A murder investigation uncovers sordid secrets and haunting mistakes The Darkwater Inn stands tall and proud in the French Quarter, the hub of New Orleans. Bourbon Street is bustling, and General Manager Adelaide Fountaine has her hands full with a hotel at capacity. She, along with everyone else, is shocked when a body is found: a hotel guest stabbed with a kitchen knife. Detective Beau Savoie, … knife.
Detective Beau Savoie, Adelaide’s childhood friend, is on the case. As Beau digs into the victim’s past, he unearths a shocking connection between Adelaide and the murdered guest. Beau is hurt that his friend–the woman he’s quietly loved for years–kept the truth from him. To make matters worse, the stress of the investigation has sent Adelaide right into the comforting arms of her coworker Dimitri. But Beau can’t press Adelaide too hard . . . he’s keeping secrets of his own.
Can Adelaide and Beau afford to hide from the truth with a killer on the loose?
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As a long-time reader of novels by Robin Caroll, I have come to expect a well-planned plot with compelling characters and enough unexpected twists to keep me on my toes. Darkwater Secrets did not disappoint! The story revolves around the murder of a guest at the historic Darkwater Inn in the French Quarter of New Orleans and as evidence is gathered, the number of suspects begins to increase. To make things even more interesting a potential love triangle becomes evident.
As the reader learns more about the victim, she may reach the conclusion that this thoroughly reprehensible man deserved to die – but murder is murder and justice must be served. I was somewhat surprised when the identity of the murderer was revealed and like the primary characters was sympathetic with the motivation behind the crime. I felt that the case was resolved to my satisfaction and that justice was served with compassion.
I thoroughly enjoyed Darkwater Secrets and look forward to the next installment of the Darkwater Inn series.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Just Read Publicity. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
Excellent suspense book handling a very dark topic. Robin Caroll crafts her characters with excellent emotional appeal and entangles a very intricate web of secrets. Recommended for lovers of romantic suspense and mystery.
Darkwater Secrets is a very appropriate name for this murder mystery. There are secrets to be uncovered and mysteries to be solved in this page turning novel by Robin Caroll. The setting is in an old historic hotel in New Orleans where a murder takes place. The main characters are well developed and there is a romantic love triangle between the heroine , Addy, and the two men who seem to care for her deeply. One is her childhood friend, Beau who is also the detective on the murder case, and the other is Dimitri whose father owns the hotel. I am leaning towards #teambeau. This is a series and will be continued. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next installment.
*I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and was not required to leave a review. This is my honest opinion.
Robin Caroll has long been one of my favorite Christian suspense authors, and this first novel in the Darkwater Inn series demonstrates that her writing simply gets better that I could have imagined. Her love of and knowledge about New Orleans is evident throughout, as I have seen in her earlier mysteries. Descriptions bring to life the Darkwater Inn, a majestic, luxury hotel that has been in the Pampalon family for generations. Characters come to life through their realistic dialog, actions, and emotions. The mystery is intricately woven with surprises throughout.
Adelaide “Addy” Fountaine loves her job as the general manager of the Darkwater. She loves everything about the inn and her work is exemplary. Dimitri Pampalon is the son of current owner, Claude Pampalon. Claude has groomed Dimitri for his proper place as CEO of the hotel, but Dimitri is happy in the kitchen as a chef. Bringing recognition to the Inn through the recipes he creates and perfects as a chef is his dream, even though Claude would never allow it. Addy and Dimitri had become fast friends, and Dimitri finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings for her a secret.
Thankfully, Claude is out of town when the body of a murdered guest is found in his second floor suite. Addy would have time to get the room ready for guests again. The murdered man seems to be a stranger to most of the staff. When Addy sees a picture of the man, she realizes this is the man who, using a different name, had shattered her world years ago. Those who knew her well noticed a slight reaction to the photos, including Dimitri and Detective Beau Savoi. Beau and Addy have been close friends since childhood, and her father mentored him after his father had been murdered. How well she can keep her secret hidden remains to be seen…as well as some of the secrets the old Inn has of its own. Most folks have some kind of secret. Including Claude.
