Review: The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

 

The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

Publication Date: June 3rd 2025 by MIRA & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 368

Audio Length: 10hrs 39min

Narrator: Courtney Patterson

Source: Publisher 
Rating: ★★★★
Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Fifteen years ago, Lucy Sinclair’s father was convicted of murdering three people in the small town of North Hampton Beach, Virginia. At just seventeen, with no other family, she was left to fend for herself. Lucy weathered some tough times but got through it and made something of herself. Now all these years later Lucy’s ready to go back to answer some nagging doubts she had about one of the murders.  She doesn’t count on running into Ford, the man who abandoned her and broke her heart, but he’s also back in town taking a summer break from his own problems.

 

Lucy gets flak from the townsfolk right away when they find out why she’s there, but there are also ones who’ve questioned the past, as well. While we find out what’s behind one of the mysteries pretty early on, some of it doesn’t come all the way out until the end. I had my suspicions.

The Summer That Changed Everything was part romance, part mystery and a messy situation on several levels. Messy is usually something I avoid because I’m not a big fan of angst, but somehow Ms. Novak writes it in such a way that it doesn't come off as angsty.  Once I started, I knew I’d have to read/listen to it all the way through! It wasn’t a story I’d have an easy time setting aside to continue later. I was riveted and had to know how it’d all turn out! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m still thinking about it!

I alternately read and listened to The Summer That Changed Everything. I thought Courtney Patterson performed all voices, males and female wonderfully with appropriate emotion, bringing the characters and story to life. 

4 Stars

Book Description:

She returned to prove her father's innocence, but there's no telling what she'll find…

It's been fifteen years since Lucy Sinclair saw her father. Fifteen long years since she sat in a courtroom and watched him sentenced to life in prison. He murdered three victims—all people she knew—which ruined her life at just seventeen. But now she’s back in Virginia to talk to him, wondering if there’s more to the story of what happened that fateful night.

An old flame, Ford Wagner, makes his own return to North Hampton Beach, fleeing a marriage that seems destined for divorce. He’s wary of Lucy and her digging into the past, but the more time they spend together, the closer they get and the more he finds himself reconsidering the truth behind the death of their mutual friend that summer. Problem is, there are plenty of those in this small coastal town who would prefer things stay quiet…