The View from Rainshadow Bay

The View from Rainshadow Bay
Colleen Coble
Thomas Nelson, 2018

It’s been a year since her husband’s death, and Shauna still hasn’t forgiven Zach for the role he played in his best friend’s accident. But when Shauna’s mentor is killed after giving her a box of seemingly random items, she finds herself and her son in grave danger – and Zach is the only one who can protect them.

Zach doesn’t blame Shauna for holding a grudge. He feels guilt over Jack’s death every day. But he cares more about Shauna and her son than about the awkwardness of her open hostility, so he insists they move to his home where he can protect them from whoever is now stalking Shauna.

As more suspicious deaths occur and clues begin to fall into place, Zach and Shauna must work together to solve a dangerous mystery before one of them becomes the next victim. As they focus on the present instead of the past, Shauna begins to realize that things are not as they once seemed, and Zach is a far better man than she ever gave him credit for.

This post contains affiliate links. Read more about that here. Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of The View From Rainshadow Bay for me to review.

The View from Rainshadow Bay is my first introduction to Colleen Coble, and I am duly impressed. If her other books are similar to this one I will definitely be checking out more! It was the perfect combination of action and suspense coupled with the deeper aspects of relationships between the characters. The story touches on faith, family, and forgiveness, and shows us how everyone deserves a second chance in life and love.

Side note – can we talk about how gorgeous this cover is for a second? I mean, it’s really stinking pretty. Especially because I love purple, and this is pretty much a purple lover’s dream. I’ll be honest, I chose this book without even reading the description. For real.

I love how realistic the characters are. Conversations between Shauna and Zach felt very genuine and real, not at all scripted. I also liked that I was wrong about who I thought the villain would be, and what he was up to. It’s strangely satisfying to have that twist when you understand that what you thought was happening is not what’s really going on. And I can honestly say I was hooked from the very first paragraph:

“The wind blew her long black hair across her face and obscured her vision as she ran through the lavender fields, the sweet aroma mixing with her perspiration. Panic threatened to overtake her, but she had to push it back, push on. He would catch her if she wasn’t smart and focused.”

Who is she? Who is he? Why is he chasing her? I hope I can write an opening hook that good one day. And even though there is plenty of danger and intrigue and murder, I can assure you that this is still what I would call a clean book. There is no language at all, and the violence is not over the top or disturbing, nor are there any uncomfortably intimate scenes. I sometimes steer clear of this type of contemporary suspenseful romantic story because those elements tend to pop up, but The View from Rainshadow Bay was not at all objectionable and I’m so excited to be able to pick up more Colleen Coble in the future.

What about you, do you enjoy suspenseful stories?