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Nick Rawlins, M.D. is soul weary and threadbare. His job as a medical examiner is starting to get to him, so he requests three months of leave. He plans to spend time at his villa on the Adriatic Coast, where he can finally get some rest. But since he’s also a licensed private investigator, he can’t turn down a man’s plea to find his daughter who went on a trip to Italy and hasn’t been heard from since.
When Krista Vincent discovers an old, puzzling letter in her father’s attic, she heads to Italy to dig into her ancestry—and solve the mystery of what happened all those years ago. She decides not to contact her father, and when she runs out of money, she takes a job as a dancer in a nightclub. Then, one night, someone attempts to kill her while she’s on stage. It seems that someone doesn’t want her digging into matters that they want kept hidden.
Nick swoops in and saves Krista, insisting on keeping her out of danger. Though his employer wants him to bring Krista home immediately, Nick is more concerned with finding out why Krista is a target and what it has to do with a band of smugglers using his cove as a place to hide their loot. Also, Nick is convinced that Krista’s father knows more than he’s saying.
I can never resist an old mansion that has secret doors and hidden pathways, so it was a delight to read Midnight Cove. I especially liked the subplot about a mysterious woman from the past who shows herself in Krista’s dreams. Author Cierra James works in just enough to spice up the story without either making it feel too vague or intruding on the main plot.
I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a hero who’s both a medical examiner and a private investigator—and that makes Nick a refreshing change from all of the detectives who clog romance books these days. However, the choices he makes don’t always make sense. For instance, I couldn’t understand why, at one point, he withholds viable information from the police, even though it means putting Krista in even more danger.
Still, with a hint of gothic romance and intrigue, Midnight Cove, held my interest as I turned the pages, eager to find out whom the mystifying woman in Krista’s dreams would turn out to be—and what became of her. Throw in a bit of danger and mystery, and Midnight Cove turns out to be an intriguing thriller—one that’s not easily put down.
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