Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Beautiful Strangers” by Camille Di Maio, Lake Union Publishing, March 5, 2019
My Review
Kudos to Camille Di Maio, Author of “The Beautiful Strangers”, Lake Union Publishing, March 5, 2019 for such a delightful, captivating, intriguing, enthralling, charming, page turning, and entertaining novel. Camille Di Maio has written all the ingredients for an amazing best seller. I love the author’s writing style and the vivid descriptions of “Hotel del Coronado” in Southern California. The clear water, the crystals in the sand, the breezy air. Hold on a moment!! I am ready to make a reservation myself!
The Genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Fiction, Women’s Fiction, with a touch of enchantment and a dash of ghosts. The Hotel was the scene for celebrities such as Frank Oz, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, former presidents and more. “Some Like it Hot” was filmed at this Hotel. If you look up the hotel up on-line, or “Google “it, you will see there is a reference to the hotel being haunted by a benign ghost Kate Morgan, who met her untimely death there. What can be better in a book than movie stars, ghosts, a beautiful destination that sounds like paradise?
The author has described her colorful cast of characters as complex and complicated. They are looking for something more than they already have. Maybe they are pursing a dream, or looking for their reality?? Kate Morgan (not the ghost in the story, but that is relative), is following her dream and her Grandfather’s wish to find the “Beautiful Stranger”. She leaves her home and family back in San Francisco, and risks everything to go to “The Hotel del Coronado”. Luckily she meets a handsome stranger, who is able to offer her a job at the Hotel.
I loved this story, and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a fascinating Historical Fiction novel with a ghostly presence. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.