Synopsis

Bree Thompson has suffered a tragic loss, one from which she’s afraid she won’t recover. Bree needs a drastic change; so that every time she turns around it doesn’t remind her of what she once had.

She drives to the east coast, determined to find what she thinks she needs in the sun and the sand.

Bree starts to believe it’s possible; she finds the perfect house on the water and a construction crew for her fixer-upper. One of them might even be able to mend her broken heart.

But that’s when the trouble starts…

Watching, waiting, someone’s lurking in the shadows to take it all.

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Review

This book combines the best of a mystery, thriller, and romantic suspense novel which are all some of my favorite reads.

Bree is a broken woman having lost her family in a tragic accident. She is wary of others and this puts her at a disadvantage at times when it comes to potential relationships. Ryker has his own set of issues but falls for Bree almost immediately when she punches him after thinking he might be there to harm her. Not the best first meeting! But that event was a good basis for them to get to know each other over time and learn to trust each other. Of course, neither expected to have to deal with a stalker that wants back whatever Bree took from him.

The book starts off from the stalker’s POV and it sets the reader up for an intense read. We don’t know who this person is or why they have it in for Bree, and it will take until nearly the 2/3 mark to really get that answer, and even then, we still don’t know who it is just why they want to harm Bree. I did suspect the correct character for no specific reason but almost changed my mind and thought it might be another character, but it really didn’t fit. It may (or may not) be hard to determine whom to suspect because until closer to the end of the book, the stalker could have been someone we hadn’t met yet. So many possibilities.

I enjoyed the pace of the relationship that developed between Bree and Ryker. It wasn’t quick and allowed them to get to know one another better before becoming intimate. It was better that it developed slowly because of Bree’s baggage and Ryker’s playboy attitude.

I love the descriptions of Bree’s photographs because I could picture them in my mind. I loved how the author describes how she alters the photos to bring things more into focus, or blur the lines of other aspects of the image. I am amazed at what we can do with technology these days.

I really enjoyed this novel and it was hard to put down, I just had to know how the events were going to play out, find out if I was correct in my suspicions, and wonder if Ryker was going to remember he installed a certain app on Bree’s phone just in case. (you’ll have to read the book to discover what app I am referring to!)

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Melissa Roos was born and raised in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family. Melissa published her first book, a cozy mystery/romantic suspense in 2020, titled You Can Hide. Her second novel, In the Shadow of the Black Moon, is also in the same genre and was released in September of 2021.

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