"With prose that positively vibrates and characters who defy expectation, Kelly Simmons brings us straight to Nantucket, into the bright, beating heart of this one-of-a-kind family, and never lets us go."—New York Times bestseller Kate Moretti, author of The Vanishing Year and Blackbird Season
The last word in families is lies...
Any one of the perfect Warner family could have been behind the accident. Each of them had a problem that threatened to tarnish more than their old-money silver.
Having spent the past three decades' worth of summers on Nantucket, the Warners are as much a part of the island as the crust of salt on the ferry. But this year is different: Tripp is no longer the father he was, and it becomes clear that nothing—not the beams that hold the house together, and not the values the family clings to—can survive the ravages of time.
When their Nantucket summer tradition turns to tragedy, the creaky old house swirls with suspicion. Even in a perfect family, there are just so many reasons to want someone gone. With no easy answers as to how, why, or who, the Warners must face another frightening question: do they really want to know the truth?
A tense family portrait of secrets, lies, and inevitable change, The Fifth of July will ensnare any book club fond of beautiful beaches and ugly drama.
Also by Kelly Simmons:
Where She Went
One More Day
Kelly is a former journalist and current novelist/advertising creative director. She is the author of Standing Still (2009) and The Bird House (2011), which both received outstanding trade reviews. She lives outside of Philadelphia.
"Gorgeously written and fully immersive, THE FIFTH OF JULY tells the story of the Warners, a family seemingly defined both by their own self-certainty ("Water doesn't bother a Warner") and skepticism of each other. I could feel the salt air, the sand between my toes, the crackle of secrets, lies, omissions, and later, the uncertainty of tragedy. With prose that positively vibrates and characters who defy expectation, Kelly Simmons brings us straight to Nantucket, into the bright, beating heart of this one-of-a-kind family, and never lets us go." — New York Times bestseller Kate Moretti, author of The Vanishing Year and Blackbird Season