The View from Rainshadow Bay

Coble (Twilight at Blueberry Barrens) keeps the tension tight and the action moving in this gripping tale, the first in her Lavender Tides series set in the Pacific Northwest. Having blamed her husband’s death in a climbing accident on his best friend Zach, Shauna is reluctant to continue her friendship with Zach. But when her business partner is murdered and she feels her life and the life of five-year-old son are in jeopardy, Zach steps in as their protector. As they search for clues about the murder and stumble closer to the truth, secrets from Shauna’s childhood turn out to be important to their current situation. Zach’s guilt motivates him to help Shauna, but his burgeoning feelings for her also propel him into danger’s path. In the midst of life-threatening events, Shauna must decide if she’s ready to allow God, and potentially another man, into her life again. The characters’ high-stakes adventures parallel their emotional stresses, particularly around the subject of second chances—poignantly exposed in Shauna’s question to her mother-in-law, “Do you want me to be unhappy forever?” Coble effectively uses the Pacific Northwest setting to further the plot, giving fans another reason to welcome this well-crafted kick-off to a new series. [em](Jan.) [/em]