Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble ~ Book Tour and Review

Publisher's Description:  
Mallory’s mother died fifteen years ago. But her father’s last words on the phone were unmistakable: “Find . . . mother.” Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn’t have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point. Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O’Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart and left—without a word—years ago. When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life—and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie—their search intensifies. There’s a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father’s killer—it is also about finding herself again . . . and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.


My Thoughts:  This is the 2nd installment of the Sunset Cove series by Colleen Coble. (The first one "The Inn at Ocean's Edge" is reviewed here.)   Like all her contemporary books that I have read it is a suspense romance.  The mystery starts almost immediately with Mallory receiving a phone call from her father that has a confusing message for her.  But as she listens to him talk Mallory thinks her father is having a heart attack.  Her first instinct is to call Kevin, a game warden, who lives in her father's area and with whom Mallory had a relationship before she left 15 years before.  Now with her father's death Mallory must take her 14 year daughter back to Folly Shoal's and take care of her father's affairs.  It's the last thing she wants to do.  But when it's looking like her father didn't have a heart attack but was murdered she is determined to stay and find out what was going on in spite of the fact that she feels everyone is upset that she is back.

A "Mermaid Moon" refers to a pink moon that Mallory's mother, who died when she was young, used to tell her gave a mermaid the power to overcome her troubles and make a new start.  It becomes significant to the story as Mallory's story deals with guilt and shame from her past that paralyzes her future.  The story explores what happens when we can't forgive ourselves for something we've done and how it affects all our decisions.  And what do we do when that past catches up with us?  Mallory has a hard time moving forward past her mistakes and living a happy life.

The mystery was good and I never guessed the surprise twist at all.  Mallory's relationship with her teenaged daughter was totally relatable and the romantic tension between her and her ex, Kevin, was just enough without being overdone.  I enjoyed going back to the area in Maine where this story is set after the author introduced it in the first book to the series.  Her descriptions are lovely and makes me want to visit there.  One of the only criticisms I would have is that there was quite the cast of characters in this story and near the end I was getting a little mixed up as to who was who.  This was a fast paced, enjoyable "escape" read.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for providing Mermaid Moon free of charge for my honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.