Casee‘s review of In Shelter Cove (Angel’s Bay series, Book 3) by Barbara Freethy.
The theft of three priceless paintings sent Derek Kane to prison and destroyed the dreams of his wife, Brianna. When Derek unexpectedly dies just weeks before his release, Brianna returns to Angel’s Bay with her young son, determined to prove her husband’s innocence and find the missing paintings. Her efforts are stymied by Jason Marlow, the police officer who sent Derek to jail — betraying his former friend. And when unexpected passion flares between Brianna and Jason, she must choose between the past and the present, the guilty and the innocent, the truth and the lies. For nothing is what it seems …
This series has gotten better with each book. In every book, we learn more about Angel’s Bay and what led to its birth. I found the prologue of this book particularly disturbing. It was from the point of view of one of the shipwreck survivors and his despair over the woman he lost is palpable. As an artist, he is determined to immortalize her on canvas. Then his beloved paintings are stolen, which is the segue to the present day story.
Brianna has always been steadfast in her belief that her husband Derek was innocent of the crime he went to jail for. When Derek dies only weeks before he’s scheduled to be released, Brianna finds herself at a crossroad. All she wanted was to be married to Derek and raise their son together. That’s no longer an option, so Brianna packs herself and her son up and moves to Angel’s Bay so they can be closer to Derek’s parents.
Jason Marlow was Derek’s best friend. He was also the man whose testimony put Derek behind bars. Jason thoroughly investigated the art theft and the only probable suspect was Derek. Jason ran into Derek as he was coming out of the museum that the paintings were stolen from. Case closed. When he learns that Derek died in prison, Jason is devastated. Especially for Brianna.
Brianna is dismayed to realize that Jason is house sitting for her new next door neighbor. The more Jason tells her how he’s convinced of Derek’s guilt, the more Brianna is determined to prove his innocence. As she begins to dig into Derek’s life before he married her, Brianna realizes how little she knew her husband.
As she begins to see Jason more and more, she is more and more attracted to him. The attraction appalls her because of who he is. This is where I lost respect for Brianna. I understood that she was afraid that she would lose the only family (her in-laws) if she got involved with Jason. What annoyed me is that she continually blamed Jason for doing his job. She was embarrassed to be seen with him which just made her weak in my eyes.
Eventually Brianna grew a spine and stuck by Jason, but it was too long in coming. I loved Jason, though. He is what made this book so good. Oh and I also figured out who did it. I’m getting better.
3.75 out of 5.
This book is available from Pocket. You can buy it here.
The series:
Read the first and it was wonderful; Look forward to the rest in the series.