Many thanks to Gina, Wendy, Cheryl and Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for my spot on this Blog Tour.
This was a fun read on a lazy Sunday morning. Told in dual POV, it involved Allison solving the mystery of the disappearance of Maureen 30 years ago from Opal Beach.
My first book by author Tara Laskowski was entertaining. It was more of a gentle mystery with some twists. The writing was smooth and flowed easily capturing me into the atmosphere of the Opal Beach. Wanting to know what happened to Maureen had me tapping my kindle furiously. Their pasts had a secret hidden.
Both the characters in the timelines were quite similar in their place in life, wanting a new start when circumstances knocked them down. Maureen’s scenes touched my heart as there was innocence in her dreams. The dramatic scenes were interspersed well to make me want to know these women better.
The book was a slow read as compared to my thrillers, the story could be guessed if the clues were followed. But I left my analytical brain behind to enjoy the story of the missing girl. A morning well spent within the pages of this book.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.
All my reviews can be read here
TARA LASKOWSKI is the award-winning author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders, which was named a best book of 2017 by Jennifer Egan in The Guardian. Her debut novel One Night Gone will be published in October 2019 by Graydon House Books. She has had stories published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Mid-American Review, and the Norton anthology New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, among others.
Her Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine story, “States of Matter,” was selected by Amy Hempel for the 2017 Best Small Fictions anthology, and her short story “The Case of the Vanishing Professor” is a finalist for the 2019 Agatha Award. Tara was the winner of the 2010 Santa Fe Writers Project’s Literary Awards Prize, has been the editor of the popular online flash fiction journal SmokeLong Quarterly since 2010, and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
She and her husband, writer Art Taylor, write the column Long Story Short at the Washington Independent Review of Books. She earned a BA in English with a minor in writing from Susquehanna University and an MFA in creative writing from George Mason University. She grew up in Pennsylvania and lives in Virginia. Follow her on Twitter, @TaraLWrites.
It was the perfect place to disappear…
One sultry summer, Maureen Haddaway arrives in the wealthy town of Opal Beach to start her life anew—to achieve her destiny. There, she finds herself lured by the promise of friendship, love, starry skies, and wild parties. But Maureen’s new life just might be too good to be true, and before the summer is up, she vanishes.
Decades later, when Allison Simpson is offered the opportunity to house-sit in Opal Beach during the off-season, it seems like the perfect chance to begin fresh after a messy divorce. But when she becomes drawn into the mysterious disappearance of a girl thirty years before, Allison realizes the gorgeous homes of Opal Beach hide dark secrets. And the truth of that long-ago summer is not even the most shocking part of all…
Publication Date: 1st October 2019
Publisher: Graydon House
11 Responses
I need to get my hands on a copy!!!
Yayy go for it
Slow is okay with me as long as the story hooks me
I like my books fast and kisses slow 😂😂😂
This was such a good read! I prefer fast-paced action but the slow build of this one worked perfectly!
It was a fun read, I agree.
I think it’s not as hard hitting or unexpected as I want.. that cover had me convinced otherwise though ☺️ Great review Shalini! X
It was a fun book. Perfect to read in between intense thrillers
I agree with this review. Glad you enjoyed it! ❤
It was a light mystery… Good with tea and biscuits