Cape May; Chip Cheek

TITLE: Cape May

AUTHOR:  Chip Cheek

PUBLISHER: MacMillan Audio

PUB. YEAR: 2019

SETTING: Cape May, NJ
FORMAT:  audio (7.5 hours - approx.)

RATING - 4.5/5

In 1957, Henry and Effie are newlyweds from Georgia, who at Effie's suggestion, decide to honeymoon at the seaside town of Cape May, New Jersey. Effie fondly recalls childhood summers spent at her uncle's cottage there.  One thing the couple hadn't planned on was just how desolate, September can be off season at some resort towns. With boarded up businesses and very little to do, this couple is bored and lonely after just one week and talk of cutting their honeymoon short.

 Having had enough solitude, one evening the couple notices lots of lights at a home nearby. Henry and Effie decide to stop in and say hello. It's there that they meet some irresistible and uninhibited party people: Max, Alma and Clara, who draw them into their party circle of booze and other exploits.  The newlywed's marriage will be tested as a result.

I went into this book knowing very little about this story other than the seaside setting: Cape May, New Jersey. I was immediately pulled into the lives of this young couple and, I couldn't stop wondering what would happen to them.  The story was unsettling at times, the sense of dread and self-destructiveness I felt for the characters pulled me in and never let go. 

Cape May is definitely not a book that will appeal to everyone. It seems most are in the "loved-it or hated it camp." It's the kind of story that many will want to read in one sitting -- it's not too long of a story. The audio was excellent, read by George Newbern.  Be advised that the story gets pretty steamy and sexually explicit, and it's definitely not a book that most readers will quickly forget - the story and the characters will stick with me for a long while.