Veena’s review of Secret Harbor (Windfall Island, Book 3) by Anna Sullivan
Romantic Suspense published by Forever 24 Feb 15
Only three people could be the possible descendants of the long-lost heiress Eugenia Stanhope. Maggie has the famous sapphire blue eyes, Jessi has the blanket that the baby was wrapped up in, and Paige has a ruby and diamond pin made from a priceless necklace that was lost with the baby. The three ladies, along with their significant others, try to unravel long-hidden secrets to get to the truth. It’s a race against time to keep the heiress alive and protected, while bringing the truth to light against the machinations of the current head of Family Stanhope. I have enjoyed this series and definitely recommend it to readers who like their romance seasoned with a dash of suspense.
First Maggie and then Jessie have been eliminated as the possible heirs and it’s now Paige who’s in the spotlight. She left Windfall Island ten years ago and earned her star in Hollywood, until the price of fame forced her to retreat to her childhood home to lick her wounds and recoup. Her return home also gives her the opportunity to heal wounds that she inflicted on her friends and neighbors before she left. Now tight with her girlfriends, she’s the center of conspiracy again.
Alec Barclay is an attorney for the Stanhopes. He despises Paige’s lifestyle and yet can’t stay away from her and definitely wants to assure her safety, taking on the role of her protector. He moves into her cottage, but, boy, do they fight each other with words and glances, and yet it’s clear to both of them that the chemistry between them is irresistible. It’s only a matter of time before they succumb.
This book builds upon the earlier two books, so the series definitely needs to be read in order. The author does a great job with building her characters and describing life on the island, effortlessly switching back to the events of the stormy night eighty years ago when Eugenia Stanhope arrives on the island in a smuggler’s boat in the midst of a raging measles epidemic. Did the child survive and replace one of the island children? Or did she succumb to the exposure of the cold and stormy night? That and more questions are finally answered as the story twists and turns through the events of the past.
The meeting between Paige and Alec’s grandfather is one of my favorite scenes in the book, as is the secret conference between the six and the old Matriarch who is the de facto head of the islanders. I’m almost sorry that the series is concluded, because I definitely would like to experience more of Windfall Island.
Grade: A
Summary:
SCANDALOUS SECRETS LEAD TO DEADLY DESIRE . . .
Ten years ago, Paige Walker left her beloved home of Windfall Island to become an actress in Hollywood. Now she’s coming back a star, honored with awards and beset by scandal. Escaping from a tabloid frenzy of gossip and lies, Paige wants nothing more than to surround herself with old friends. She never expected to meet an infuriating-and sexy-stranger . . . or to find herself in true danger.
Brilliant attorney Alec Barclay came to Windfall to look for the kidnapped, long-lost heir to the Stanhope family fortune. What he finds is the most beautiful and enigmatic woman he has ever known. If his suspicions are correct, she’s the heir he’s been looking for . . . and the target of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn together by desire-but haunted by secrets of the past-Alec and Paige try to unlock a mystery as dangerous as it is irresistible. But every passion has a price . . .
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