Each of the main characters are very well-rounded. I appreciate Addy, especially the crisis of faith she has had for several years. Despite how different of a career that Tracey has, I like, her, also. Addy is blessed to have her father, who loves her so much, as well as her almost life-long friends Tracey and Beau. Dimitri seems like a good guy, but I did not like his father at all.
Plot twists and turns bring surprises at the least opportune times. A man murdered at the Darkwater. Not just murdered, but with the inner security door hasp in place, no way to the tiny balcony, absolutely no visible entrance to the guest’s room. Over time, I had a good idea who the bad guy was, even if I didn’t know the how; I also thought I knew the why before it was revealed. While I was right, I was sad to be didn’t want to be as I had liked the person. The necessary secrets were revealed and all loose ends tied up. There are situations I will look forward to seeing more of in the next novel in the series as each person grows and changes as a result of the secrets revealed. I highly recommend this extremely well-written suspense novel to those who like their intriguing mysteries coupled with faith that doesn’t preach or apologize.
From a grateful heart: I received an e-arc of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and was not obligated to post a review.
DARKWATER. SECRETS by Robin Carroll.
Adelaide was manager at Darkwater, security camera showed two men had pulled the alarm, which was a false alarm. They were attending the pharmacitical convention. A snake was found in mailbox by Dimitri. His creations from the kitchen were a wonder,but a thorn to his father.. Who wanted him to head the hotel,that had been in the family for years. The third prank was deadly, his name on card may say Kevin. She knew him under another, and all that he took from her. Had he done this again using the conventions he goes to. Dimitri father wants it solved before he comes or they will be out of jobs. The security is state of the art, will that help. Robin has given us a great plot, the hotel personal seem like we know them, and now for us to figure out the clues.
Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.
‘His detective “spidey sense” was tingly all over, and that was never a good sign.”
Robin Caroll has been a favorite for a long time. She knows how to do a suspense novel well. This books is, in my opinion, one of her very best if not THE best! I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t wait for the ending. I’m not one of those who read the last page during a book, but I was tempted, believe me.
Adelaide Fountaine is the general manager of the Darkwater Inn in New Orleans. A dead body is found during a convention, stabbed with a kitchen knife. Her friend since childhood, Detective Beau Savoie, is called in to investigate. Turns out the victim was not a nice guy and more than one person had reason to want to see him dead. But the investigation is going slowly. Adelaide discovers something and the secret she has been carrying around for many years threatens to undo her carefully constructed identity and Beau has a dark secret as well.
The hotel owner’s son, Dimitri, has feelings for Addy and tries to get her to fess up to her secret, but she refuses. Beau also has feelings for Addy but has never told her because he fears his secret will turn her away. Can these folks trust each other’s feelings? Will this crime get solved? Then you add in the element of voodoo and the suspense ratchets up a notch.
Caroll is in her element here and it shows! I loved every minute. I did not guess at all who the culprit was. But….there are two more books in the series and Caroll’s fans are left hanging just a bit at the end. But that’s okay. It gives me more to look forward to. Highly recommended.
*My thanks thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.
Oh my goodness, you all! If the old adage practice makes perfect is true, then Robin Caroll’s newest release is perfection indeed. Darkwater Secrets has all the important pieces to make a intriguing suspense novel. The first in the Darkwater Inn series, Darkwater Secrets is a great read.
First, is the setting. What better setting for a southern suspense novel than the French Quarter of New Orleans? The central setting is In an older hotel, with all those nooks and crannies that few are aware of as remodeling often disrupts the original architecture of a building. Did I mention the hotel is located on Bourbon Street?
Second, is the characters. We have a chef, whose creations sound divine, Dimitri, who is also the son of the Darkwater Inn’s owner. The general manager, the lovely Adelaide Fountaine, who is very driven to succeed. And Detective Beau Savoie, secretly in love with Adelaide since they were children.
