Audiobook12 hours
Summer's Child
Written by Diane Chamberlain
Narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Early on the morning of her eleventh birthday, on the beach beside her North Carolina home, Daria Cato receives an unbelievable gift from the sea: an abandoned newborn baby. When the infant's identity cannot be uncovered, she is adopted by Daria's loving family.
Now, twenty years later, Shelly has grown into an unusual, ethereal young woman whom Daria continues to protect. But when Rory Taylor, a friend from Daria's childhood and now a television producer, returns at Shelly's request to do a story about the circumstances surrounding her birth, something precarious shifts in the small town of Kill Devil Hills. The more questions Rory asks, the more unsettled the tiny community becomes, as closely guarded secrets and the sins of that long-ago summer begin to surface. Piece by piece, the mystery of summer's child is being exposed, a mystery that no one involved-not Shelly, Daria, not even Rory-is prepared to face.
Now, twenty years later, Shelly has grown into an unusual, ethereal young woman whom Daria continues to protect. But when Rory Taylor, a friend from Daria's childhood and now a television producer, returns at Shelly's request to do a story about the circumstances surrounding her birth, something precarious shifts in the small town of Kill Devil Hills. The more questions Rory asks, the more unsettled the tiny community becomes, as closely guarded secrets and the sins of that long-ago summer begin to surface. Piece by piece, the mystery of summer's child is being exposed, a mystery that no one involved-not Shelly, Daria, not even Rory-is prepared to face.
More audiobooks from Diane Chamberlain
The Silent Sister: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last House on the Street: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Big Lies in a Small Town: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Necessary Lies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Midwife's Confession Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dream Daughter: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lies We Told Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shadow Wife Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Courage Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Escape Artist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the Storm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breaking the Silence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bay at Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretending to Dance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secrets She Left Behind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Private Relations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Summer's Child
Related audiobooks
The Shadow Wife Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Winters in Bloom: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Courage Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lies We Told Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Private Relations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bay at Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breaking the Silence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Her Mother's Shadow Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reflection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Father Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secrets She Left Behind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brass Ring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Keeper of the Light Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pretending to Dance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secret Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire and Rain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Midwife's Confession Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Escape Artist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kiss River Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outside the Lines: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the Storm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Safe with Me: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Best Kept Secret: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Somewhere Out There: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dream Daughter: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Was Mine: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forever Gift Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Girl You Forgot: An emotional, gripping novel of love, loss and hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wish Me Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Allie and Bea: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Contemporary Women's For You
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Then She Was Gone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Five Years: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wrong Place Wrong Time: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ugly Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bright Young Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Apothecary: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weyward: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Regretting You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Missing Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe in Another Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The People We Keep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Third Mrs. Galway Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5GO AS A RIVER: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reminders of Him: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love and Other Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firefly Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Lost Names Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Soulmate Equation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Dark Vanessa: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things We Cannot Say Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Change: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Family Upstairs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Summer's Child
Rating: 4.198757763975156 out of 5 stars
4/5
161 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A fantastic book!
... but the narrator clips off the end of nearly every chapter which disturbs the story!!! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good read that keeps you guessing til the end. Ms Chamberlain creates captivating characters that draw you in. Looking forward to listening to more of her books.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5It’s a good book but the chapters don’t flow the narration cuts off at the end of a chapter
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It kept my interest all along. Beautiful story. I will recommend it
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have read almost all books by this author and this one was my favorite so far. You think you have it figured out early on but throughout the story surprises keep lurling around the corner. Likeable characters, strong plot, nice setting, overall a great read. One summer an 11yr old finds a newborn on the beach. Fast forward 22 years and the reader is thrown into the life of Shelly and her adoptive family. Shelly is now a young adult who wants to find out how she came to be deserted on the beach.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great story but the audio was done poorly. The end of each chapter cut off in mid sentence.
Otherwise it was great! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Well written, during this pandemic, gentle on my soul. Loved it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Book was awesome. Play back, not so much. The chapter would end abruptly, wasn’t sure if it was actually over?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Convoluted sudser about the search for the mother of a newborn abandoned on a North Carolina beach, 20+ years after the fact. At times an engaging read, and Chamberlain lays out plenty of red herrings. Most readers will be “close, but no cigar” with their guesses. It’s the conclusion where things go from unlikely to “oh, come on,” as coincidence piles on coincidence and plot threads get tied up in a tidy bow.Can’t really give this one anything higher than a C.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another wonderful story by Diane Chamberlain. This one had a few twists that kept me guessing. I think some of the fine details could have been left out to make the story a bit shorter as it felt too drawn out at times. Loved the characters and of the setting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After completing Summer’s Child by Diane Chamberlain, I’m not sure how I actually feel about this story. On so many levels, I thought it was terribly contrived in the twists and turns that the author presented, almost to the point of my feeling annoyed by the author’s manipulation throughout the novel. Needless to say, I did not anticipate the resolution to the story, and by then, I was slightly fed up by the dysfunctional group of characters and the choices that they made. I’m sure that this scenario could indeed be reality to some families, but as far as I was concerned, I thought that the author got carried away in trying to lead the reader astray. Nevertheless, I will say that Diane Chamberlain continues to present an enticing story that captivates the reader throughout. She is a master storyteller who certainly knows how to weave an interesting tale. As I read this book, I recalled a previous phone conversation that our book club held with her. During the conversation she stated that she used a storyboard to map out her novels prior to writing. Upon reading Summer’s Child, I could not help but whimsically imagine the complexity of such a storyboard for this particular novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An amazing and captivating novel!