Margie's Summer Getaway
by
Widowed Margie McCarthy escapes to a cottage on Canada's East Coast to heal her troubled heart. The sounds, sights, even the smells! of her hideaway on the shores of Northumberland Strait delight her and for a while, that and a stray cat named Scabby are all she really needs. Eventually, though, she thinks it's time to push her personal boundaries a little, maybe make a friend or two.
This is the story of what happens when Margie opens her heart to three oddball strangers and embraces the ethos of their close-knit community. Along the way, she learns life lessons about kindness, loyalty and selflessness and last, but not least, how to beat a murder rap.
Only Mary saw Nestor appear like a wraith at the screen door and then disappear from view with a thump.
“Jesus! Nestor! It’s Nestor, Phyll! He’s on the verandah.” Mary was the first out, squeezing herself through the space Nestor left her when he passed out in front of the door. “Good Christ Almighty. What happened to him?”
Nestor had bled from his head and from his feet; thorns had got him, and branches. Rocks had pierced him. Sweat and snot and blood and tears had dried in place. His pants were stained where he had, in terror and with unimaginable sorrow for the life he thought he was about to lose, shit himself. But here he was. He had made it to this verandah, the only safe place in the world he could conceive of because Phyl and Abs were nearby. And then he let his mind leave his body, and he let his body become someone else’s burden for a little while.
W Morris on Reviewed in Canada on December 19, 2025 wrote:5*
"Trouble, Tea, and Timmies
Margie, a recently widowed woman, is seeking solace on the coast of New Brunswick after the painful death of her husband. She retreats to a rented seaside cottage, hoping to escape the grief that has consumed her. A half-feral cat, a foul-mouthed new friend, and a circle of local misfits pull her into a rough but welcoming coastal community. When a violent man returns and a body turns up on the beach, the summer sanctuary becomes a powder keg.
The Cottages at the Cape: Margie’s Summer Getaway by Kathy McWilliam is told with sharp wit, honesty, and dark hilarity. It’s a story about grief and remaking a life, with your people beside you. This novel excels in character depth. Margie is a protagonist who is flawed and resilient. Phyllis, Absolom, Mary, Nestor, and Tanya round out the rich cast of characters. Each character is distinct in voice and motive, and even side characters like Scabby the cat have weight. They are really complicated people with pasts that bleed into the present.
The first half of the book is quiet, drawing readers into Margie’s inner life and the cottage life by the coast. It shifts into a darker, more suspenseful book with Frank’s violent intrusion. The slow build-up makes the eventual chaos all the more believable and affecting. This novel never rushes, trusting readers to savor the small moments before delivering the climax.
What sets this book apart is the strength of the writing. Take this passage, for example:
She breathed in the cool air of the cottage at morning and identified threads: timber and dust, loamy earth and sap smell. Salt tang from the shore. It was like counting blessings, this morning acknowledgement of the scents of her place, her sense of place. (pg.4)
This is not just a description; it’s emotional, and it anchors the reader in Margie’s inner life as
much as in the setting. The dialogue of her character crackles with regional authenticity.
The Cottages at the Cape: Margie’s Summer Getaway is best suited for readers who enjoy character-driven contemporary fiction and a touch of dark humor. Fans of Elizabeth Strout or
Anne Tyler will appreciate Kathy McWilliam’s keen observation of ordinary lives under pressure. This novel will resonate strongly with adult and mature readers, particularly women navigating midlife transition and loss of a spouse.
With this novel, Kathy McWilliam proves she can write with humor, wisdom, and emotional depth. Future reads will no doubt follow her wherever she chooses to go. Maybe further along the East Coast or into entirely new terrain. It is a striking debut novel."
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Great book
This was a great read. You get involved with the characters, it has a twist you don’t see coming and a good ending that doesn’t leave you hanging except for the fact that you want to follow the lives of those characters in further books to come. I think you can expect good reads by this lovely Canadian writer. Well done Kathy McWilliam."
