Synopses & Reviews
, from the best-selling author of , introduces Riddle James Camperdown, the twelve-year-old daughter of the idealistic Camp and his manicured, razor-sharp wife, Greer. It's 1972, and Riddle's father is running for office from the family compound in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Between Camp's desire to toughen her up and Greer's demand for glamour, Riddle has her hands full juggling her eccentric parents. When she accidentally witnesses a crime close to home, her confusion and fear keep her silent. As the summer unfolds, the consequences of her silence multiply. Another mysterious and powerful family, the Devlins, slowly emerges as the keepers of astonishing secrets that could shatter the Camperdowns. As an old love triangle, bitter war wounds, and the struggle for status spiral out of control, Riddle can only watch, hoping for the courage to reveal the truth. is poised to become the summer's uproarious and dramatic must-read.
Review
"The Last Summer of the Camperdowns is one of the most delightful beach books evah! It is the literary equivalent of a dozen Wellfleet oysters—salty, sweet, sublime." Redbook
Review
"The Last Summer of the Camperdowns is both spooky and smart, with a fun-house-mirror cast of Cape Cod Irish aristocrats like no other. It's as if the Kennedys had catapulted themselves into a tale by Edgar Allen Poe—with rollicking, harrowing, and above all highly entertaining results." Library Journal
Review
"Kelly’s new novel is just as scathingly witty as her best-selling debut but better plotted and even more emotionally harrowing… Kelly skillfully builds almost unbearable tension, slipping in plenty of dark laughs en route to a wrenching climax that leaves in its wake some painfully unresolved questions—just like life. More fine work from a writer with a rare gift for blending wit and rue." Marcy Dermansky, author of < i=""> Bad Marie <>
Review
"There was no putting down this book. Elizabeth Kelly’s riveting The Last Summer of the Camperdowns left me breathless." Holly LeCraw, author of < i=""> The Swimming Pool <>
Review
"The best-selling author of Apologize! Apologize! (2009) returns with another witty take on a dysfunctional family… Kelly is a very entertaining writer with a digressive style and a way with metaphor …readers will find much to like in this colorful story peopled with larger-than-life personalities." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Riveting... Riddle perfectly narrates the events of one crazy, harrowing summer against the tumultuous backdrop of the 1970s. Written with cutting wit and intensity; it doesn't get any better than this." Robin Micheli People Magazine
Review
"Kelly's novel is a coming-of-age meets a whodunit... A laugh-out-loud funny page turner." Ayana Mathis
Review
"A wonderful novel is like an orchid: smooth, creamy, full of unexpected crevasses. The more you look at it, the more surprising it is. , by Canadian writer Elizabeth Kelly, is like that, giving us characters you've never seen before, worlds we never knew, crimes we never thought of. Of course, some of us raise horses for the fun of it and run for Congress and may be bona fide movie stars, but not too many, and as purely escapist literature, works beautifully... Really terrific fiction." New York Times Book Review
Review
"The plot unfolds like the Cape Cod season itself... beginning lazily, languidly, before heating up and morphing into a fast-paced thriller." Carolyn See Washington Post
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"Kelly's second novel is a witty, suspenseful tale of murder, marital conflict and agonizing secrets...The exuberant story is transporting and delicious, a worthy summer read." Abbe Wright O Magazine
Review
"Kelly’s raucous, deliciously creepy novel about the dysfunction of the über wealthy begins in 1972 as the hoity-toity Camperdown clan prepare for another summer of horseback riding, fox hunting, and hors d’oeuvres in their cushy Cape Cod enclave... Kelly (Apologize, Apologize!) builds suspense by withholding the perpetrator’s motivations and the characters’ knowledge of who did it until the end." Booklist
Review
"These vibrant personalities jump off the page individually, and the collective dynamic is as lifelike and scintillating as beautifully cast actors in an artfully directed play… the scenes and dialogue unravel organically, and razor-sharp witticisms tumble out effortlessly." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Elizabeth Kelly's second novel continues to explore— in her characteristically tight, witty prose—the dysfunctional American family….The Last Summer of the Camperdowns is garnering a lot of comparisons to The Great Gatsby, with its love triangle, dangerous obsessions and undercurrent of violence. But Kelly's novel pushes the boundaries even more, bumping up against absurdity but remaining just credible enough to be, at times, seriously creepy. The Last Summer of the Camperdowns, with its vivid and notable Cape Cod setting, is a unique beach read, the kind that might keep you glancing over your shoulder to make sure no one is sneaking up behind your beach chair." Elin Hilderbrand, author of < i=""> Beautiful Day <>
Review
"Twelve-year-old Riddle James Camperdown witnesses a crime that will change her life and lives of those around her. A story about the family ties, the quest for status, and the secrets that kill." Bookreporter.com
Review
"[Kelly] takes readers to the Cape of the early 1970s. The narrator, a 12-year-old Wellfleet girl with eccentric ‘Me Decade’ parents—her mother a retired movie star and her father a candidate for Congress—is plunged beneath the surface of the idyllic summer setting when she discovers dark family secrets and witnesses a sinister crime she won’t soon forget." Good Housekeeping
Review
"Kelly has a deceptively low-paced writing style that nevertheless delivers a jolt at every turn. Pungent metaphors often collide and occasionally cancel each other out…. She keeps us on the edge without letting us fall into the gothic trap…. This atmospheric summer read will not disappoint readers looking for a great turn of phrase and a mesmerizing story." Boston Magazine
Synopsis
one of "The 22 Best Books of the Year For Women, by Women" Notable Fiction of 2013 Set on Cape Cod during one tumultuous summer, Elizabeth Kelly's gothic family story will delight readers of and .
Synopsis
The Last Summer of the Camperdowns, from the best-selling author of Apologize, Apologize , introduces Riddle James Camperdown, the twelve-year-old daughter of the idealistic Camp and his manicured, razor-sharp wife, Greer. It s 1972, and Riddle s father is running for office from the family compound in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Between Camp s desire to toughen her up and Greer s demand for glamour, Riddle has her hands full juggling her eccentric parents. When she accidentally witnesses a crime close to home, her confusion and fear keep her silent. As the summer unfolds, the consequences of her silence multiply. Another mysterious and powerful family, the Devlins, slowly emerges as the keepers of astonishing secrets that could shatter the Camperdowns. As an old love triangle, bitter war wounds, and the struggle for status spiral out of control, Riddle can only watch, hoping for the courage to reveal the truth. The Last Summer of the Camperdowns is poised to become the summer s uproarious and dramatic must-read. "
About the Author
Elizabeth Kelly is the best-selling author of the novel Apologize, Apologize! and is an award-winning journalist. She lives in Merrickville, Ontario, with her husband, five dogs, and three cats.