An Impressive Debut Novel

Bruce Von Stiers

There is a new marine life institute in Palm Beach, Florida. The affluent patrons who established the institute also hired someone to help run it. Philip is an Oxford grad and seems to be looking forward to working at the institute. But Philip has a hidden agenda.

This is the foundation for the debut novel Where Snowbirds Play. It was written by Gina Goldhammer. She worked on Wall Street for a short time and then went on to work at the magazine, US News & World Report. After that, Goldhammer spent twenty years as the personal editor for former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, working with him on all of his writings.

The novel intertwines three families, all of whom live on an island just off the coast of Palm Beach. There are Alonzos, who control a large confectionary company, Consolidated Sugar. Then there is the Caulfield family, with a matriarch and two sons. Both sons are married. One, Addison, is an attorney with a wife who has a drinking problem. The other son is Thaddeus, who is a doctor trying to find a cure for cancer. This is in part to help cure his stepson Jesse James. Jesse's mom is Hannah. And there is the veritable Vanessa Vine, whose daughter Sunny is the wife of Addison. All of these families are close. But adding Philip to the mix changes things for all of them.

As much as he doesn't want to, Philip gets caught up in the societal structure of the island and it's inhabitants. But this hidden agenda thing he has, well. It seems he knows a secret about Hannah. And he comes to work at the institute as a way to observe Hannah and possibly expose her secret.

A lot of human drama plays out in the pages of this novel. There is Thaddeus doing clinical trials of a new drug he's developed to aid in curing cancer. But there is a cash flow problem and he does something he shouldn't have to secure more funding. He wants Jesse to continue a drug regimen that he's established, while Hannah seems to want to approach a spiritual aspect of healing. There is also this giant sea turtle, who had been severely injured and has to be rehabilitated and returned to the ocean.

As the novel progresses, Philip gets more caught up in things and possibly changes his mind about Hannah. But all is not fair in life and Philip's relationship with Jesse and Hannah becomes complicated. As the novel moves in and around each family, the main focus remains on Philip, Hannah and Jesse.

The author, Gina Goldhammer, has weaved an impressive story of societal hierarchy, a need for a sense of closure and a romance that isn't supposed to happen. I enjoyed the novel, but felt the ending was a bit too predictable.

Where Snowbirds Play is now available at major book retailers. It was published by Hay Press, an imprint of Renard Press. You can check them out at www.renardpress.com .

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© 2025 Bruce E Von Stiers