Within the pages of very rare books some centuries old lie the secrets of the paranormal. Abby Radwell’s unusual psychic talent has made her an expert in such volumes-and sometimes taken her into dangerous territory. After a deadly incident in the private library of an obsessive collector, Abby receives a blackmail threat, and rumors swirl that an old alchemical text known as The Key has reappeared on the black market.
Convinced that she needs an investigator who can also play bodyguard, she hires Sam Coppersmith, a specialist in paranormal crystals and amber-hot rocks.” Passion flares immediately between them, but neither entirely trusts the other. When it comes to dealing with a killer who has paranormal abilities, and a blackmailer who will stop at nothing to obtain an ancient alchemical code, no one is safe.
I’m in a bit of a quandary about this new offering by Jayne Ann Krentz (JAK). I am a devoted fan and read all her books and also the books written under her Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle pseudonyms. I can’t see a time that I wouldn’t want to read her books. They are usually good, entertaining fast reads for me. I finished the novel in two days. Last night after completing the book, I thought, hm; I’d better sleep on this before I attempt a review.
That being said, I’m torn about this latest release. I liked the book but it felt a bit flat for some reason. I’m still really trying to put my finger on it. The main characters, Abby and Sam are likeable and work okay as a couple but the connection seemed a bit rushed and not as fully developed as her characters are in previous books. While I’m currently not a great fan of in depth love scenes, the ones in this novel appeared to added because they’re expected in a romance novel. Her books fall into the paranormal romance category with a bit of a mystery element and this one followed that line. It had all the components but it just didn’t mesh. There wasn’t the normal quirky by-play between Abby and Sam. The secondary characters didn’t add to the story line except for Newton, Abby’s dog.
The mystery element is there and while I had an idea of the villain, it wasn’t totally obvious to me. That redeemed the book somewhat. I’m usually pretty good at deciphering the villain and if I had been paying more attention, I might have. That’s it!, it didn’t grab and hold my attention. I found myself wanting to skim pages and had to make a concerted effort not do to it.
This is the first of a trilogy which will be written under her JAK moniker. She’s going to separate her upcoming novels under her different names and not combine them as she has in the last two trilogies.
Good and bad reviews are easy for me to write, it’s the mediocre ones that take the old noggin to work through. While I didn’t think Copper Beach was one of Ms Krentz’s best works, it won’t stop me from reading any of her future releases. For some reason I did not buy the hard cover copy of this book but ordered it for my Kindle, which I’m now glad that I did. My opinion, if you’re a JAK fan, check this out at the library first and see if you want to add it to your collection of her works.
My rating 3 Stars (now before you have a cow, let me explain; to me a 3 Star rating is an entertaining read. If I rate a book 4 or 5 Stars, I will be rereading it and probably often. 3 Stars and I’m on the fence. In this case, I more than likely won’t be rereading Copper Beach).
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