Real-life romance comes with doubts and concerns, not just amazing kisses — and seasoned author Colleen Coble presents that kind of well-rounded romance once again in her new book A STRANGER'S GAME.
The premise is new and interesting: Torie Bergstrom is actually the working daughter of a wealthy and powerful resort developer, and she doesn't often come back to the the Georgia property where her mother tragically died. But when her best friend also loses her life at the Jekyll Island resort, Torie slips into place under cover to dig into what's happened.
Her charming meeting with a little girl and her dad, Joe Abbott, who are rescuing baby turtles, gives her a break from the tensions of grief, undercover work, and the actual security position she's stepped into. But unless she reveals the truth about herself to Joe, how can they build a friendship, let alone the romance that keeps tickling her heart?
Yet the minute Torie resumes her usual identity, she's got multiple risks in play: that Joe won't continue the friendship (or more), that the killer, if there is one, will target her, and that her relationship with her father may suffer.
Coble allows a reassuring glimpse of Joe's own integrity, losses, and motives by alternating the narrators of the book -- he and she both have their turns. Joe, for instance, is getting to know Torie when she drops some Latin on him:
"Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur," Torie said.
Joe blinked, then grinned. "I took Latin too. 'One's friends are known in the hour of need.'"
A pleasant warmth spread from his midsection at the realization she considered him a friend. It was a start.
Torie in turn gets to do some questioning on her own, with her father:
She stared into his blue eyes. "Why did you never remarry, Dad? You must have had plenty of opportunities over the years. Mom's been gone eighteen years."
He moved restlessly. "I've always been wary of anyone with an agenda. And too many women who flirt only want what my money and position will bring. They never look past the name to really see me."
"That's exactly how I feel! I didn't know you had the same fears."
In highly satisfying scenes, with just enough risk and plenty of insight, Torie and Joe learn everything they need, in order to figure out who's the criminal, and why—and what their own future may be.
PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.
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