River's Edge- Terri Blackstock

363 pages

First sentence: "The cramps woke Morgan at 3:30 a.m., startling her out of a deep slumber."

From Publisher's Weekly:
This well-crafted suspense novel picks up immediately following the second installment in the Cape Refuge series: Blair has just become a Christian and a newspaper owner; Morgan struggles with infertility; and Jonathan faces two opponents in his quest to become the mayor of Cape Refuge, their small Georgia island town. When the wife of one of Jonathan's opponents goes missing, among those the chief of police suspects are the third mayoral candidate (who is, unsurprisingly, an atheist), a prosperous fertility doctor and a local psychic who appears to have uncanny knowledge about the case. Despite some didactic moments (a biblical exposition of the dangers of divination, for example), the novel manages to be more plot-driven than message-driven, a step forward for evangelical Christian suspense. Numerous red herrings in the meticulously plotted story will keep readers guessing, and they will be delighted by the skillful surprise ending.


As the above review says, the many red herrings definitely keeps you guessing until the very end. That is always a good thing in a mystery story.
I liked this book. I like this series...... but I still don't like Morgan. lol

Last sentence: "It was like a smile from God."

2008 total: 17
pages read: 7,345

currently reading: The Miracle at Speedy Motors
Quaker Summer

Songbird / Cape Refuge / Southern Storm

464 pages

First line: Mama waited tables down at the Texas Inn, right where Route 29 dipped back up from its sojourn across the bridge that spanned the James River.

Gospel singer Charmaine Hopewell has been searching for her mother since she was 11 years old, abandoned, and thrown into the foster care system.
Now she is married to Harlan Hopewell, a beloved televangelist who has risen to popularity due to his disdain for psychology and psychiatry.
Charmaine, despite their loving relationship, hides her own depression and search for meaning.
Upon finding her mother in a mental institution, Charmaine realizes she must force Harlan into a decision: publicly support his wife and her needs or hide their new-found cross to ensure his rising popularity.
Either way, Charmaine fears his ministry, and her own-both born through hardship and sacrifice-will be destroyed.

I absolutely loved this book.
It is not as bleak as the above description may sound.
It is charming, funny, southern, and touching.

Last line: She's been singing "Good Morning Merry Sunshine" for a while now. I've learned to join in as best I can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

768 pages

From the Back Cover
Set in the South, volumes one and two from the Cape Refuge suspense series by Terri Blackstock come together under one cover. A unique island setting, close-knit relationships, fast-paced action, and underlying themes of faith combine to make for reading you cant put down at a value you can't turn down.

I liked these books. I liked "Southern Storm" better than "Cape Refuge", though.

These books are fast-paced, surprising, and suspenseful. They are both good mysteries.

My complaint about the first book (Cape Refuge) is that the characters weren't very well developed. I had a hard time picturing them in my mind. There weren't may physical descriptions of any character other than Blair, who has a prominent burn scar on her face.

I really dislike Morgan. She's supposed to be this caring, loving, mother-type woman, but she doesn't come across that way. She cries at the drop of a hat. She comes across as the stereotypical "weak woman." She annoys the heck out of me. You can be loving and motherly without being weak and naive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently reading:
River's Edge - Terri Blackstock (third in Cape Refuge series)
Quaker Summer- Lisa Samson


2008 total: 16
total pages read: 6,982