"fine swithcing from romance with a mystery to a fantasy suspense thriller"

Cecilia is only twenty-eight, but was recently downsized out of her job and her forced to leave her Manhattan apartment. However, homeless Cecilia "Cecil" Hargrove learns that her not so "Aunt" Allegra Gordon just past away at only forty-five years of age, but left her home and business on Seal Island, Maine to her "niece" who she only met twice. Cecil decides to look at the properties and thinks she will probably sell the tourist shop and the home.

Cecil learns from her aunt's shop assistant Abby and reporter Richard Feinman that Allegra was well liked and friendly until last summer when she became depressed before being murdered. The next day Cecil meets Tom Moneghan a lobsterman. Afterward she learns that her aunt removed $80K from the bank in the few months before she died. There is no evidence of what she did with the money. On the way home Cecil meets gas attendant Ronan Grey, who says he is her neighbor; Cecil feels an immediate attraction.

These three men "court" Cecil in different ways. None are what they seem. The reporter loves Abby; the fisherman is a famous author fearing his feelings for Cecil; the neighbor is the weirdest of the trio as he provides great sex but demands all of her time.

Cecil holds the story line together but is ably assisted by a strong support cast especially her deceased aunt, Ragnarok a seal, and the three males competing for her affection. The story line starts off as a contemporary romance that turns into a mystery and finally curves into a fantasy. Fans will appreciate this modern day romance with an iota of a mystery that climaxes as a fantasy suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 13, 2005

Summary

Cecil Hargrave lives in a cramped apartment in New York City, hates her job, and has no close friends. She yearns for something more, but what?

Cecil inherits a beachfront house and a thriving business on picturesque Seal Island in Maine, she jumps at the opportunity to kickstart her life. For while she is only intending to stay the summer, she knows better than anyone that fate can bring unexpected surprises.

But much to her delight, Cecil settles rapidly into small-town life. She makes real friends, bonds with a very unusual seal who lives on the beach outside her house, and meets two very different men.

Tom is a sexy and mysterious lobsterman. He and Cecil hit it off almost immediately, and their chemistry is explosive -- but Cecil can't seem to stay away from the handsome but uneducated drifter Ronan, despite his secretive ways. It's like she's under a spell...