Beneath the Marigolds

At the start of Whitson’s earnest debut, Nashville, Tenn., corporate lawyer Ann, a recovering alcoholic, worries when her closest friend and Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, lovelorn Reese Marigold, doesn’t return from Last Chance, an exclusive singles’ retreat on remote Phaux Island off the coast of Hawaii. As time passes and there’s no word from Reese, Ann contacts the police and tells them she’s sure something has happened to her friend. When the police investigation stalls, Ann decides to find out the truth about Reese’s disappearance by signing up for a stay at Last Chance. Phaux Island is indeed too good to be true, and everyone there is hiding a secret. Whitson’s sensitive treatment of such themes as love, loyalty, and addiction recovery makes up only in part for Ann’s one-note anxiety, a tad too many coincidences, and the superficial motivation of the chief villain. Straightforward prose, though, makes this easy reading for a lazy day. Whitson shows enough promise to suggest she can do better next time. (Sept.)