Now in his fifties, a police officer walks around a summer
resort that is being remodelled, remembering the summer
when he was a maintenance lad and the lady he loved was a
front desk worker. Michigan doesn't just hold memories -
it
holds secrets, and when a backhoe uncovers a skeleton.
RESORTS,
REGRETS AND RETURNING TO LOVE takes a sharp turn into a
murder mystery.
Nathan Boltz, called Chief by one and all, has a quick
stab
at guessing the dead woman's identity - Peggy McBride, who
was a wild child and ran off, her family never hearing
from
her again. Looks like she didn't get far. Emily Sutherland
who was Nate's girlfriend that year, now runs a business
in
another town. If she came back, maybe they could figure
out
what happened together. But some relationships aren't
meant
to be rekindled.
Through flashbacks we experience life at the Pine Place
Inn, when being eighteen didn't mean maturity and college
was on most people's minds. Staff imported for the summer
and the local town kids can be at odds or break hearts
while some of the guests are opportunists. Young Nate and
Emily are convinced that they love each other and begin an
adult relationship so that in present day, Nate knows
Emily's alibi for the night that Peggy disappeared.
Everyone else is suspect, and even though Emily is willing
to help him, their past seems to create barriers between
them.
I found RESORTS, REGRETS, AND RETURNING TO LOVE an
absorbing read and anyone who enjoys cold
case mysteries will have a good time taking in the
atmosphere and personalities as they try to solve the
crime. Danger was present among the resort kids and in
present day someone takes steps to ensure that they will
not be found out - no matter what. The reader keeps
waiting
to see what will happen next as the tension builds in both
eras. Issues addressed include rape and teen pregnancy, so
this is not the cosiest of crime mysteries but there is a
strong
thread of romance and a powerful woman.
Author JL Wilson has written several other books and
clearly enjoys alliteration; as well as RESORTS, REGRETS
AND RETURNING TO LOVE her works include Sun, Surf and
Sandy
Strangulation among others. Try her romantic suspense and
remember what it was like to be young in summer.
Thirty-four years ago, they were each other's first
romance. For three magical months, Nate Boltz and Emily
Sutherland worked together at a Michigan resort and fell
passionately in love. But when the summer ended, Emily
moved back home and their relationship faded.
Now Nate is the town's police chief. When a skeleton is
uncovered at the resort, the bones are identified as a
girl who disappeared right after that tumultuous summer.
Looking for answers, Nate reaches out to the resort's
former staff--including Emily.
Emily never forgot Nate and eagerly joins him as he tries
to untangle old clues and half-forgotten rumors. Working
together again, they rekindle the passion they once knew.
But can they find a way forward from the old memories to
something more permanent?
Or does the murderer have other plans for the reunited
lovers from that magical summer?
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