“Swan Song,” according to the third definition in the American Heritage Dictionary, is “A final performance or accomplishment, especially one before retirement.” I can think of no title that would be more appropriate for this, Elin Hilderbrand’s last novel about Nantucket, before her planned retirement from writing. There is also the fact that one of the central characters in the novel, Ed Kapenash, the long-time chief of police, is retiring at the end of the summer during which the event of the novel are set. There are many “swan songs” in this novel, and finding them all, and feeling the sadness that a swan song engenders, is paradoxically an enjoyable experience.

There is so much to like about this book, the epitome of a beach read. Vicariously, I lounged on the warm sandy beaches on Nantucket Island, felt the salty ocean spray on my face by cruising around the harbor, ate delectable meals at idyllic restaurants overlooking the water, and visited the charming high-end shops that line the main street. And then there’s the story, with characters you know were featured in her earlier Nantucket books. She imbues the characters with enough backstory that we know they are interesting, and if we haven’t read all her previous books, we want to go back and find out the details of each character and the stories they participated in before.

In this novel, two new characters are a power couple who pay full asking price for a mansion that’s been on the market for years. It’s a beautiful home, in a prime location on the coast with a private beach and harbor, but because of climate change and erosion, in eighty years or so, the house will be underwater. And the house can’t be moved. But Bull and Leslee Richardson don’t care; after all, it was featured on a magazine cover. They buy the place sight unseen and Leslee is determined to make them the new “it” couple of Nantucket.

Her goal is to join Nantucket’s prestigious and very snooty Field and Oar Club, founded in 1905, and whose membership includes Nantucket’s oldest and most established families. As one member says, “You can’t just buy your way in; you have to be accepted based on personal merit.” Toward that goal, she plans over-the-top parties and invites the cream of Nantucket to attend. Through Hildebrand’s lovely narrative, we are witnesses to these glittering, glamorous, grandiose, gaudy, gourmet—and at times gauche—gatherings; events that are described in detail, right down to some of the more lurid parts of the events. Leslee Richardson is far from subtle in her efforts to entertain and impress Nantucket society.

The locals include the chief of police, his wife Andrea, and her best friends, Phoebe and Delilah, and their husbands. There’s the local gossip, Blond Sharon, who finds that there are more important things in life than reporting tidbits about her neighbors. We meet Kapenash’s daughter Kacy, and her new friend Coco who came to Nantucket from the Virgin Islands to be the Richardson’s personal concierge. Coco basically conned her way into the job (she has ulterior motives), but like all the characters except for the Richardsons, she’s very likable and we are rooting for her. Ed Kapenash is retiring, and a few days before his last day on the job, he and his family and close friends are enjoying a lovely dinner when word comes that the Richardson mansion has burned down while the Richardsons were entertaining on their yacht, and Coco is missing. She was on the yacht working during the party, but when it arrived back at the site of the burned-down mansion, she was nowhere to be found.

From there, the story seesaws back and forth from the present, end-of-the-summer catastrophe to the events that began as the summer starts. We are witness to the snobbery of the wealthy elite and those who belong to the country club, we see the goodness of many of the locals, and we learn that, surprisingly, there is much poverty and food insecurity even on a posh island like Nantucket. Most importantly, we come to like and respect those who live, work, and love Nantucket Island, and we come to see why it is that they are enamored of this lovely place. It’s Hilderbrand’s “Swan Song” in more than one way, and for that reason, the ending of the book and the series of Nantucket books is heartbreaking.

If you like books about Nantucket or are looking for a great beach read, consider these books:
The Hotel Nantucket and The Five Star Weekend, both by Elin Hildebrand, Bonus Time by Claire Cook, Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews, and The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.

This review was first posted on Bookereporter.com.