Third, secrets. Lots of secrets. Dimitri has secrets. Beau has secrets. Adelaide has secrets of her own as well. Then a guest, with secrets, is found murdered.
Tied altogether, the murdered guest has a connection to Adelaide’s past. As Detective Savoie investigates the murdered guest and the ties to Adelaide, she turns to Dimitri for solace.
Everyone seems to be hiding something. Will the truth come out?
Adelaide Fontaine is the General Manager of the Darkwater Inn in New Orleans, but she might not be for much longer. Not if her boss has his way. She is—unknowingly—being pursued by two men: Beau, a police officer and longtime family friend, and Dimitri, the son of the hotel’s owner, who wants to be a chef rather than follow the management path his father has laid out for him.
As if that wasn’t complicated enough, life is about to get more complicated when a body is discovered in one of the hotel’s rooms … and the body has links to Adelaide’s hidden past.
Adelaide, Beau, and Dimitri are all great characters (and I usually loathe the love triangle plot).
There is plenty of action, plenty of secrets, and plenty of clues to consider as I wondered who-dun-it. What’s most interesting is that finding the culprit wasn’t the end of the story—it was almost as though the murder were the vehicle to explore some deeper personal issues …
There are elements of romance, suspense, mystery, plenty of secrets and even a little voodoo. Yes, voodoo in a Christian novel. As one of the characters says, the Bible wouldn’t need to warn us against demons and evil if they didn’t exist. All in all, an excellent novel, and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel.
Thanks to Gilead Publishing for providing a free ebook for review.
Robin Caroll definitely knows how to weave an intriguing tale. Reading this book was like watching an excellent episode of Law & Order. Clues to the crime slowly but vividly unfolded themselves with each page and made for a fascinating plot of constantly guessing who had done it. It was also quite interesting to see how everyone’s secrets from the past collided to provide the details to a very well-crafted suspenseful plot. I don’t know a whole lot about life and culture in New Orleans so the book educated me as well.
The two heroes in the story, Beau and Dimitri, were quite lovable. Beau is the solid, strong, honorable detective involved in solving the homicide that takes place at Darkwater Inn Dimitri is the sensitive, kind, compassionate, loyal heir to the hotel who only wants to be a chef. Addy, the heroine in the story, is the general manager at Darkwater Inn whom both Beau and Dimitri have strong feelings for. Unfortunately I had a difficult time connecting with Addy and understanding her. Despite my disconnect, I was fully committed to seeing the book to its last page because I had become invested in Beau and Dimitri’s lives. Oh, the need to wait for book 2 in this series is killing me right now…..
If you enjoy well-written contemporary suspense with a bit of romance, you will love this book. I was given a copy of the book from the author and Gilead Publishing via JustReads Publicity Tours and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Darkwater Secrets is the first book in a new series that revolves around the Darkwater Inn in New Orleans and it involves a murder that is committed at this well known inn during Mardi Gras. As the murder investigation gets underway we learn about the sometimes dark events that often occur during this famous carnival season. Voodoo, prostitution, sexual immorality, and a past sexual assault are all mentioned but author Robin Caroll writes wonderful Christian fiction so her plotline is never offensive. She subtly reminds us that humans are fallible and prone to sin but there is always a chance for redemption through the Grace that God offers all of us.
Darkwater Secrets has some wonderful characters but they all have secrets. Many of them also believe in God but they don’t always follow Him. As Adelaide Fountaine reveals the secret that she has hidden for many years, she questions where God was during her assault. “I cried out to God to make him stop. I begged God to intervene, but guess what? He was silent. I’d been taught that God would never leave me, but he did. That night in Brayden/Kevin’s car, God left me alone.” (page 68).
This is just one example of the author’s talent in writing believable but complex characters and dialogue! Adelaide’s childhood friend Beau is now the detective investigating the murder, Adelaide and her co-worker Dimitri are both suspects and both men harbor secret feelings for this special young woman. Still more secrets to reveal!
