Stevie‘s review of Dark Tides by Celia Ashley
Contemporary Paranormal Romantic Suspense published by Lyrical Press 12 May 15
Cross-genre books can be a bit of a risky proposition, although when they work the blend can add a little freshness to both genres. Bearing in mind that I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with romantic suspense: I like the mystery and drama but feel that much of it puts the heroine into the damsel-in-distress role and, in my opinion, robs her of agency in order to make the hero look stronger. I took quite a chance on this one. But, for the most part, I was rewarded; the heroine in this story is very capable of taking care of herself.
Meg’s husband was a bad man, who reportedly died at sea while involved in illegal activities. Even though he left her two years before that, Meg has mourned him for a year, dreaming about him every night until the anniversary of his death when she dreams of someone else. That morning a naked, and badly beaten-up, man is washed up on the beach with little memory of anything but his name – Caleb – and looking exactly like the man from Meg’s dream.
Meg takes Caleb home with her, and takes care of him – even calling out a local doctor to examine him, which is more than most romantic suspense heroines think to do. Having established that he doesn’t seem to be a threat, Meg lets Caleb stay while they find out who he is and what has happened to him.
However, even as Meg and Caleb draw closer, it seems that Meg has acquired a stalker – and it’s not the local police officer who has been watching her since before her husband disappeared. This is where the supernatural element really works for me – Meg and Caleb do everything they can to keep the threat at bay, including involving the authorities, but nothing works against what seems to be a very determined presence.
At the same time, the Federal authorities get in touch with new information about Meg’s husband, and facts start to fall into place about Caleb’s true identity and his connections to the dead man. Meg and Caleb have to make some tough decisions regarding how best to keep her safe, but, even though they seem to have thought of every possibility, another threat appears.
All in all, this is an excellent story that kept me wondering and worrying right up until the end. There are a couple of points where precautions weren’t taken that could have been – though not in an immediately life-threatening sense – and I feel that the book would have worked even better if it had been longer in order to give the reader more details. I definitely need to read more from this author.
Grade: B
Summary:
The depths of the ocean hide more secrets than one…
When a man without a memory washes up outside her lonely seaside cottage, Meg can’t explain the connection she feels to him. She should be afraid, suspicious, even angry that he would disturb her hard-won peace. But something about Caleb Hunter calls to her. On instinct, Meg asks this stranger into her home, her life—into the place left vacant by her dead husband, who drowned at sea a year to the day before Caleb appeared.
But something isn’t right. Half-buried memories begin to haunt Meg’s dreams, Caleb seems to know things he can’t possibly know, and there are signs that someone else is watching them, someone with a heart as cold as the sea…
Read an excerpt.
