Living

'The Summer Wives' sizzles with tale of passion, murder, money

Whether you are headed to the beaches of Malibu or Martha’s Vineyard, “The Summer Wives” (William Morrow, 367 pp., ★★★½ out of four) is a satisfying simmer of a read about stepsisters, passion and murder on swanky Winthrop Island, a fictional version of the real-life Fishers island off Long Island Sound.

Beatriz Williams, the best-selling author of “A Certain Age,” captures the gin- and champagne-soaked hedonism of summers among the privileged set where they ship in musicians from Hawaii to play for a luau-themed party.

Winthrop Island is ruled by the wealthy 1 percenters; it runs by the hard work of the year-round residents, mostly Portuguese Americans who catch the lobsters, stock the stores and keep the lighthouse glowing.

Miranda Schuyler is a newcomer to the island in 1951 when she arrives for the wedding of her widowed mother to patrician Hugh Fisher. There, she meets her new stepsister, the confident and cavalier Isobel, who is engaged to Clay Monk but has a special bond with Joseph Vargas, a handsome young lobsterman who lives with his parents in the lighthouse.

Joseph and Isobel exchange signals across the harbor, evoking the green harbor light in "The Great Gatsby," but the nature of their longing is not what you – or Miranda – might think.

The summer ends with a tragedy that shatters Miranda’s newfound family. In chapters that alternate between 1969 – when Miranda returns home after 18 years away – 1951 and 1930, Williams tantalizingly unspools the saga of why Joseph has escaped prison and why he was there in the first place.

Miranda is a beautifully crafted character, a worldly wise actress when she returns to the island after a dismal marriage to an older man, but just as compelling as a teenager smitten with Joseph.

Some of Williams’ lovemaking scenes veer into “Bridges of Madison County” territory of impassioned prose – which is a plus or minus, depending on how you felt crossing that bridge. And a few plot points raise some big questions.

But this rich and romantic tale has twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your cabana chair. Just don’t forget the sunscreen.