At the Beach

Tricky Business  by Dave Barry
Humorist Barry brings together a motley group of South Florida eccentrics on an ill-fated casino boat voyage in his second full-length comic mystery novel. A tropical storm is bearing down on the Florida coast, but the Extravaganza of the Seas, a luxury gambling ship, sets sail on its nightly excursion in spite of the weather. Also try Big Trouble.

Trophy House by Anne Bernays
Her happy life on Cape Cod shattered in the wake of a rude new neighbor's building of a hideous “McMansion” and instigation of a racial incident, her daughter's lost job and her own failed marriage, illustrator Dannie Faber enters into an unexpected love affair and is forced to reevaluate the things and people closest to her heart.

A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett
Tully Mars finds himself regretting a decision to help find the missing lens belonging to the Cayo Loco lighthouse, in a tequila-inspired adventure featuring such characters as Indian shaman Ix-Nay and boatman Captain Kirk. Also try Tales From Margaritaville and Where is Joe Merchant?

Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey
When five million dollars in a suitcase is dropped into the trunk of the wrong car, a whole convoy of homicidal whackos follows in hot pursuit around the Florida coastline, with a stop in Miami to take in the last game of the World Series. Also try the other Serge Storms novels, including The Big Bamboo.

Remembering Blue by Connie May Fowler
When her mother dies and, at 22, she finds herself completely without ties of any kind, Mattie O’Roarke takes a chance at ending her loneliness and moves to a tiny coastal Florida town. At the Suwannee Swifty convenience store, a sea change envelops her. Mattie O’Rourke sees Proteus Nicholas Blue, and their fate is sealed after only a few shy, stolen glances. Also try Before Women Had Wings.

Sullivan’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank
Troubled by her unfaithful husband and difficult teenaged daughter, Charlestonian Susan Hayes returns home to Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, in an attempt to reconnect with her past. Frank’s Lowcountry tales continue with Plantation.

One Hot Summer by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera
Facing discontentment with her supposedly perfect life in Miami Beach, 35-year-old Margarita Solana finds herself falling back in love with a college flame, a situation that compromises her marriage and forces her to choose between her family and the passion of her life.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
Doctoring water samples to help his corrupt agribusiness employer continue illegal dumping in the Everglades, biologist Chaz Perrone attempts to murder his wife on a romantic cruise, who has figured out his scam and who survives to plot her husband's downfall. Also try Sick Puppy and Basket Case.

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
Mack Peterson, a hotel manager at a beach resort, knows something has to give – his boss is pressuring him, his girlfriend wants to get married, an old rival is making deadly threats, and a hurrricane is headed their way. Also try The Blue Bistro.

The Dominant Blonde by Alisa Kwitney
Thinking that she's finally gotten things right when her boyfriend takes her to a tiny Caribbean island for a scuba-diving vacation, New Yorker Lydia Gold ends up on an emotional roller coaster when her intended apparently drowns, her family's business account simultaneously turns up $3 million short, and her stint in a recompression chamber with the sexy diving instructor has unexpectedly romantic results.

Lover’s Lane by Jill Landis
Living quietly with her son in Twilight Cove, Calif., Carly Nolan hides her troubled past from the local inhabitants until the arrival of private investigator Jake Montgomery, who is searching for the woman who had disappeared with his best friend's baby. Also try Heat Wave and Heartbreak Hotel to finish this trilogy.

Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Returning to her childhood home in the Lowcountry at the request of her mother, Caretta Rutledge, who thought she had forever buried her Southern roots and her troubled family, unexpectedly begins to reconnect with her friends and family while she fixes up the family beach house, learning that in order to live life to the fullest, she must forgive and forget the past.

Beach Girls by Luanne Rice
Jack Kilvert returns to Hubbard's Point with his daughter, Nell, in the hopes of recapturing old friendships, and is reunited with reclusive artist Stevie Moore, the one-time best friend of his estranged sister, Madeleine.

Beachcomber by Karen Robards
Taking the summer off from a high-stress job, Christy travels to a cozy Carolina beach, where she falls for a handsome drifter, but when she realizes that the women in a string of killings all resemble her, she fears she may be next.

McNally’s Secret by Lawrence Sanders
Beneath the glaring sun of Palm Beach – and behind the lowest crimes of high society – McNally is paid to keep family secrets in the closet. This is the first in the Archy McNally Mystery series.

Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons
When her perfect life begins to crumble, Molly Bell Redwine – dutiful daughter, perfect wife, nurturing mother and family protector – journeys to Martha's Vineyard in search of refuge, the meaning of life, and her own place in the world. Also try Outer Banks and Islands.

Passing Through Paradise by Suzanne Wiggs
Held by many in the town of Paradise, Rhode Island, to be responsible for her politician husband's death, Sandra Winslow decides to sell her home and hires her husband's friend Mike Malloy to restore it before the sale. Also try Summer By the Sea and Lakeside Cottage.

Cold Paradise by Stuart Woods
Former cop-turned-private investigator Stone Barrington finds himself on the trail of an elusive stalker in Palm Beach who is targeting Allison Manning, a woman Stone had thought dead, before he can clear her of a charge of insurance fraud. Also try Orchid Beach.