Book Review - Vicki Delany's Deadly Summer Nights
Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 7th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★
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Elizabeth Grady never pictured the life she's living now as the life she'd have. She is running Haggerman's Catskills Resort for her mother. Yes, her mother. Olivia Peters. You probably know her. The woman who didn't really raise Elizabeth, that was left to her Aunt Tatiana, as Olivia pursued fame but who in her waning years has been left a resort from one of her admirers. Due to financial irregularities, AKA spendthrift exes, Haggerman's is Olivia's only option and Elizabeth is determined to make it succeed, with her mother as the figurehead whose glamorous allure will hopefully draw in the guests with lengthy bookings. Plus her mother can also book acts the other resorts can't with her connections. Just look at the rather controversial yet undoubtedly funny comic they've just booked who could be the next Lenny Bruce. Or so Elizabeth keeps saying to the guests who are taking umbrage with his show. Little did she know when she left the city behind that almost all of her work would be dealing with guests, not dealing with the bills, like she should be. And one guest is about to cause a very large headache. Because he's turned up dead. What seems to be a tragic accident soon has the local sheriff calling the Feds in. Harold Westenham had maps of London and Washington, D.C. on the walls of his remote cabin as well as a copy of The Communist Manifesto. To Elizabeth it looks like the poor man was doing research for a book, an opinion backed up by his nephew when he arrives at Haggerman's. But the arrival of the Feds as well as a dead body puts everyone on edge. Elizabeth has to keep her head. People die at resorts all the time. Sure, they may not be murdered, but it happens. She just has to keep a lid on the crime and keep the guests happy and quell the rumors of Communism. Of course what makes guests happier than free drinks and time with Olivia? Elizabeth will need to solve this case fast if she's to save Haggerman's and not have a whopping bill for alcohol.
I have never gotten to live the summer resort dream of the Catskills or the Poconos made famous in such fare as Dirty Dancing and the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Now I have been to resorts there for Moonlight Rising, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan convention. But the Split Rock Resort in Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania only delivered on the buffet, and as for the Friar Tuck Resort in Catskill, New York, it most likely hadn't been remodeled since Frank Sinatra signed the photo above registration to the owners. So the places I went to were far beyond their prime and the culture that Deadly Summers Nights propagates to say the least. Yet it is a nostalgic culture I wish I could have been a part of for even a few days. Or maybe I'm just nostalgic for vacations? Therefore I thought this book would be my best bet to slip into this world from the comfort of my couch. Instead it proved an infuriating read. This book is tailored to fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with a heavy helping of Gilmore Girls and a dollop of Dirty Dancing but without any of the sparkle and vivacity of the originals. Here's the thing, if you're going to do an homage to the oeuvre of Amy Sherman-Palladino the quirky characters and the quaint locales aren't enough. She is known for her rapid fire dialogue and her witty banter. No matter your feelings on her as a person, you have to occasionally, begrudgingly admit that she can write. She has six Emmy Awards afterall. So what do you have when you have all the elements and none of the talent? You have a book you slog through because just having the framework built doesn't matter if you don't deliver on the content. As for the whole Communist angle? It was so obviously a false trail that I was actually yelling at the book one of Miss Scarlett's famous lines from Clue: "Communism is just a red herring."
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