Summers at the Saint

Livvy, a secondary protagonist, is described as “petite, with white-blond hair chopped chin-length” and a tattoo (12). She is almost 21. Her natural hair color is chestnut, but she’s been bleaching it, a small way to establish her independence from her mother, Shannon. Livvy is smart and responsible, partially the result of being raised by a single mother. However, she feels increasingly restricted by Shannon’s rigid rules and possessive parenting; the opportunity to work at the Saint offers Livvy freedom.

Livvy is practical but refuses to be bullied, as evidenced by the way she exposes the chef who is sexually harassing her. She likes books and TV shows about solving mysteries, which is part of her motivation to investigate Parrish’s death. Her ability to be assertive, friendly, and resourceful makes her an excellent fit for guest relations at the Saint, as she has patience with the most difficult guests.

It comes as a shock to Livvy to learn that her father is Fred Eddings and that she stands to inherit the hotel. Livvy is obviously distressed to learn that her mother was raped and manipulated as a teenager. Though Livvy feels intimidated by the responsibilities of inheriting the Saint, she rises to the challenge and takes her place upholding the positive aspects of the family tradition, leaning on the support of her new friends and found family.

Whelan, a major protagonist, comes to town wanting to learn more about the circumstance surrounding the death of his younger half-brother, Hudson, the summer that Shannon and Traci were 19-year-old lifeguards at the Saint. Whelan suspects foul play. Whelan’s watchful demeanor and perceptive nature make him a potential antagonist until his motives become clear.

Whelan is an attractive man with reddish-blond hair streaked with silver, a mustache, and weather-beaten, white skin. His “build [i]s stocky, but muscular” (295), and he dresses casually in jeans, Hawaiian shirts, and sandals. Whelan served in the military and saw battle; afterward, he had a career as an investigator, which suited Whelan’s talents. His firm was successful, and he and his partner sold the business and retired. However, Whelan prefers to remain active, as demonstrated by him taking a position on the landscaping crew at the Saint. He doesn’t mind manual labor, though he is equally capable of performing a desk job, as demonstrated when he eventually becomes general manager of the Saint, replacing Charlie Burroughs.

Whelan is a man of steady temperament who thinks through his decisions before he acts. He is confident when dealing with people during his investigation and with Traci, to whom he is attracted. Whelan pities his mother, Kasey; his investigation into Hudson’s death is motivated by the memory box he found after her death. His discovery that his stepfather, Brad, took a payout from the Eddings family that he did not share with Kasey reveals Whelan’s intense disapproval of selfishness. Whelan ends the novel as a caring husband and hard worker and is implied to eventually be a good father.

Twenty-five-year-old Felice, a secondary protagonist, is a tall Black woman with a no-nonsense attitude and an occasionally grim outlook on the world, due to the many obstacles she has encountered in her life. Felice’s career as a talented chef was interrupted when she left the steakhouse in Hialeah where she worked in order to take care of the aunt who had helped raise her. Felice, like Livvy, was raised by a single parent; unlike Livvy, she has other family obligations despite leaving home at 18. Felice and her boyfriend, Deion, invested in a food truck business called Caribbean Soul; at the beginning of the novel, Deion runs off with the food truck and Felice’s credit card, leading her to find work at the Saint. Felice is cautious, wary, and reserved: “I don’t mess with stuff I can’t afford. That includes men, drugs, booze, and any combination of the above” (107).

Felice loses everything, or nearly everything, when all her possessions are destroyed in the fire that Garrett and KJ set in the staff dorm, including the expensive chef’s knives that were the ones Deion did not steal. However, Felice is resilient, as illustrated when she attacks Garrett even though he is holding her hostage at gunpoint. Despite everything, Felice stays on at the Saint, works hard, demands high quality from her suppliers and staff, and ends the novel highly successful.