Guest post by Angie Tompkins
Does a detective in the cast make a book a mystery? In Hauntfest at Harbor’s Hope, Detective Jeff Harker has a more personal problem waiting for him: Cass Whitley has good reason to be wary of him.
This is a clean coastal romance, with autumn festivities, a family mystery, and a happy ending. Cass and Jeff’s relationship is at the center. If you’re deciding whether it belongs on your October reading list, that’s the place to start.
Jeff failed to believe Cass when she needed him. Now they’re working together on the Hauntfest lantern route, and an apology alone won’t settle what happened. Cass has to spend time beside someone who disappointed her, even as she begins to wonder about the man beyond his badge.
That gives their conversations something to work through. Trust takes more than a well-timed explanation, and sharing festival preparations doesn’t make an old hurt disappear. Cass has to decide whether she can trust him enough to let him closer.
Then there are the strange happenings at an old boathouse. They lead into a family story with an unexpected connection for Cass. That thread brings a little mystery to the autumn setting, alongside the lantern walks and masquerade preparations.
For readers visiting from Sylvia’s thrillers, this is a chance to spend time with a different kind of story. Expect the romance to guide the reading experience, with the mystery woven around it. The happy ending is part of the promise.
Hauntfest at Harbor’s Hope is the second book in A Coastal Fresh Start Romance, and you can read Cass and Jeff’s story on its own.
It releases October 27. You can preorder Hauntfest on Amazon if an autumn visit to Harbor’s Hope sounds like your kind of reading break.