The Castaways

The Castaways By Elin Hilderbrand On beautiful Nantuket island, a group of friends experience a trauma that affects their lives, relationships and future. Jeffrey, Delilah, Andrea, Chief, Phoebe, Addison, Tess and Gregg. And if you can't say that 10 times fast and then include their childrens names, you may not be able to follow the story. Seriously, the story follows the lives of these 4 couples who are best friends and neighbors on this seemingly private island. Gregg and Tess, too perfect to be real, drown in a sailboat accident, a fact that is given to the reader on the book flap. As the details unravel, so do the love affairs, lies, betrayal and guilt that each friend carries after this tradegy. The characters are interesting, but there are too many. The lists of names and details is dizzying and repetitive. The setting is quaint, the issue of which couple will care for the orphaned children is interesting and the small mystery that unravels as each friend deals with their personal connection to the couple and guilt of not having prevented this accident keeps the pages turning.