Third in the Thunder Point series, this gently
enjoyable
book starts with a young woman and child hitching lifts
along the Oregon coast. Devon has escaped a commune and is
grateful when old Rawley picks her up on his way to Thunder
Point to open the beach bar early one morning. He's pleased
to pass on the kindnesses he's been shown in life, and
tells her to do the same. Fed and introduced as Rawley's
cousins, in case of betraying gossip, Devon agrees to stay
for a while. She had gained a degree in early childhood
education before circumstances drove her into the commune,
and now she starts to readapt to life.
THE HERO then follows Sarah Dupre, resigning from the
piloting arm of the Coast Guard, content in her engagement
to Cooper, who owns the beach bar.
I did find the start of the book slow after the early
chapters, as Devon reflects on the commune which was first
a shelter for her, then a cage. She joins the swell of
unemployed workers, made more difficult for her because she
hasn't retained her identity documents. People are kind in
Thunder Point. The note of tension is only hinted at by
Devon's recollection of men at the commune growing
marijuana and their leader's gradual slide to paranoia.
The more she lives among normal people and researches on
the internet, the more she realises that the commune was a
front for the drugs operation.
The town's community has been developed during previous
books and a new reader may get a little bored by incessant
chatter about who is going to live where and with whom.
The promised wedding is charming; however there isn't much
action. Normality is lovely, but it makes for quiet
reading. The earlier two books had plenty of interesting
sub-plots which are merely background this time around.
Devon finds an admirer and there is a scene for adult
readers, but it's by no means certain that her life is
settled. The action is piled on at the end, making a
rousing finale to this trio of books about Thunder Point,
and Robyn Carr allows us to choose from a number of brave
men and women as to whom we would call THE HERO.
With warmth and sensitivity, #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr shows readers that falling in love can be the bravest act of all. In a moment of desperation, Devon McAllister takes her daughter and flees a place where they should have been safe and secure. She has no idea what is around the next bend, but she is pretty certain it can't be worse than what they've left behind. Her plan is to escape to somewhere she can be invisible. Instead, an unexpected offer of assistance leads her to Thunder Point, a tiny Oregon town with a willingness to help someone in need. As the widowed father of a vulnerable young boy, Spencer Lawson knows something about needing friendship. But he's not looking for anything else. Instead, he's thrown his energy into his new role as Thunder Point's high school football coach. Tough and demanding to his team, off the field he's gentle and kind...just the kind of man who could heal Devon's wounded heart. Devon thought she wanted to hide from the world. But in Thunder Point, you find bravery where you least expect it...and sometimes, you find a hero.