A Hamptons Christmas

When Beecher Stowe returns to the family home in the Hamptons to celebrate Christmas, little does he know his life will be turned upside down. It's not the arrival of his on-again, off-again lover Lady Alix Dunraven, nor the realization that his father, the Admiral, is beginning to slip just a wee bit....it is the small girl who arrives alone, and who captures his attention at the local bar. Young "Susannah" (one of her many names) arrives with a purse full of money, a platinum charge card, no visible adults to care for her, and the hope to enjoy a real Christmas, just like the one she has seen in Martha Stewart's magazine. The is also another purpose for her visit, one that has close ties with the Hampton community. Beecherand his family, various townspeople, and an assorted cast of characters set out to provide this 10 year old girl with a real Christmas, in spite of the fierce divorce being waged by her jet-set parents and their underhanded way of dealing with their only child. In the end, this young girl helps enrich the lives of the locals of the Hamptons {there is much disdain expressed for the come-lately new money, such as Puff Daddy, and the Perlmans}and mend a misunderstanding that threatens to tear the town apart. James Brady has managed to weave an engaging tale that combines the present, the names we all associate with the high life of the Hamptons, and the whimsy of a young girl discovering Christmas. A real christmas treat.

I am one of Mr. Brady's great admirers. A HAMPTONS CHRISTMAS, his latest book in what so far has been a series of four adventures reported by narrator Beecher Stowe, was a relief after the prior work, THE HOUSE THAT ATE THE HAMPTONS. A HAMPTONS CHRISTMAS confirms that Mr. Brady is an American treasure. In fact, this book screams "movie script," dropping every name that counts in East Hampton, the peculiar little town in which it is set. The story hinges on the most endearing underage heroine since Eloise at The Plaza, to whom she actually bears similarities in her worldliness and occasional cynicism. Along with this heart-stealing character are the regulars in the series, starting with the narrator, his paramour, Lady Alix, his father, the old OSS man, the Chief of the local Indian tribe, the requisite housekeeper, the head bayman....Well, that's the picture. Oddly enough, these characters will ring true to anybody who knows East Hampton. This is a town filled with contrasts, summer people and year-round, rich and poor, all of whom bump up against one another with a surprising degree of respect. Mr. Brady writes about the community with the perception that only an insider could possess, as well as with genuine affection. Rarely have I read a novel with a more authentic sense of place than A HAMPTONS CHRISTMAS. His descriptions of the physical beauty of this place are so lyrical that these descriptions, by themselves, would be reason to read A HAMPTONS CHRISTMAS even if the story were not compelling. The story is compelling, however; the premise is unique, the pacing is riveting and the ending is impossible to predict. Lots of laughs along the way, too: Watch some of the names. All of this combines to make A HAMPTONS CHRISTMAS a tasty Christmas treat that will leave the reader looking forward to the next book in the series.