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Sandburn: A Novel
"Hargrove is a master at keeping us as confused and questioning...[her] clever use of dialogue is as skillful as her beautiful descriptions of settings." —Readers' Favorite
* In this suspenseful psychological thriller from #1 bestselling author Courtney Hargrove, a woman uses her sense of sand to find her family who vanished at sea—and the deeper she digs, the more buried secrets she uncovers in the coastal New England town of Sandburn * For fans of Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me and Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow * Book 2 in the Expatriate Mysteries series. *
Isla Banks is a New York-based television news producer who grew up in the sand, spending her childhood playing on the beach in Sandburn, Massachusetts and helping her father Nick, son of a long line of commercial clammers, dig up a living on the mudflats.
When Isla’s father and her new husband vanish on a boat trip to the pub in calm waters during a visit back home to Sandburn, the Coast Guard and local police launch a massive search with the help of the local fishing community, but find no sign of the men apart from Nick Banks’s drifting skiff.
Locals urge Isla to move on, but she believes foul play led to the disappearance of her family—and suspects a mysterious woman who’s moved into the town’s most luxurious beach house is involved. When Isla’s husband Clive, a Dutch expatriate, suddenly reappears and warns her they’re both in danger, she must use her unique sense of sand—how it’s transferred on bodies and objects, its unique properties and variations, how it preserves traces of evidence left behind by unwitting perpetrators—to solve the mystery and save herself.
With the help of her hometown ex-boyfriend Ben Cassidy, also a clammer and Sandburn’s Harbormaster, Isla unravels a tangled web of lies, deceit and betrayal that upends her life and ultimately leads to murder. As she comes closer to solving the mystery, Isla must face secrets from her own past and reckon with the brutal realization that the people we love aren't always who we want them to be.
About the Author
Courtney Hargrove has written several mysteries and psychological thrillers, including The Expat Wife, The Silent Duchess, Duchess Disappeared and, as her original author name Sara Hammel, The Underdogs, a mystery with a legendary twist you won’t see coming.
* In this suspenseful psychological thriller from #1 bestselling author Courtney Hargrove, a woman uses her sense of sand to find her family who vanished at sea—and the deeper she digs, the more buried secrets she uncovers in the coastal New England town of Sandburn * For fans of Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me and Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow * Book 2 in the Expatriate Mysteries series. *
Isla Banks is a New York-based television news producer who grew up in the sand, spending her childhood playing on the beach in Sandburn, Massachusetts and helping her father Nick, son of a long line of commercial clammers, dig up a living on the mudflats.
When Isla’s father and her new husband vanish on a boat trip to the pub in calm waters during a visit back home to Sandburn, the Coast Guard and local police launch a massive search with the help of the local fishing community, but find no sign of the men apart from Nick Banks’s drifting skiff.
Locals urge Isla to move on, but she believes foul play led to the disappearance of her family—and suspects a mysterious woman who’s moved into the town’s most luxurious beach house is involved. When Isla’s husband Clive, a Dutch expatriate, suddenly reappears and warns her they’re both in danger, she must use her unique sense of sand—how it’s transferred on bodies and objects, its unique properties and variations, how it preserves traces of evidence left behind by unwitting perpetrators—to solve the mystery and save herself.
With the help of her hometown ex-boyfriend Ben Cassidy, also a clammer and Sandburn’s Harbormaster, Isla unravels a tangled web of lies, deceit and betrayal that upends her life and ultimately leads to murder. As she comes closer to solving the mystery, Isla must face secrets from her own past and reckon with the brutal realization that the people we love aren't always who we want them to be.
About the Author
Courtney Hargrove has written several mysteries and psychological thrillers, including The Expat Wife, The Silent Duchess, Duchess Disappeared and, as her original author name Sara Hammel, The Underdogs, a mystery with a legendary twist you won’t see coming.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 19, 2026
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4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 3, 2025
Ok so I'm becoming obsessed with this authors writing, this book was soo good!
I loved the descriptions of this beachy town it's full of mystery and beauty.
Isla is searching for her Husband and Father who disappeared 4 months ago together.
She will stop at nothing to figure out what happened the night they disappeared.
