When I noticed another book series written by Colleen Coble, I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle. Until I started writing this review, I had not realized Tidewater Inn (The Hope Beach series) was published back in 2012, which means it was published before the Sunset Cove series that introduced me to Colleen Coble books.
Once again, I was not disappointed by this combination mystery and romance. As a matter of fact, just like the first Colleen Coble book I read, "The Inn at Ocean's Edge", I was drawn into the story and ended up staying up really late one night to keep reading.
For me, it was a good thing I was already a Colleen Coble fan before I started reading "Tidewater Inn" since it starts with a young woman's abduction from a beach by two men in a boat. That is a horrifying occurrence and would make me put down most mystery books immediately. But, I trusted the author to not put me through an unbearable story.
I don't like to read, or see, explicit details or scenes of crimes. Since I was already familiar with Colleen Coble's writing, I knew that was not her style. Her stories are strong enough on their own that they don't need graphic details for her books to make the bestsellers lists.
Tidewater Inn
As I said, the story begins with Nicole Ingram being abducted from the beach. What I have not already told you is that her best friend and business partner, Libby Holladay, was helplessly watching via a webcam. It all happened so fast, that calling 911 didn't stop the crime. Nicole was grabbed, injected with something, and dragged into a boat in a matter of moments.
It was hours before Libby could get from Virginia Beach to Hope Beach. When she did arrive, she found she was soon the sheriff's #1 suspect because the webcam recording had been erased. He believed Libby had orchestrated her business partners abduction, most likely murder, and erased the video to protect the kidnappers.
Libby had no way of knowing if Nicole's abduction was a convenient opportunity for human traffickers or if it was somehow related to Nicole's discovery that Libby was the heir to Tidewater Inn.
Furthermore, Libby had no idea that her father had not died when she was 5, as her mother had told her, or that her father had 2 other children, younger than Libby. Her half-brother believed that he had inherited Tidewater Inn and was already brokering a deal to sell it for millions of dollars. That kind of money certainly might be worth murder. But, why would he kill Nicole instead of Libby?
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To find out why Nicole was abducted, if she is dead, or why Libby's father
disappeared from her life decades ago, you will need to read the book.
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