Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.
When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, leaving only cryptic clues in her Sudoku book, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all too present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.
Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?
My Impressions:
There is a lot going on in Carrie Carter’s life: she is pining away for Greg, a man who doesn’t even know she exists, she is trying to help out a young waitress in her Cafe who seems to be hiding from her past, and now her dishwasher is missing! Include a drug dealer who uses his hummer to wreak havoc on his landlord and a mother who appears almost 20 years after Carrie and her sister escaped their horrific home and you really have a lot of plot lines. Now, add a polygamous cult with sinister leaders. Wow, little Seaside, New Jersey is really hopping! But in Gayle Roper’s new mystery, Shadows on The Sand, all the plot lines work and eventually come back together.
Billed as a cozy mystery, I think I would describe Shadows on The Sand as just plain mystery. It is set in a small town and there are a number of quirky characters: a pony-tailed Vietnam vet and a scooter riding and tweeting grandma, but there is a lot of sinister stuff going on. And the bad guys aren’t just bad they are downright creepy. I really enjoyed this book; it kept me guessing and turning the page. And there are a few story lines left to follow, so I hope it will be followed by a sequel.
So if you need a few days down at the shore, pick up Shadows on The Sand. It will give you just the thing you need for the end of the summer blues.
Recommended.
I received Shadows on The Sand from First Wild Card in return for a review. The opinions expressed are mine alone. To find out much more about the Gayle Roper and to read the first chapter, click HERE.
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