Jen’s review of Grave Danger by Rachel Grant
She’s being stalked…
After struggling to recover from a career-crippling mistake, archaeologist Libby Maitland has landed the project of her dreams—a data recovery excavation in a picturesque, historic sawmill town. Tasked with digging up secrets of the town’s founding family, Libby soon learns that nothing in Coho, Washington, is as idyllic as it seems.
She’s barely settled into her new home when suspicious events make her believe she’s being stalked…
Or maybe she’s losing her mind.
Coho Police Chief Mark Colby can’t decide if Libby is crazy or if she has her own twisted agenda, but the deeper he delves into her past, the more intrigued he becomes. Even as he and Libby grow closer, he can’t quite let his initial suspicion go.
When Libby’s life is threatened, they must work together to determine if the truth about her stalker is buried in her past, or if the answers can be found in the layers of the excavation.
Libby Maitland is an archaeologist working on a Native American burial site in the historic town of Coho, Washington. Developers want to build a cultural center on the land, but first they need to investigate and remove the human remains. Soon after arriving in town, though, strange things begin happening to Libby that convince her someone is out to get her. Unfortunately, the local Chief of Police, Mark Colby, isn’t as convinced. He can’t tell whether she’s legitimately being targeted or if she’s some sort of crazy cop groupie who is just out for attention. Mark tries to get to the bottom of Libby’s story, and when a modern crime is discovered amidst the historical investigations, things get even more complicated. Throughout it all, Libby and Mark grow closer, but Mark just can’t ignore the evidence that Libby’s story may not add up.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The mystery is interesting and well-paced. It’s not impossible to figure out, but there were a lot of twists and turns that kept me turning pages. Libby had a stalker in the past, and she’s worried he might be behind the newest incidents. He’s not the only suspect, though! The town of Coho was basically built and owned by the family that owned the area’s big logging company, and Libby’s archaeological project is intimately tied to the family and their history with the local Native Americans. Plus, the primary investors in the project are connected to the family, and untangling everyone’s motivations, including who stands to gain and lose from the project and the history it might uncover, occupies a good chunk of the book. Moreover, whoever has targeted Libby has taken great pains to discredit her and make it appear as if she is behind the incidents. It was easy to see why Mark would have trouble trusting Libby’s version of events, and it was terrifying to see how helpless Libby was to make people believe her.
Libby was a great heroine–strong, smart, and capable. She occasionally does some things that don’t help her case, but she’s never too-stupid-to-live. Her archaeological mission was fascinating too. I loved the little details that were woven in about the process, the politics involved, etc. My only quibble with Libby was towards the end when she suddenly starts blaming herself for things that happened. It’s not that I didn’t think it was realistic for a victim, but it just seemed a bit out of character for the way Libby had acted throughout the rest of the book.
I liked Mark as well, though he was a bit frustrating at times. He gets involved with Libby, even though she’s a suspect and/or a victim. Obviously getting involved with the suspect is a classic romantic suspense move, but it does bother me when a character has really MAJOR misgivings about another character but still actively pursues that person. I also wasn’t quite satisfied with his grovels at the end. While he had good reasons, he was pretty awful to Libby for much of the book, and I wanted to see a little more from him to make up for the genuine pain he put her through.
All in all, this was a fun little romantic suspense.
Grade: 3.75 out of 5
This book is available from Rachel Grant. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.