I enjoyed everything about this suspenseful thriller mystery.
Your head will spin trying to figure it out due to twist after twist after twist.
It's such an enjoyable read with just a small pinch of closed door romance.
I loved the descriptions of this beachy town it's full of mystery and beauty.
Isla is searching for her Husband and Father who disappeared 4 months ago together.
She will stop at nothing to figure out what happened the night they disappeared.
I enjoyed everything about this suspenseful thriller mystery.
Your head will spin trying to figure it out due to twist after twist after twist.
It's such an enjoyable read with just a small pinch of closed door romance.
January 21, 2026
4.25 stars
This book is listed as the second in the Expatriate Mystery series, but it completely stands on its own. The main character of this book, Isla Banks, grew up on the beaches of Sandburn, Massachusetts. During a recent visit home from New York, Isla's husband, a Dutch expat, and her father disappeared from her father's boat on a short ride to a local pub. After four months, Isla still does not accept their death and is determined to find out what really happened to her father and husband. She has specialized knowledge about sand and is able to find clues to reconstruct their last movements in the boat that law enforcement is unable and unwilling to do.
The setting of this mystery is beautifully described and creates a foreboding atmosphere for the story, which is tense and twisty. The more Isla looks into Nick and Clive's disappearance, the more she discovers that so many things aren't the way they seem in her hometown. A few parts of the story had a slower pace, but then a new reveal would occur, and the action would pick right back up. I liked Isla, as well as her former boyfriend and current friend, Ben. Just like Isla, I wasn't sure who out of the other characters could be trusted. Isla doesn't always make the same choices I would, but she is a character to root for in an engaging, suspenseful novel.
I received an advance copy of this ebook for review consideration, courtesy of the author and NetGalley. My review is voluntary and unbiased.
This book is listed as the second in the Expatriate Mystery series, but it completely stands on its own. The main character of this book, Isla Banks, grew up on the beaches of Sandburn, Massachusetts. During a recent visit home from New York, Isla's husband, a Dutch expat, and her father disappeared from her father's boat on a short ride to a local pub. After four months, Isla still does not accept their death and is determined to find out what really happened to her father and husband. She has specialized knowledge about sand and is able to find clues to reconstruct their last movements in the boat that law enforcement is unable and unwilling to do.
The setting of this mystery is beautifully described and creates a foreboding atmosphere for the story, which is tense and twisty. The more Isla looks into Nick and Clive's disappearance, the more she discovers that so many things aren't the way they seem in her hometown. A few parts of the story had a slower pace, but then a new reveal would occur, and the action would pick right back up. I liked Isla, as well as her former boyfriend and current friend, Ben. Just like Isla, I wasn't sure who out of the other characters could be trusted. Isla doesn't always make the same choices I would, but she is a character to root for in an engaging, suspenseful novel.
I received an advance copy of this ebook for review consideration, courtesy of the author and NetGalley. My review is voluntary and unbiased.
November 17, 2025
If you love psychological thrillers the smart writing skills, combined with strong characters, and lots of twists, this book is absolutely one to pick up!
Islas buried memories make a compelling main character come to life. Her adventures made me keep tuning pages!
I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review!
Purchase the book today!
#Sandburn #NetGalley
Islas buried memories make a compelling main character come to life. Her adventures made me keep tuning pages!
I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review!
Purchase the book today!
#Sandburn #NetGalley
January 29, 2026
📚Sunburn: A Novel(The Expatriate Mysteries Book 2)
✍🏻Courtney Hargrove
Blurb:
"Hargrove is a master at keeping us as confused and questioning...[her] clever use of dialogue is as skillful as her beautiful descriptions of settings." —Readers' Favorite
* In this suspenseful psychological thriller from #1 bestselling author Courtney Hargrove, a woman uses her sense of sand to find her family who vanished at sea—and the deeper she digs, the more buried secrets she uncovers in the coastal New England town of Sandburn * For fans of Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me and Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow * Book 2 in the Expatriate Mysteries series. *
Isla Banks is a New York-based television news producer who grew up in the sand, spending her childhood playing on the beach in Sandburn, Massachusetts and helping her father Nick, son of a long line of commercial clammers, dig up a living on the mudflats.
