Review: On Gin Lane

On Gin Lane by Brooke Lea Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not quite sure how I would describe this book - as women's fiction? A coming-of-age novel? A mystery? Or all of the above? This book has a bit of it all, about the only thing lacking is a murder! As I was reading, I kept forgetting that this book was set in 1957. I was getting so frustrated with Lee's, well, shall we say, naivete. How she allowed everyone to walk all over her. Then it would dawn on me that it was '57, and they were upper-class, which would pull me back into the story.

It is difficult for me to gush about this book since all of the characters (at least all the main ones and most of the secondary and tertiary ones, too) were quite unlikeable and unrelatable.

There is plenty of mystery for those looking for such and just a dab of horror.

I might have liked this book better had it been about 100 pages shorter or the writing a bit more concise; less introspection/inner angst.

A worthy book for those who like seeing the wealthier (but non-famous people) side of the mid-last century, with a hint of the upcoming hippy era thrown in for good measure.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Simon & Schuster, the author, and ATTL/Edelweiss.

View all my reviews

SYNOPSIS: "After her fiancé whisks her off to the glistening shores of Southampton in June of 1957, one young socialite begins to realize that her glamorous summer is giving her everything—except what she really wants—in this new novel from the author of Summer Darlings, “one terrific summer read” ​(Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

Everleigh “Lee” Farrows thinks she finally has life all figured out: a handsome fiancé named Roland, a trust in her name, and a house in Bronxville waiting for her to fill it with three adorable children. That is, until Roland brings her out to the Hamptons for a summer that will change everything.

Most women could only dream of the engagement present Roland unexpectedly bestows on Lee—a beachside hotel on the prized Gin Lane—but Lee’s delight is clouded by unpleasant memories of another hotel, the Plaza, where she grew up in the shadow of her mother’s mental illness. Shaking off flashbacks, Lee resolves to dive into an unforgettable summer with poolside Bellinis, daily tennis matches, luncheons with her Manhattan circle, and her beloved camera in tow. But when tragedy strikes on the hotel’s opening weekend, the cracks in Lee’s picture-perfect future slowly begin to reveal themselves, and Lee must look deep within herself to determine if the life she’s always wanted will ever truly be enough.

From the regal inns to the farmland, the well-heeled New Yorkers to the Bohemian artists, the East End of Long Island is a hodge-podge of the changing American landscape in the late 1950s—and the perfect place for Lee to discover who she really is."