Review: Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

Editorial note: I received a copy of Swan Song in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand is the final book of the author’s bestselling Nantucket series.

This is her 30th book, and a farewell to writing about the island of Nantucket. She told CBC that she decided to end the series because “she ran out of ideas” and feels like she’s covered every aspect of the island as well as she could. But she’s not fully retiring from books, as she is currently working on a boarding school series with her daughter.

Still, though, it’s a goodbye to summer beach reading set in Nantucket, at least from Elin. I came to her novels late in her career and I have fairly enjoyed them all. Honestly, I don’t love her books, I think they’re fine and entertaining but it always takes me a bit to really get into her stories. Still, I found them a completely pleasant read during the summer.

Swan Song, again, falls into the ‘fine’ territory. I liked it enough, but I also found it repetitive, especially detailing all the party scenes. And a little to try-hard with mastering Gen-Z culture and slang (I say this as a Millennial who is not well-versed in it as well, ha). But I give her credit for willing to write outside of what she knows and try to capture more diverse characters in an otherwise very WASPy environment.

What’s the Story About

This is the Swan Song for many of Elin Hilderbrand’s memorable characters. Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is about to retire. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But everyone is talking about the uber rich and mysterious Richardsons who have just moved to the island. They throw huge parties that get all the island talking. But there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to their wealth and intentions.

When their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms.

Rich People Problems

This story is the definition of rich people problems. It’s told in somewhat of a tongue in cheek way but it still flaunts the wealth in extreme detail. I sometimes get bored with these types of stories but Elin does try to weave in some more depth, including contrasting the excess of the Richardsons with the hard upbringing of Coco, their assistant who is an aspiring screenwriter. It mostly works, but at times, it all just felt a little empty.

Following Ed and his impending retirement was interesting. But I wasn’t as engaged with some of the characters like his daughter Kacy. There were just too many moving parts with Elin trying to wrap up so many different storylines that it was hard to get attached to any of the new players.

Oh and the Richardsons, especially Leslee, were just so over the top, which was the point but that got a little old too.

Verdict

I did like the story enough—the setting is incredible and so vivid. She does have a great ability to paint true human emotion with plenty of flaws and accountability. You can tell she put a lot of love into the original characters.

I imagined it would feel almost impossible to know how to wrap up such a long-running series. So I commend her for this impressive writing career. I’m not sure if any story could live up to the hype and expectations of a finale.

So while there are areas I didn’t love, all in all, it was an entertaining read. And in the end, what more do you need out of a summer story, right?

For book clubs, check out my discussion questions here.