has several intersecting storylines that kept me easily turning the pages—the precarious health of the Chief and his plans for retirement after the summer, his adult daughter Kacey who comes back home to nurse her broken heart, Coco’s experience working for the Richardson’s while falling head-over-heels for the young local who takes care of all their sailing needs, Leslie’s mean-girl tactics that test the strongest of female friendships, and Sharon’s budding romance that arrives when she least expects it. I finished the book in two days and had to take a few moments for myself at the unexpected end. The book does contain a mystery aspect and Hilderbrand perfectly laid out all the clues throughout the chapters (much like The Perfect Couple, which will be released as a Hulu series starring Nicole Kidman soon!)

I received a special Nantucket Edition of the book (thanks to my husband!) and it arrived autographed by the author and featuring special Nantucket-themed interior paper. The bonus content for this edition features an interview with Elin and Tim Ehrenberg, Elin’s co-host on the Books, Beach & Beyond podcast and party planning tips from Elin, including snack recipes.

Overall, I thought the book was a fitting end to the Nantucket novels, and I look forward to checking out a new series of books Hilderbrand will be co-authoring with her daughter, Shelby, set in an exclusive boarding school.