When Isla’s father and her new husband vanish on a boat trip to the pub in calm waters during a visit back home to Sandburn, the Coast Guard and local police launch a massive search with the help of the local fishing community, but find no sign of the men apart from Nick Banks’s drifting skiff.
Locals urge Isla to move on, but she believes foul play led to the disappearance of her family—and suspects a mysterious woman who’s moved into the town’s most luxurious beach house is involved. When Isla’s husband Clive, a Dutch expatriate, suddenly reappears and warns her they’re both in danger, she must use her unique sense of sand—how it’s transferred on bodies and objects, its unique properties and variations, how it preserves traces of evidence left behind by unwitting perpetrators—to solve the mystery and save herself.
With the help of her hometown ex-boyfriend Ben Cassidy, also a clammer and Sandburn’s Harbormaster, Isla unravels a tangled web of lies, deceit and betrayal that upends her life and ultimately leads to murder. As she comes closer to solving the mystery, Isla must face secrets from her own past and reckon with the brutal realization that the people we love aren't always who we want them to be.
About the Author
Courtney Hargrove has written several mysteries and psychological thrillers, including The Expat Wife, The Silent Duchess, Duchess Disappeared and, as her original author name Sara Hammel, The Underdogs, a mystery with a legendary twist you won’t see coming.
My Thoughts:
This book is listed as the second in the Expatriate Mystery series, but it completely stands on its own. The main character of this book, Isla Banks, grew up on the beaches of Sandburn, Massachusetts. I loved the descriptions of this beachy town it's full of mystery and beauty..Isla Bankso face the unthinkable: her father and new husband vanish at sea. If you love psychological thrillers the smart writing skills, combined with strong characters, and lots of twists add this to your TBR list.. t’s a good stand alone read.
Thanks NetGalley, One Moment Books DARK and Author Courtney Hargrove for the complimentary copy of "Sandburn" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#OneMomentBooksDARK
#Sandburn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Courtney Hargrove
Blurb:
"Hargrove is a master at keeping us as confused and questioning...[her] clever use of dialogue is as skillful as her beautiful descriptions of settings." —Readers' Favorite
* In this suspenseful psychological thriller from #1 bestselling author Courtney Hargrove, a woman uses her sense of sand to find her family who vanished at sea—and the deeper she digs, the more buried secrets she uncovers in the coastal New England town of Sandburn * For fans of Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me and Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow * Book 2 in the Expatriate Mysteries series. *
Isla Banks is a New York-based television news producer who grew up in the sand, spending her childhood playing on the beach in Sandburn, Massachusetts and helping her father Nick, son of a long line of commercial clammers, dig up a living on the mudflats.
When Isla’s father and her new husband vanish on a boat trip to the pub in calm waters during a visit back home to Sandburn, the Coast Guard and local police launch a massive search with the help of the local fishing community, but find no sign of the men apart from Nick Banks’s drifting skiff.
Locals urge Isla to move on, but she believes foul play led to the disappearance of her family—and suspects a mysterious woman who’s moved into the town’s most luxurious beach house is involved. When Isla’s husband Clive, a Dutch expatriate, suddenly reappears and warns her they’re both in danger, she must use her unique sense of sand—how it’s transferred on bodies and objects, its unique properties and variations, how it preserves traces of evidence left behind by unwitting perpetrators—to solve the mystery and save herself.
With the help of her hometown ex-boyfriend Ben Cassidy, also a clammer and Sandburn’s Harbormaster, Isla unravels a tangled web of lies, deceit and betrayal that upends her life and ultimately leads to murder. As she comes closer to solving the mystery, Isla must face secrets from her own past and reckon with the brutal realization that the people we love aren't always who we want them to be.
About the Author
Courtney Hargrove has written several mysteries and psychological thrillers, including The Expat Wife, The Silent Duchess, Duchess Disappeared and, as her original author name Sara Hammel, The Underdogs, a mystery with a legendary twist you won’t see coming.
