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Summary
Summary
A gorgeously written novel bearing all the marks of a classic love story, The Last Summer takes readers back to Cape Cod, 1968, and chronicles a summer's affair between a privileged young man and an older woman.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A beautiful woman jumps from Washington politics into a Cape Cod murder investigation in Hough's latest, which begins in 1968 when 39-year-old Claire Maleck suddenly walks out on her secretarial job for a prominent senator after her affair with him puts her on the short end of a criminal coverup. With her 14-year-old daughter in tow, Claire takes a brief but difficult hiatus with her mother in Cambridge, then heads off on a whimsical day trip to Cape Cod, where she gets herself hired as a neophyte reporter for a smalltown paper called the Covenant. Once she learns the ropes, Claire finds herself attracted to the editor's son, Lane Hillman, a precocious college student who spends his summers developing his formidable talent as a writer and reporter. The two quickly become a couple after they pair up to begin covering stories, but they get more than they bargained for when a double murder lands them in the middle of a setup by the local police chief, Paul Williams, a corrupt womanizer who sets his sights on Claire. Hough's talent for characterization and succinct, crisp dialogue serves him well in the early going, although the climax in which Williams lures Claire down a remote Cape Cod road begs for some meatier prose, and elements of the plot seem predictable and familiar. Hough (A Two-Car Funeral) easily integrates the historical events of 1968 Bobby Kennedy's murder, the Democratic Convention in Chicago and his eye and ear for the rhythms of smalltown seaside life help bring the problematic romance between Lane and Claire to life. His ability to balance compassion with an understanding of moral complexity adds substance to the narrative and elevates this book above the standard murder mystery$cum love story. Agent, B.J. Robbins. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
From Hough (The Conduct of the Game, not reviewed, etc.), the story of a middle-aged woman who tries to start a new life on Cape Cod during the summer of 1968. Claire Maleck, at 39, manages to do in one morning what every mid-lifer worth her salt spends years fantasizing about: She packs her car and drives away from it all. Well, not quite all--she brings her teenaged daughter April along--but she does succeed in leaving Washington, DC, and her hated job as secretary to the loathsome Senator Bob Mallory. Her plans are pretty vague at first, so she moves back in with her mother in Boston until she can find a job and set up on her own with April. After a few days' job-hunting in town, she goes out to a dinky village newspaper on Cape Cod and offers her services as a secretary. Instead, the editor of The Covenant hires her as a reporter. Claire starts out doing obituaries and slowly--very slowly--develops a knack for digging up information and writing copy. She also falls in love with fellow reporter Lane Hillman, who returns her affections in full measure. Happy ending? Not quite: Lane is the editor's son, first of all, and nearly 20 years younger than Claire. And then a string of grisly murders starts up in the normally staid village, and Claire finds herself making a quick switch from obituaries to investigative journalism that might very well get her killed as well. All this takes place against the backdrop of the long, hot summer of 1968, when it looked as if the whole country could go up in flames. If you're not safe on Cape Cod, where is there left to go? Formulaic and rather obvious, but a pleasant tale all the same: old-fashioned, straightforward, and spiced up with some historical scenery and a bit of real suspense. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
After a disturbing incident with her boss, a U.S. senator, Claire Malek decides it's time to leave Washington. With her 15-year-old daughter, Claire heads home to Boston. Looking for «something new,» she drives to the Cape, where a newspaper editor decides to give her a shot at reporting, which changes her life. As the boss' son, Lane, shows her the ropes, they are immediately drawn to one another and into a love affair that seems doomed from the start owing to their 15-year age difference. Hough blends in a mystery element through two murders that have police stumped. And on top of the personal and local drama, the country is witnessing race riots, demonstrations at the Democratic convention in Chicago, and the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Hough ties these elements together quite naturally, showing the country at a crossroads at the same time the main characters experience pivotal moments in their own lives. The writing is quiet and lyrical, perfectly capturing the bittersweet quality of a love that is intense and real but, ultimately, impractical. Beth Warrell.
