A murder, a mystery, and a man…Seagrass Pier by Colleen Coble: Hope Beach, Book 3


I love/hated Seagrass Pier. I loved the story, but hated to see the story end. Here’s hoping there’s at least one more book in the Hope Beach series! I kept picking the book up, reading a bit, and putting the book down – the suspense builds and keeps building – you’ll love/hate it, too!

Elin Summerall works at an organ bank – finding appropriate recipients for donated organs by the families of those who’ve died. She loves her work – seeing life come from death – and when she herself needs a heart transplant, is fortunate enough to have the perfect donor. Except Elin starts remembering – remembering what the donor, Laura, has gone through and remembers. Elin has a difficult time convincing people that she’s seen Laura’s murder – the only person who seems to believe her is her good friend, Sara.

Enter someone from Elin’s past – the father of her child, Josie, the product of a one night stand on the eve of her father’s death. Mark Everton doesn’t believe Elin’s story, but sees immediately that Josie must be his child – the resemblance is uncanny. As determined as he is to find the murderer of his partner, Will, he is equally determined to be in Josie’s life.
Elin is being tormented or stalked or both by Laura’s killer – Marc agrees to help and the chase is on. The hows and whys of the chase/stalking/murders is the stuff of bad dreams. You’ll either be up all night reading to find out the ending or putting it down and picking it up later as I did.

Coble never disappoints – I’ve read most of her books and find them all suspenseful and highly enjoyable. I interviewed Colleen at the International Christian Retail Show this past summer – the second time I’ve been privileged to talk with her. As in the previous interview, her husband, Dave, accompanied her. Colleen always researches what she writes – and her stories always have a “water” setting. Her new series, Shadow Bay – the first book will be Inn at Ocean’s Edge – is set in Maine. She says she always has loved Maine. Claire comes to Folly Shoals to help her father land a major merger deal. As soon as she arrives, she has a panic attack and doesn’t know why. Minutes later she discovers she went missing here when she was 4 and wasn’t found for a year. No one knows where she was during that time. To get to the truth, she joins forces with Luke whose Mom went missing the same night Claire did. I can’t wait for this one!!!

Colleen and Dave have a granddaughter they call Punkie, who is five years old, so this story is near and dear to her heart. Colleen and Dave have traveled quite a bit – from Maine to Cambodia, Hawaii to Puerto Rico. They do spend winters in Arizona, though.

I asked Dave, not Colleen, to tell me something unusual that her fans wouldn’t know. He said, “I pick out her clothes!” Colleen agreed telling me he always finds something she loves that she wouldn’t have picked for herself – “although it took me a while to let him do it!”

You’ll enjoy all her novels – especially the Hope Beach Series!

I was given an advance reading copy of Seagrass Pier by Thomas Nelson for my unbiased review.

Fear Has a Name & Poison Town – suspense and tension on every page!


If you follow my blog, you know I just reviewed Creston Mapes’ Sky Zone. I was so thrilled with this, the third book in his Crittenden Files series (I know, you’re supposed to read a series in the order they’re written!), that I went back and read the first two, Fear Has a Name and Poison Town. You guessed it – they’re equally as suspenseful, intriguing, and just plain good reading. My husband, while reading Sky Zone, said “this guy has got to be a sadist – how can you put so much tension on every page without giving the reader a little relief?” I don’t agree that Creston is a sadist, but he sure does put tension on every page.

What’s your reward when you’re nice to the guy that everybody else picks on? What happens when you stand up in the face of injustice and fight – you’re lauded, right? Well, Pamela Crittenden’s reward was to be stalked. Mapes tells this story painful inch by painful inch – the psychological trauma – the fear – the damage to the family’s sense of security. You’re going to love Fear Has a Name.

Then on to Poison Town…. Jack Crittenden is a reporter – a reporter frustrated with the kind of stories he’s getting assigned – you know, the robbery at the local store, the meeting at town hall, that kind of thing. When he happens on to a BIG story – the one that could catapult him and his paper to media stardom, his boss puts the kibosh on it – why? His buddy, Derrick Whittaker, usually one to take the easy way out, is also intrigued by this story – and Jack’s stick-to-it-iveness. Oh – and the stalker’s back in town. Jack’s not the nice guy any more – he’s gonna protect his family and get his story at all costs. You’ll enjoy seeing the poison creeping into this environment, too.

Three great reads – read them in order, first Fear Has a Name, then Poison Town, and finally Sky Zone – you’ll be glad you stepped into Jack Crittenden’s world.

Miracle in a Dry Season by Sarah Loudin Thomas will refresh your soul!

Perla and her daughter, Sadie, came to Wise, West Virginia, to escape the past. Perla’d fallen for a married man – one of the oldest stories in the world – and got pregnant. Ostracized by her town and her parents, she came to Wise to live with an aunt and uncle. Unfortunately, as pasts often do, hers followed her. Coming to care for Casewell Phillips, long-resigned to being a bachelor, Perla confesses her situation to him and immediately was judged for what she had done. How Casewell comes to understand Perla, how Perla comes to understand herself, and how Sadie changes even the most hardened character is the stuff of miracles. You’ll enjoy coming to know these people and wonder at the prejudices and superstitions that still ran rampant in 1954.

This, Sarah’s debut novel, if an indication of what is to come, promises us many more splendid tales – you will want to get this one.

Sarah lives in West Virginia – the seventh generation on the family farm – and her writing comes from that heritage. She says the takeaway we should get from this book is forgiveness – that we are way too judgmental a society – then and now. Her favorite sub-plot is the love triangle with Elizabeth, Angie, and Frank – ‘twas mine, too! She wants to touch people’s hearts and let them know that God can overcome anything in our lives.

The most unusual thing she told me about herself is that she occasionally fills the pulpit at churches in the area. As a full-time job, Sarah does fund-raising for Black Mountain Home for Children, Youth, and Families. She has published multiple articles as well as the prequel novella to Miracle in a Dry Season, Appalachian Serenade. She and her husband live in Asheville, NC. Contact Sarah through www.SarahLoudinThomas.com.

I was given a copy of Miracle in A Dry Season by Bethany House Publishers for my unbiased review.