The Summer Guests
Martini Club Book 2
Tess Gerritsen
Thomas & Mercer
March 2025
The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen, the second book in the series, is more of a mystery than
a spy thriller, which just shows how diverse Gerritsen can be in her writing.
The story has fifteen-year-old Zoe Conover disappearing after visiting her newly found friend.
Callie Young. The suspect is Luther, Callie’s grandfather. He is the neighbor of Maggie Bird, a
retired CIA spy. The Conovers are a wealthy family who used to come to Purity, Maine for the
summer. Some are thinking that Zoe has run away, while others want a quick arrest of Luther,
but Susan, Zoe’s mom is pushing for the authorities to find her daughter.
“A lot of things that Ethan had happen I have also had happen, including trouble writing the
second book and how a novel can take over a writer’s life. Ethan is someone obsessed with
getting the next novel written. He is very focused, kind, a family man, and he has clashes
between wanting to be involved in his family life with the drive to write the next book.”
Enter the Martini Club, a group of ex-CIA friends that get together for a cocktail-sipping book
club. But they feel that although retired, they have much more still left to offer. Thus, they get
involved in the investigation, much to the chagrin of acting police chief Jo Thibodeau. Over the
course of the story, she realizes that although the Martini Club can be a pain, their
contributions cannot be overlooked. After Acting Chief Thibodeau has the pond drained,
skeleton remains are found. Now Thibodeau has two mysteries to solve.
“They are all basically good people. Jo is a local gal who never has been outside Maine. She has
a limited perspective. Jo is slowly figuring out that she can use the Martini Club’s help. It
bothers her that they are always one step ahead. There is a little bit of competition, but she
also has an appreciation for their skills. Maggie does not want her to feel inadequate. Maggie
generally likes and respects her. Both are determined, stubborn, and bright, but with a
different skill set.”
There are many bonuses in this book. The budding relationship between Maggie and her ex-CIA
friend, Declan Rose, the humorous banter between Jo and the Martini Club, and at the end of
the book a short story written by Gerritsen and Lee Child that brings together Maggie and Jack
Reacher.
“This was done for fun. Lee Child and I share an editor in the UK. She thought it would be fun if
they met. There is a Reacher book where he goes to Maine. We put that together. He wrote a
chapter and then I wrote a chapter.”
This story has many twists and turns, suspenseful, and is fast paced. As with previous books this
is a character driven story that readers root for or despise
