The Islanders

A Novel

By: Meg Mitchell Moore

Narrated by: Courtney Patterson

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

J. Courtney Sullivan’s Maine meets the works of Elin Hilderbrand in this delicious summer listen involving three strangers, one island, and a season packed with unexpected romance, well-meaning lies, and damaging secrets.

Anthony Puckett was a rising literary star. The son of an uber-famous thriller writer, Anthony’s debut novel spent two years on the best seller list and won the adoration of critics. But something went very wrong with his second work. Now Anthony’s borrowing an old college’s friend’s crumbling beach house on Block Island in the hopes that solitude will help him get back to the person he used to be.

Joy Sousa owns and runs Block Island’s beloved whoopie pie café. She came to this quiet space 11 years ago, newly divorced and with a young daughter, and built a life for them here. To her customers and friends, Joy is a model of independence, hardworking, and happy. And mostly she is. But this summer she’s thrown off balance. A food truck from a famous New York City brand is roving around the island, selling goodies - and threatening her business.

Lu Trusdale is spending the summer on her in-laws’ dime, living on Block Island with her two young sons while her surgeon husband commutes to the mainland hospital. When Lu’s second son was born, she and her husband made a deal: He’d work and she’d quit her corporate law job to stay home with the boys. But a few years ago, Lu quietly began working on a private project that has becoming increasingly demanding on her time. Torn between her work and home, she’s beginning to question that deal she made.

Over the 12 short weeks of summer, these three strangers will meet and grow close, will share secrets and bury lies. And as the promise of June turns into the chilly nights of August, the truth will come out, forcing each of them to decide what they value most and what they are willing to give up to keep it.

This audiobook includes an episode of the Book Club Girl Podcast, featuring an interview with Meg Mitchell Moore about The Islanders.

©2019 Meg Mitchell Moore (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Courtney Patterson provides moving portrayals of three people who must navigate their lies to keep secrets and hide hurts.... Patterson grounds the story by bringing out the different generations on Block Island with a diverse range of voices. An engaging story and listening experience." (AudioFile magazine)

It Took Me Away

I’m a reader and lover of many genres, and I think of myself as fairly intelligent, able to keep company with other well-read folks. I adore thick tomes of historical fiction, a fan of Tolkien and Austen, and I have much science fiction under my belt. I like to be a voyeur to the fastest and scariest thrillers, and I can be wooed by a lengthy love story. BUT….. At the end of the day, I simply want my books to take me away. I want to go to the world the author has created, and forget the one I’m in. I have found so far every one of Meg Mitchell Moore’s books to do this for me. If you need a comparison, I find Moore’s writing (and subject matter) quite like Elin Hilderbrand and Kristan Higgins and somewhat like Nora Roberts (sort of because Nora Roberts almost always has a mystery that needs solving). If your goal is to be completely engaged by a story that makes you forget where you, forget to eat, forget the chair in which you’re sitting, The Islanders will do that for you. Each character had enough of a side story, that you don’t mind when you linger upon each for a while. Any of Moore’s books will give you the same escape. 5 stars for allowing me to travel to an island and live in that place for a several hours.

Enjoyable

Enjoyed the dual timeline of the book—great storyline and narration. Highly recommended, especially for those who were in high school and college during the late 60’s.

So good!

Loved everything about this! I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I
felt very attached by the end of the book. That performance by the narrator was one of the best I have heard! I am planning to seek out more books that she has read. She handled every character with aplomb! It was a very entertaining listen!

Secrets are always trouble.

After enjoying Vactionland I decided to give Moore’s earlier Block Island book a try.

Her at-home mom, Lu, who blogs in secret, has some valid and frustrated things to say about women’s lives as mothers of tiny children that ring so true.

The other mom, who is sole support of her 13-year-old is so overly afraid of the child leaving her that she becomes pathetic.

As for the famous author and his wife? I think Meg Wolitzer covered this! A strange plot point in a book about plagiarism?

I was drawn in by the blurb and loved it.

It was great. Not mindblowing, but real and great. I am proud of the time I spent reading this book.

Good beach read

I enjoyed this book, a great one for summer! I listened to part of it and read the rest. Joy was my favorite character. Toss this one in your beach bag!

Stick With It

I was not a fan of this book initially. During the first 1-2 hours, it was super hard to keep track of who all the characters were because there are a lot of them and the point of view changed frequently. But I stuck with it and am oh so glad I did. I genuinely enjoyed the story! I'd recommend it to others!

Well written chick lit

"Chick lit" is not meant as a criticism. This is a well-written book, with interesting characters and a good plot that avoids being too sappy ( for the most part ). The narrator was excellent as well. Very enjoyable.

Loved it

I really enjoyed every chapter. I so hope that there is a book number two from Block Island with the same group of characters. Feel like their family

Skip it

Inane story. Poorly written. Mediocre performance. The sort of thing one would find in a woman’s magazine.