What do You think about Breaker's Reef (2005)?
A teenage girl’s body is found in a boat between Tybee Island and Cape Refuge, mimicking a scene in one of famous mystery writer, Marcus Gibson’s books. Shelia Caruso, his secretary and ex-con, thinks he is eccentric enough to be a murderer but police chief, Matthew Cade isn’t completely convinced Marcus is the murderer. When Cade and Blair Owens, a newspaper reporter, fine another murdered teenage girl and Shelia’s daughter Sadie goes missing, Cade finds himself a suspect when evidence is left in his truck. I love MS Blackstock’s Cape Refuge Series. Her books have fast-paced plots and loads of suspense that will keep you turning the pages. This novel is filled with twists and turns that you won’t see coming. At one point I had it all figured out only to be surprised at the end. All throughout her book she subtly inserts God’s love, faith and forgiveness, without being “preachy”. Even though this book is about murder it leaves you filled with hope because of God’s love. In my opinion it is a great book. You do not have to read the previous books in the series, but after you read this, you will want to go back and complete the series.Disclosure: I was given a copy of this Book by the publisher, Zondervan, through Book Look Bloggers blogger program for review. I was not required to write a favorable review nor was I compensated for my review. The opinions in this review are my own.
—Sally
Terri Blackstock in her new book, “Breaker’s Reef” Book Four in the Cape Refuge series published by Zondervan gives us another adventure with Blair Owens and Police Chief Cade.From the back cover: The murders occurring on Cape Refuge mirror scenes in a local writer’s novels. Could the killer be a copycat or the author himself?When a teenage girl’s body is discovered in a boat between Tybee Island and Cape Refuge, all evidence points to a famous mystery writer who has taken up residence in the small town: Marcus Gibson. After all, ex-con Sheila Caruso discovers that a scene in one of his books perfectly mirrors the brutal crime scene, and Gibson seems just eccentric enough to be murderous.Police Chief Cade works to confirm the evidence—but more devastation is just around the corner. He and Blair Owens discover a second dead teenager, again paralleling a scene in one of Gibson’s books. Then Sheila’s daughter, Sadie, goes missing.In a race against time, there are many questions to be answered. Can Cade find the killer before Sadie is murdered too? What connection does Sheila have with the crimes? And is Marcus one of the killers—or is the murderer still walking free, ready to prey on his next victim?Ms. Blackstock makes us hit the ground running and just does not let up with the suspense. There is a murder that looks as though it was copied from a mystery writer’s book. Then a young girl goes missing while another murder occurs that also looks like a scene from a mystery. Could the mystery writer himself be committing these murders? Once the action gets going Ms. Blackstock revs up the thriller quotient considerably which will have you reading and flipping pages as fast as you can. I think it takes a highly skilled author to pull of something like this and let me tell you I think Ms. Blackstock is one highly skilled author. Blair Owens and Police Chief Cade are well-defined characters that know what they are doing and whom we root for to figure out just what is going on. Don’t start this book late at night because it will be very difficult to put it down or stop thinking about it. I recommend this book highly.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
—Victor Gentile
This review is also posted on Book by Book.Terri Blackstock’s Breaker’s Reef provides another wonderfully suspenseful trip to Cape Refuge. I loved the chance to revisit characters I had grown to love in River’s Edge and see them in the midst of yet another murder mystery. From the start, I thought I had the identity of the culprit figured out and spent most of the book just waiting for the revealing to play out. However, Blackstock proved my original guess completely wrong with a few unexpected twists and turns. Though the ending seemed a bit abrupt to me and left me feeling betrayed by a character I wanted to like, Breaker’s Reef is still a very satisfying and surprising read, and I would recommend it along with River’s Edge. I can’t wait to read more from Terri Blackstock very soon.Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of Breaker’s Reef and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)
—Hallie Szott
