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| Long Time Coming |
Genre: Romance, Suspense
This is a superb romance, with a depth and complexity far
beyond the average. Edie Claire's story sucks the reader in like quicksand. When the
climax arrives, there is no longer any hope of extricating oneself until 'The End'. Suspense is delivered by the bucket-load as Joy Hudson tries to uncover
the critical events of the past, and the plot has some very clever twists,
beautifully prepared and executed. It is also, in part, a good ghost story.
The characters are really well done, rounded, fully alive
and very plausible. Jeff Bradford is a great leading man, attractive and very
eligible without - quite - being too over-the-top. Joy is full of angst, but
under the circumstances it couldn't be any other way. Her situation explains
her nature, and her struggles with history, memory and guilt. Her family, and
other town characters, are people I might know. Bear (the dog) is both adorable
and essential. In contrast with many books in the romance genre, this one does
not skimp on the peripheral characters.
Eighteen years after the critical events Joy comes back to
her home town as a qualified veterinarian, planning to set up her own practice.
It soon becomes clear that she holds Jeff responsible for her best friend
Jenny's death, but the truth of what actually happened is shrouded in the mists
of memory and silence. Joy can't remember the details, and some people have
never told what they know about it. When Joy has to treat Jeff's dog Bear for a
serious injury, they are thrown together more often, on top of how attracted
she feels to him, even though she doesn't want to be.
Without revealing too much, this is a kind of love triangle
with a twist. A large part of the suspense is how it all works out. Certainly
there were times when I wanted to slap Joy and shout - I'm pretty sure I did
shout out loud at my ebook reader! - "Come on, can't you see it?" But good authors in this
genre take care that the reader always knows or understands just a little more
than the protagonist, and feeling like this is a part of the pleasure. And Edie
Claire knows exactly what she's doing.
I have no reservations in giving this five stars. If you
like a good romance, this is an absolute must-read!
P.S. I know, this is not Indie. But it's just too good not to
review here!
