The Cove: A Summer Suspense Mystery (The Summer Suspense Mysteries)

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Two days after their arrival a monsoon threatens to hit the island, and one of their party has gone missing. The tensions that were slowly simmering come straight to the surface, and it becomes very obvious that something is not quite right at Turtle Cove. There seems to be a lot of animosity between the resort's staff and the island's locals. The rising storm is making it difficult to search for the missing person, and it also means that no one can travel to and from the island. When a body is eventually found their paradise getaway turns into a tropical nightmare overnight. Opening this book, you are whipped away to a scenic island holiday. The author is brilliantly descriptive allowing all your senses a chance to explore this paradise. However, just as you start to relax and enjoy this amazing escape things start going wrong and you release you are embarking on an intriguing read.

A questo proposito, c’è qualcosa nella sua scrittura che mi fa percepire il silenzio: è come se per scrivere usasse anche quello, componesse con una scrittura immersa nel silenzio. Eppure i dialoghi non mancano, tutt’altro: ma sembrano anche quelli composti per gente che insegue il silenzio, fatti più di sguardi e gesti e pause e cose taciute che parole: I found this a solidly enjoyable thriller with multiple mysteries that were exposed along the course of the narrative, to ensure my continued enjoyment, throughout. The couples at the centre of it had as much to hide as those working around them, it was soon proved, which further heightened my intrigue and twisted the unfolding storyline. I didn't wholly guess the direction and found the stakes heightened more than I could have anticipated, which made for such tense reading!I found myself lost on this beautiful island as I read this book. It was beautifully descriptive and I could almost feel the salt on my skin while reading. (I think I need a seaside break – I haven’t seen the ocean in ages.) I loved the twists along the way.

We see that locals are resentful of the resort, the couples themselves are hiding secrets from each other and there’s the added tension of an impending monsoon to contend with. Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), this property is taking steps to help protect the safety of guests and staff. Certain services and amenities may be reduced or unavailable as a result. A good 90% of the story is seen from Gabrielle's POV, with the odd sentence in the middle of a chapter suddenly clearly being from someone else's POV. You don't have to be Virginia Woolf, but if you do head-hopping within chapters, you have to be good and you have to be consistent. That just wasn't the case here. Towards the end there's a few chapters consistently told from someone else's POV which I have no problem with, it's just this wishy-washy nonsense that makes me irrationally annoyed. There is a tension at the resort with relations between the hotel and the locals threatening to spill over into violence, also the awkward atmosphere between the families, could threaten the tranquilly of their break and their marriages.

The weekend starts well with the couples relaxing on the beach whilst the children are happily distracted. It is exactly what they need. But appearances can be deceiving. Two months later, Walter and Laurel are happily dating. But Laurel starts to think that Walter really can speak. One day, she takes the medal he tried to bury to a professor who can read German. The professor says that “Vaterland” imprinted on the medal means “fatherland.” The Vaterland was a ship in New York City that was abandoned when Germany declared war in Europe. The Germans on board were free to roam around the US, but when the states entered WWI in 1917, all of the passengers were taken to a containment camp in North Carolina. he's an awful character, but a wonderfully-written character. and definitely my favorite in this book.