This is a well-written mystery with a romantic triangle that will hopefully be further explored in the next book in the Darkwater Inn series. I recommend Darkwater Secrets to anyone who enjoys Christian romance and mystery/suspense.
I received a copy of this book through Just Read Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
3.5 stars
“I managed to keep it a secret when it happened. I’m pretty sure I can keep it a secret now.”
New Orleans’ historic Darkwater Inn not only hosts a myriad of guests, but plenty of secrets as well. General Manager Adelaide Fontaine has just discovered that her painful past is tragically on the brink of exposure; how can she keep the light of truth from shining too far back into the darkness?
Detective Beau Savoie is tasked with investigating the murder at the Darkwater; and his beloved childhood friend appears to be right in the middle of it, especially after preliminary evidence casts suspicion on Addie Fontaine’s motives and connections. And what about her coworker Dimitri Pampalon? They seem quite cozy and Beau is not at all sure what he thinks about that. “If only he’d been able to tell her . . . .before now . . . . . If only he’d been able to tell her and her father the truth so many years ago.” Well now, it seems that Beau has secrets of his own.
Enjoy this intriguing foray into the bowels of the magnificent New Orleans’ French Quarter, where sights, sounds, and mysteries abound; and in this case, a curious love triangle deliciously dangles, warranting another exciting trip to the Darkwater Inn!
I received a copy of this book from “JustRead Publicity Tours”. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.
Darkwater Secrets by Robin Caroll
Great start to a new mystery series
Dimitri found a snake in his mailbox along with a voodoo-y collection of yucky things. However, that wasn’t nearly as terrible as what he found on his dad’s bed!
Adelaide has a secret pain that no one but her best friend knows. She fears her father’s reaction if he found out. Now that there has been a murder and truths long hidden are being revealed, she fears becoming a suspect if her secret was to get out.
Beau has a secret that he has kept from everyone, fearing that Adelaide and her father would shut him out of their lives if it was revealed. Dimitri has a secret desire that he hides from his father. Moreover, Dimitri’s father has a secret that has him the target of voodoo. Whew!
Darkwater Secrets kept me anxiously turning the pages, not sure what I would find next. Though the subject matter was dark and darker, dealing with rape, adultery, vengeance, and voodoo, the author did a really great job of not making the story ugly or depressing.
There were surprises throughout the story and new conflicts introduced. Though there were a number of characters introduced, it was not too difficult to keep track of them. The clues to the mystery were meted out at just the right pace. I do have to confess that only 10% into the story I concocted a theory as to who the murderer was and felt very proud of myself. As I kept reading I discovered that it was good I had kept an open mind because I then found I really did know (and not who I first had suspected). Though I had correctly figured out the murderer’s identity, I was very surprised by the way it was revealed and had fully expected the story to go in a completely different direction, which probably would have been cliché. I guess that is why it’s a good thing I wasn’t the author!
This book is so much more than a murder mystery. It is a story of secrets that separate people from their loved ones. Of hurts that keep people from God. Of black and white becoming a little gray.
Darkwater Secrets is the first of a new series that, presumably, takes place at the Darkwater Inn. I figured that one out by the title of the series. This appears to be a series where each book builds on the previous ones. The story had a clear ending, yet there were hints of conflicts to come and some unresolved issues as well.
Read the full review of Darkwater Secrets by Robin Caroll with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank JustRead Tours for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
This was a bit of a different murder mystery (first in a series). Set in New Orleans at the fictional Darkwater Inn, it is told through 3 characters: Adelaide, the general manager; Dimitri, the owner’s son and Beau, the detective who investigates the murder. I liked it even though I had guessed the guilty party. There’s room for these characters to grow and also romance brewing. I’d like to read future books.
Thanks to #NetGalley & #Gilead.
Awesome start to a new series! Murder occurs in a locked room at the hotel. How? who? Great read.