All the summers in between

Foster's clunky latest (following On Gin Lane) sees two friends reconnect after one of them winds up in danger. It's 1977 and Thea has just celebrated her 30th birthday with friends and family in her hometown of East Hampton, N.Y. After the party, her former friend Margot shows up out of the blue with a vague story about her husband, Willy, a successful restaurateur with Mafia connections, and says she needs to hide out. As the story toggles between past and present, the reader learns more about the summer of 1967, when the women became close friends, but were driven apart following a violent incident they've kept secret ever since (the details come out much later). Middle-class Thea dreamed of becoming an illustrator, but gave up those ambitions and devoted herself to her family. Margot, in contrast, was one of the wealthy people who summered in the Hamptons--her father was a renowned morning show anchor, her mother was editor-in-chief of the New York Herald--and she rebelled against her parents by marrying Willy. There's very little depth to the characterizations, and the descriptions often feel phoned in ("She glowed as if she'd spent the morning at the beach"). In the crowded field of beach reads, this fails to stand out. Agent: Rebecca Scherer, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (June)

Although she loves her husband and daughter, Thea is dissatisfied with her life on 1970s Long Island. There are relatively limited opportunities for her to establish a fulfilling career outside of her home and meetups with other preschool moms leave her wanting more. But when her wealthy, free-spirited friend Margot shows up, begging Thea to help her, life gets more interesting. Foster (One Gin Lane) provides suspense and a well-driven plot centered on what happened between the friends 10 years ago in the Hamptons. The narrative toggles between a summer in 1967 when Thea and Margot met as naive 19-year-olds and a summer in 1977 when they abruptly meet again. Foster fills the book with references to fashion, cars, and celebrities of the time periods. Because Thea and Margot worked in a record store in '67, song lyrics, bands, and album covers of that year get special attention. The dynamic between likable Thea and self-absorbed, unethical Margot makes for a fun and intriguing read. VERDICT A worthwhile novel, especially for fans of the music of the 1960s and 1970s.--Leah Shepherd