"Exciting police procedural romantic suspense"

In Goose Harbor, Maine, Police Chief Patrick West stops at the home of his centenarian Aunt Olivia, the author of the Periwinkle cozies, before completing his pre-work jog. Not long afterward, while on her daily run Patrick's police detective daughter Zoe finds her father's dead body. Olivia dies the next day from the shock of her beloved nephew's murder. Zoe pressures everyone for answers, but none surface so she accepts a job in Connecticut.

A year later, Zoe, who was fired two months ago, receives a frantic call from her sister pleading with her to come home because someone broke into her sibling's home. Zoe returns where she meets FBI agent J.B. McGrath whom everyone thinks he is investigating the unsolved murder of a cop. Instead, J.B., who has roots here, is on forced vacation after a harrowing undercover assignment. As J.B. and Zoe fall in love, the mere presence of them worries a killer who wants his secrets interred with Patrick and Olivia and will add a corpse or two to insure it.

The sequel to THE CABIN, THE HARBOR is an exciting police procedural romantic suspense that works on all cylinders due to the mentally wounded cops. Most interesting is that neither Zoe nor J.B. are actively seeking the culprit, but everyone believes that is what both are doing, which ironically leads the duet into sleuthing. Readers will like the heroes and much of the townsfolk, but will be surprised with the identity of the villain, whom comes out of nowhere. Carla Neggers provides a powerful tale that readers will enjoy and demand Christina's story next.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 15, 2002