Beautiful shore, dangerous season~Summer tourists flock to the shore of Lake Superior—beautiful clean blue water, historic lighthouses, and thick pine forest. Audra Blair, a young single mom, is no longer going to work for someone else during the brief summer tourist trade. She has bought an old Victorian near the lakeshore and has opened “Audra’s Place,” a coffee shop-bakery in the mornings. And … mornings. And in the evenings a carry-out pizza shop. Her future and her little girl’s hinges on its success. She is the sole support of her child, not wanting to have contact with the man who abandoned her when she told him she was expecting six years ago.
But someone in town is dangerously unhappy and begins setting booby traps that explode into flame. Targeting people close to Audra and Carter.
Memorial Day, the first weekend of the all important summer tourist season, begins with an unwelcome bang. At a local highway convenience store, new Sheriff Carter Harding is on scene, pumping gas when the dumpster behind the store explodes. No one is hurt but Carter must investigate and quickly. The tourist season is the life-blood of little Winfield—nothing must make tourists stay away.
Carter grew up here and his wild youth follows him-in spite of his spotless record in law enforcement in another department in the state. Many, especially Audra’s uncle, question whether he has reformed. More booby-trap fires push Carter to question whether he is really sheriff material. And as he’s drawn to Audra, her uncle does whatever he can to undermine Carter. Can Audra and Carter break free of the past and have a future together? And will Carter crack the case before someone is severely injured or dies?
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It kept me in suspense.
A nice, fast read that kept my attention. Kind of predictable but still worth reading.
I loved the suspense and the romance in this book. I loved Audra and Carter and how they each had had some problems when they were younger and worked them out. These characters had known each other and had begun to become friends. I enjoyed not being able to figure out who was starting the fires. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Precarious Summer: Clean Romance and Mystery (Northern Shore Intrigue Book 1) by Lyn Cote
Book starts with notes of Bible and where to find the phrases used and also a dedication.
Have read other books from this Harlequin series and they put me out of my comfort zone.
What I like just from the start is the location, praying/religion, attraction/romance, fire investigations, bakery and family from all different age groups and their problems.
Lots of twists and turns and clues are given along the way as to just who is causing the fires.
Sheriff Carter is on the trail and also on the bakery owner and her daughter radar.
Love how there are many around to help her with your young child and at the shop. Love how something is mending the breaks in her immediate family.
Carter had his own background of being a bad boy, fire starting etc so he knows what to look for and who to stand up for-believing in them.
Audra and Carter don’t realize who it is but think it’s themselves the person is after Audra has been getting phone calls at work, blackmailing ones if he’s hearing things and seeing things right.
Carter thinks it’s others in town that want him out of the position he has as sheriff.
Despite the scary parts of the fires and those that are impacted I never realized who was at fault for all of it.
Love how each one effected comes to terms with their past and Audra has to also….
Easy to keep track of the handful of characters in this story. Can’t wait to read more of this series!
Ends with excerpt from another story.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.
Precarious Summer sucked me in immediately. I loved Audra and her determination. Lyn Cote’s characters are all so vividly portrayed, they are old friends by the time the book ends. There is family drama, an arsonist, a romance, and more in this very entertaining, well written book.
This is another really good book I enjoyed very much. I couldn’t put it down till I finished. I continue to be amazed that Ms. Cote can think up all these new scenarios in the books she writes. Very good job! I received an ARC. This is my voluntary review.
Enjoyed this book.
This was an easy read, and I really enjoyed the characters and the romance growing slowly between the main characters. I also enjoyed the suspense in the story line.
Hard work and a great family support team. Loved the reconciliation.
If you are looking for a romantic suspense that will keep you guessing until the end, then Precarious Summer is a great choice. There were many potential suspects in this story and I really enjoyed that I couldn’t immediately figure out who was behind the fires.
The romance between Audra and Carter was well-written and very believable. Both of these characters had things that they had overcome from their pasts, and they both clung to God as they lived their lives during the novel.
I liked the setting of the story and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Bitter Autumn.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Precarious Summer by Lyn Cote
Northern Shore Intrigue Series Book One
Audra Blair, the owner of Audra’s Place, is working to support herself and her daughter, Evie. The summer is starting out good for her business. Not so much for their town. An arsonist is on the loose.
Sheriff Carter Harding has only been on the job a few months. The people of his small town are depending on him to find and stop the arsonist. Some think it’s a young man who had issues in the past…Carter knows about acting out as a teenager. In fact, some in town won’t ever let him forget.
No clues. No leads. The more time Carter spends around Audra, the more he wants to spend with her. Not until he solves this case though. If he can solve it. Wonderful new small-town suspense romance series from this author.
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