Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate
February 1, 2011 by Bethany House
Paperback, 349 Pages
Review Copy
Adventure is the last thing on Andrea Henderson's mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life, she's struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker. Perhaps in doing a job that makes a difference, she can find some sense of purpose and solace in her shattered faith.
For new Moses Lake game warden Mart McClendon, finding a sense of purpose in life isn't an issue. He took the job to get out of southwest Texas and the constant reminders of a tragedy for which he can't forgive himself. But when a little girl is seen with the town recluse, Mart and Andrea are drawn together in the search for her identity. The little girl offers them both a new chance at redemption and hope--and may bring them closer than either ever planned.
Review
Is all Andrea wants to do is start over. Rebuilding her life after years of marriage and becoming a single mom to a teenage boy while living in her parents summer lake house was never the ultimate plan. Circumstances however have put Andrea front and center in the single, career working mom world. Learning to recover from her messy divorce, dealing with her overburden some parents and at the same time save her son Dustin from becoming a delinquent is becoming all but overwhelming.
When she meets Mart McClendon the local game warden of the town, it is not love at first sight... rather it is “you get on my nerves” sight. Out of a misunderstanding that Dustin has caused the two are brought together to solve a mystery neither one could of guessed would happen to their small town. Andrea being the social service counselor of Larkspur decides to help Mart with the investigation of a little girl who has been seen with the locals creepy outskirts man. During this time Andrea and Mart discover the circumstances surrounding the little girl and also begin to realize that a budding romance is growing between them. In the beginning they both fight the feelings due to painful pasts that both haunt them but over time they cant fight those feelings anymore and with potential murderers on the loose one of them will be plunged into a life threatening situation….only making their feelings finally come to fruition and that perhaps something bigger than themselves brought them together at Larkspur Cove.
Told in shifting view points from Mart and Andrea, Wingate weaves a story of mystery, suspense and romance, while there wasn’t very much going on in the romance department, the mystery and home fires keep the novel moving along pretty nicely. The story was slow getting started with background and character setup but picks up during the middle and lands a few twists with a fun climatic scene. Fans of Wingate will love her storytelling and new fans who love a cozy mystery will appreciate Mart and Andreas small tale of love and life on a small lake town.
Rating
Larkspur Cove is is recommended to adults and can be enjoyed by mature teens as well. Contains: Violence, suspense, mystery, romance, divorce, teen issues and family drama.
3/5- Christian Fiction-Suspense
Thanks to Bethany House for review copy
Thanks to Bethany House for review copy
Shifting POVs is the new... ummm... lets try love triangle?!
ReplyDeleteI find that I like them.
Not the biggest fan of mysteries, but something about this one sounds appealing, I think it has to do with the cover and that Andrea is a counselor.
Sounds good. I love shifting POVs :)
ReplyDeleteAdventure is the last thing on Andrea Henderson's mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life,she's struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker.Not the biggest fan of mysteries, but something about this one sounds appealing,I think it has to do with the cover and that Andrea is a counselor.
ReplyDeleteI only like shifting povs if it's done well. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI loved this book and found myself nearly in tears at the end. Excellent story!!
ReplyDelete