Burning Cove #2, I love Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz) I have been reading her books for years. I love that she went in this direction and moved up her historical timeline to the 1930’s. I love the movies from the 30’s and the actors Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, Kathrine Hepburn, Mae West just to name a few. Just like today celebrities pretty much gave up their freedom once they hit it big but there were places where they could go to get away from it all, where they could still be seen but not harassed Burning Cove is just the place to be. The movies and their stars were a great escapism for people in the depression era everyday people could live vicariously through the movies, but the glitz and glamour can hide such dark secrets.
Adelaide Blake needed a place to disappear, a place where no one knew her and Burning Cove seemed the best place to hide in plain sight, after all who really takes notice of a waitress. Jake Truett is a recently widowed business man who is on vacation to sooth his nerves, or so he wants everyone to think. Madame Zolanda is faking it until she can make it, she became famous for being a psychic to the stars but she become rich from blackmailing them and now in Burning Cove is she going to finally get what she always wanted or what she deserves? Dr. Paxton the creator of the Diet Tonic for the stars and rumored to be having an affair with Hollywood’s Most Beautiful Woman, Vera Westlake, has reason of his own why he’s in Burning Cove as does Vera.
Adelaide spent two months in an insane asylum put there by a husband she doesn’t remember marrying and just barely escaped after witnessing one of her tormentors jump from the window. Months later she’s still nervous that they will find her and take her back but she has friends now she is part of the community and if she goes missing people will look for her. Her tormentors devise a plan but at every turn they are thwarted by Jake Truett. It all starts with Madam Zolanda unknowingly predicting her own demise but how this is all connected to Adelaide and her tormentors is still a mystery one Jake and Adelaide are going to discover no matter how many times they are almost killed. With the help of Raina Keller and Luther Pell, Jake and Adelaide discover how everything fits together.
Overall, I loved this book. The chemistry between Adelaide and Jake is subtle at first Jake is more open about it than Adelaide, but after what happened to her she is right to err on the side of caution. They work together well and Jake respects her opinion and treats her as an equal but is still very protective of her. The overall feel of this book really reminds me of some of Quick’s older books with a much stronger heroine (less damsel in destress and more than ready to take on her enemies head on) and not quite as domineering hero. The mystery keeps you on your toes and even after it’s all over it’s not. I greatly enjoyed this one and I can’t wait for Raina and Luther’s book. This can be read as a standalone so you don’t have to worry about not having read the first book.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
Love Jayne's books!
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