A vacation to Sunset Cove was her way of celebrating and thanking her parents. After all, Claire Dellamore's childhood was like a fairytale. But with the help of Luke Elwell, Claire discovers that fairytale was really an elaborate lie . . .
The minute she steps inside the grand Inn at Ocean's Edge, Claire Dellamare knows something terrible happened there. She feels it in her bones. Her ensuing panic attack causes a scene, upsetting her parents. Claire attempts to quiet her nerves with a walk on the beach, to no avail. She's at too great a distance to make out details, but she believes she witnesses a murder on a nearby cliff. When local police find no evidence of foul play, they quickly write off the "nervous" woman's testimony as less than credible.
But Luke Elwell, home on leave from the Coast Guard, has reason to believe Claire. Years ago when his mother went missing, Luke's father suspected she'd been murdered. He died never having convinced the police to investigate. So when an employee of the grand hotel doesn't show up for work, Luke steps in to help Claire track down the missing woman.
As Claire and Luke put together the pieces of a decades-old mystery, they discover that some family secrets refuse to stay buried. And some passions are worth killing for.
“You're
a mermaid today.”
This
is the second work from Colleen Coble I have had the pleasure of
escaping within. Aside
from the beautiful cover, the pages will draw you in and keep you
magnetized until the grand finale. Every once in awhile you come
across an author who paints the perfect type of story that resonates
with you, solidified in an excellently proportioned set of mystery,
suspense and romance.
Kudos to Coble for her unique conception of this particular tale. It is rare to discover something that has not already been done in one fashion or another, and to my recollection this seems like a very creative idea with the intertwining families and unknown identities of the people involved.
A successful mystery is unraveled within The Inn at Ocean's Edge due to many factors. There are several different scenarios all tied into one that are unanswered with characters upon a quest to solve every one. These episodes cross each other and run parallel at the same time involving a conglomeration of people, not just surmounting to a simple “who done it” conclusion. There are at least three characters that I was sure were going to come into relevant play by the end, yet had no appearance whatsoever. Coble knows how to keep you analyzing.
It is appreciative that the author maintains the romantic vein in a subtle way distant from stereotypical saccharin novels, “chick lit” revulsion, while simultaneously manages to steer clear from many lackluster works by certain Christian authors that leave the area so thinly vague its existence must be guessed at. That being said, Coble keeps it realistic and also with an intrigue from her readers to be craving more.
Accolades aside, there are some issues to point out such as the lack of consultation with any security surveillance at the hotel, especially one that caters to the elite. It is not until Chapter 38 that this technology is referenced and utilized on the latest act in the long lineage of crime spanning throughout the book.
One character who commits an atrocity towards Claire and is quite significant to the background, disappears without any further explained reprimand or account. Whatever happened to Ric Castillo? And “just like in the movies”, the main star has to absurdly rebel logic but wandering out into the obvious trap of her pursuers in order to invite the climactic finale.
Though there are seemingly a few loose ends, they are not really worth worrying about and do not affect the story. The Inn at Ocean's Edge is a nonstop treasure trove of suspense with a myriad of mysteries culminating into one by its end. And whereas it would be exciting to see the actual outcome between Luke and Claire, it conveniently leaves it open for the continuation of this Sunset Cove series.
Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.
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This book was provided free for review by
Thomas Nelson Publishers
