Description: Mallory’s mother died fifteen years ago. But her father’s last words on the phone were unmistakable: “Find . . . mother.” Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn’t have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point. Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O’Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart—and left—without a word, years ago.
When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life—and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie—their search intensifies. There’s a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father’s killer—it is also about finding herself again . . . and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.
My Thoughts: In the beginning, I really struggled with this one. There were a lot of references to past mistakes, and even the first book (which I have not read), that I did not understand or entirely care about. Side characters were introduced as POV characters, only to never really play another role outside their first scene. The greatest confusion for me through the first part of the novel was trying to tell apart the four (or five?) female POV characters who all sounded very similar. In my mind, this book would have been far more understandable and enjoyable if the scenes had only been from Kevin and Mallory's perspectives.
Toward the middle of the book, the story started to take center stage more. There were fewer POV appearances from anyone other than the main couple and the current conflicts finally came into play. This was where I became interested in Kevin and Mallory's separate family troubles as well as their reemerging romance.
The mystery was the better part of the book (appropriate since it is a mystery novel). The stakes to solving what had happened to Mallory's father continued to escalate, leaving the reader to guess who was behind it all and why. And yet I felt like the conclusion was handed to the heroes. After solving one part of the mystery, the rest seemed to resolve on its own, without the help of Kevin or Mallory.
There were parts of this book I liked and parts that I didn't. Certain characters were very well fleshed out (such as Kevin and Mallory), while others were not (the villain), and the conflicts were at times attention holding and at times not. I believe that Mermaid Moon will be enjoyed by Coble's fans, and that it could hold the attention of new readers as well. However it is not one that particularly held my attention, nor one that I would whole heartedly suggest.
I received this book through The Fiction Guild in exchange for an honest review.
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