My Thoughts:
This book is listed as the second in the Expatriate Mystery series, but it completely stands on its own. The main character of this book, Isla Banks, grew up on the beaches of Sandburn, Massachusetts. I loved the descriptions of this beachy town it's full of mystery and beauty..Isla Bankso face the unthinkable: her father and new husband vanish at sea. If you love psychological thrillers the smart writing skills, combined with strong characters, and lots of twists add this to your TBR list.. t’s a good stand alone read.
Thanks NetGalley, One Moment Books DARK and Author Courtney Hargrove for the complimentary copy of "Sandburn" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#OneMomentBooksDARK
#Sandburn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 24, 2025
This one’s got atmosphere in spades—salt air, secrets, and a heroine who refuses to let the tide pull her under. In Sandburn, Courtney Hargrove blends psychological suspense with a coastal mystery that’s as textured and shifting as the sand itself.
Isla Banks returns to her childhood home in Massachusetts only to face the unthinkable: her father and new husband vanish at sea. But Isla’s not one to sit still. With her unique knowledge of sand—yes, sand!—and a growing sense that something isn’t right, she starts digging. What she uncovers is a tangle of lies, betrayals, and buried truths that stretch far deeper than the shoreline.
The pacing is tight, the setting vivid, and Isla’s voice sharp with grief, grit, and just enough vulnerability to make you root for her. There’s a touch of romance, a lot of tension, and a satisfying sense of justice as the pieces fall into place.
Perfect for fans of The Last Thing He Told Me and anyone who loves a smart, twisty mystery with a strong female lead and a setting that feels like a character in its own right.
With thanks to Courtney Hargrove, the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Isla Banks returns to her childhood home in Massachusetts only to face the unthinkable: her father and new husband vanish at sea. But Isla’s not one to sit still. With her unique knowledge of sand—yes, sand!—and a growing sense that something isn’t right, she starts digging. What she uncovers is a tangle of lies, betrayals, and buried truths that stretch far deeper than the shoreline.
The pacing is tight, the setting vivid, and Isla’s voice sharp with grief, grit, and just enough vulnerability to make you root for her. There’s a touch of romance, a lot of tension, and a satisfying sense of justice as the pieces fall into place.
Perfect for fans of The Last Thing He Told Me and anyone who loves a smart, twisty mystery with a strong female lead and a setting that feels like a character in its own right.
With thanks to Courtney Hargrove, the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
October 27, 2025
This book has enough twists and turns to leave you wondering who the villains are and who the good guy is—if anyone.
Buried secrets, indeed. This novel takes you down into the sand, onto the waves, and into the secret lives of a small coastal town with such vivid descriptions that you feel like you're on Massachusetts's north shore with the gulls squawking around you as the clammer's "dig up a living on the mudflats," as our MC Isla Banks puts it.
I gravitated to this partly because I'm a fan of the author, but also because I love Smilla's Sense of Snow. This is basically Isla's Sense of Sand, and it stands out in a market saturated with (some very, very excellent) psychological suspense thrillers. Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.
Buried secrets, indeed. This novel takes you down into the sand, onto the waves, and into the secret lives of a small coastal town with such vivid descriptions that you feel like you're on Massachusetts's north shore with the gulls squawking around you as the clammer's "dig up a living on the mudflats," as our MC Isla Banks puts it.
I gravitated to this partly because I'm a fan of the author, but also because I love Smilla's Sense of Snow. This is basically Isla's Sense of Sand, and it stands out in a market saturated with (some very, very excellent) psychological suspense thrillers. Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.75 ⭐️
I wasn’t sure if this setting was going to keep me interested at first, but the writing kept me locked in. I had no idea where the end of the book would take me. Good characters. Good twists and turns with emotional moments that added to the story. Told from one perspective and easy to follow. While this is the second book in a series, it’s a good stand alone read.
Thank you @netgalley and #OneMomentBooks for this Advanced Readers Copy!
I wasn’t sure if this setting was going to keep me interested at first, but the writing kept me locked in. I had no idea where the end of the book would take me. Good characters. Good twists and turns with emotional moments that added to the story. Told from one perspective and easy to follow. While this is the second book in a series, it’s a good stand alone read.
Thank you @netgalley and #OneMomentBooks for this Advanced Readers Copy!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews