Because You’re Mine

Fans of Coble’s romantic suspense novels (The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, etc.), as well as those who enjoy Irish music, will appreciate this sweet standalone’s backstage view of Ceol, a four-woman Celtic band, founded by Alanna Connolly, a beautiful red-haired Irish singer. When Alanna’s beloved husband, Liam, dies in a car bombing while on tour in Charleston, S.C., Alanna, who’s pregnant, is determined to continue Ceol. To escape her powerful and manipulative father-in-law, who wants to take Liam’s child from her, Alanna makes what amounts to a pact with the devil. Despite a slew of clues and warnings, she decides to marry Barry Kavanaugh, the band’s obsessive manager, in order to gain U.S. citizenship. Things start to go wrong once Alanna arrives at Barry’s creepy old family mansion, with its locked rooms, a portrait of a woman who looks like Alanna, a lake complete with an alligator, and a traumatized dog. No need to worry about Alanna, though; love and Christian faith ensure a happy ending. [em]Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhilll Associates. (Jan.) [/em]