Amidst the lush fields of pleasing Lavender,
There is a promise of peace and serenity,
Little do the citizens expect a colossal danger,
That vows to shatter their dreams of tranquility.
The Author:
Best Selling novelist Colleen Coble writes books of the genres Historic Fiction and Romantic Suspense. This book may be put under the Romantic Suspense umbrella and can be enjoyed by Mystery lovers. Most of her books except her short story collections are written in series. There are around 10 series each of which is based on particular locations like Sunset Cove, Hope Beach and Aloha reef(Hawaii islands).
This book is the first in the series of ‘Lavender Tides’.
Plot:
Shauna is a young lady who is a photographer and has her own single helicopter charter. She is a pilot and takes up geological assignments for photography around Rainshadow Bay. She enjoys her profession and is mesmerized by the acres of Lavender fields covering the landscape with vividly colored, fragrant blossoms. There is no wonder that the small town she calls her home in the north-west USA is called ‘Lavender Tides’.
After the death of her husband Jack a couple of years back, Shauna has only her 5-year-old son as her little lamp in life. Jack and his best friend Zack were adventure lovers craving for adrenaline every day. Once, in a climbing accident, Jack unfortunately gets killed. Since then, Zack lives with a load of guilt on his shoulders. Had he not egged Jack with the climbing adventure, Jack may still have been alive. Now, Zack wants to help and support Shauna and her son as much as he can. However, Shauna blames the death of Jack on Zack and wants nothing to do with him.
The sudden murder of Shauna’s close colleague darkens her life further. But the threat that the murderer might be after her next forces her to seek protection from Zack.
Will Zack be able to protect Shauna? Will his love for adrenaline make him seek more dangers instead of taking cautious steps? To add to the lurking dangers, Lavender Tides seems to be an earthquake-prone zone. Will the town stay safe from threats of devastation and turmoil?
My Opinion:
It was a good narrative combining a love story with a mystery plot. The pace of the book is medium. I did not find myself eager to know what happened next. On the other hand, I did not totally lose hope from the story. Many reviews on the web mention this to be a very gripping and heart-pounding book. I do not feel so. There were some loopholes in the plot too. I can distinctly hear Hercule Poirot saying, “There is no order and method, mon-ami.” and shake his head in disappointment. The last 50-60 pages were certainly engaging and suspenseful.
I would have greatly preferred different names for the 2 main characters Jack and Zach. It was a major put-off to read the story paying attention to the starting letter of the character being referred to than paying due attention to the crux of the story. Both characters are frequently referred to throughout the book. It was like having key characters named as ‘Ramesh and ‘Suresh’.
Not only were there humans dying, but all of their phones seemed to be dying of discharged batteries every now and then! There were more than a few instances referring to ‘the discharged phone’. I guess that will happen when a book is written in modern times.
All in all, an ok read.