cover image Life’s a Beach

Life’s a Beach

Claire Cook, . . Hyperion/Voice, $23.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-4013-0324-2

Must Love Dogs author Cook returns with Ginger Walsh, 41, who has ditched her job in sales and moved above her parent’s garage with a cat she calls Boyfriend— despite (or because of) her casual relationship with alluring glassblower Noah. As big sister Geri gets anxious about her impending 50th, their parents decide to sell the house, and Geri’s second-grader Riley lands a small role in a horror movie being filmed in their quaint New England town. Ginger babysits Riley on the set and meets a gaffer who may be charming enough to make her forget all about Noah. Cook’s wit and unflagging heart save this moderately paced beach read from its anticlimactic ending. (June)