Product Description

When Thelma and Wayne Owens are found murdered in the warehouse where they held their church services, their son-in-law Jonathan is arrested for the crime--but his wife Morgan and her sister Blair, Thelma and Wayne’s daughters, are confident that he didn’t do it and set out to find the real killer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17965 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780310235927
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Although Blackstock, a former bestselling romance author in the general market, is now well-known in the CBA for her writing partnership with Beverly LaHaye, her most successful books belong to the inspirational suspense genre, and this novel is no exception. On a small barrier island east of Savannah, Ga., lies Cape Refuge, the site of Hanover House, a halfway home for ex-cons and derelicts run by the island's most beloved no-nonsense Christian couple, Thelma and Wayne Owens. But when the Owenses are found spear-gunned through their throats in their warehouse church, the island and its inhabitants get turned upside-down. The Owens's daughter Morgan's husband, Jonathan, is charged with the murder, but former drug addict Gus Hampton and Hanover House resident Richard Dugan also fall under suspicion. As the Owenses' other daughter, Blair who has spent a lifetime rejecting faith and love because of facial scars from the mysterious burns she suffered as a young child examines her parents' papers, she discovers that Thelma and Wayne had a very shady past. Also drawn into the web of intrigue is a homeless teenager who comes to Hanover House seeking shelter from an abusive family. The pacing is a bit slow at the start, but good writing, well-honed descriptive details, compelling characters and a conclusion that doesn't succumb to pat answers keep the pages turning, making this an engaging novel for fans of Christian nail-biters.

From Library Journal
Cape Refuge is a peaceful island off the coast of Savannah, GA, a place where the weary and the persecuted retreat to find themselves again. Nothing bad happens here until Wade and Thelma Owens are murdered. Prior to their deaths, the couple had been under pressure from the town council to shut down Hanover House, their bed-and-breakfast for lost souls, because some of their clients had criminal records. And Jonathan Cleary, the couple's son-in-law, had wanted to move his wife, Morgan, out of the house, fearing for her safety. Blair Owens, the second daughter, had moved out years ago and become the town librarian, seeking refuge in books from scars incurred during a fire. When motive and means point to Jonathan, the sisters band together to find the true killer. As Morgan takes over running Hanover House, her example reawakens Blair's interest in God even as they discover that their perfect parents were keeping secrets that may have killed them and endangered everyone at Hanover House. Because of her strong and lengthy publishing history, Blackstock (Emerald Windows) belongs in library collections as a standard purchase; this first book in an new series is an excellent starting point.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Blackstock's Cape Refuge, the first entry in a series with the same title, begins with the murder of Thelma and Wayne Owens, who ran a Christian halfway house on an island off the coast of Georgia. Circumstantial evidence forces Sheriff Matt Cade to arrest the hotheaded husband of one of the murdered couple's two daughters. Readers will know he's innocent, but Blackstock capably camouflages the real culprit. She also turns in a winning portrait of a young runaway and of one of the daughters, Blair--an unhappy librarian who refuses to admit to herself that she's in love with the sheriff. A solid, if undistinguished, series opener, and a welcome respite to the soap-and-melodrama of Blackstock's Newpointe 911 series. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A Gripping Whodunnit!
Well, after deciding I needed to expand my repertoire of authors that I read, I happened to see Ms. Blackstock on a talk show--and she discussed briefly this new book. I had heard of her previous pseudonyms, used in the secular market, but never read her--they were romance. This book sounded perfect, and I was not disappointed! The characters are well developed, the storyline moves at a good pace, and as the reader approaches the end...you can't wait to find out...whodunnit? And what a twist! I read this over the span of 24 hours--I had to sleep and take care of my little ones, you know--and boy, was it satisfying! And I see it's Book 1 of a new series! Well, now I need to go back and read her Newpointe 911 series, as I wait for the next installment of Cape Refuge! If you like suspense, mystery and a "clean" read, you won't be disappointed with this one!

The Cape Refuge Series
When I find out about a good series, I try to read them in order but it's time consuming to find the order in which they're written. So, I'm going to provide that for anyone else who's interested.
Read the Cape Refuge Series in this order:

Cape Refuge
Southern Storm
Rivers Edge
Breaker's Reef

This is an excellent series of stories following characters you'll soon realize you care deeply about. Truly an enjoyable experience.

a mystery novel or sunday sermon?
For anyone who is a mystery buff, this book is painful. The book begins with the murder of a beloved couple on Cape Refuge. Their distraught daughters are determined to learn the truth about their parents' lives and brutal deaths. Intriguing! But then author looses focus and starts putting her characters in jail so she won't have to weave them into the plot. One of the protagonists spends the whole book behind bars, and he never even consults an attorney. Unbelieveable! A good portion of the story is devoted to the characters' relationship to God, which may please some readers, but in reality, it acts like a filler so the author can keep the readers busy, and hope that they won't notice the glaring lack of a substantive story. I downloaded this authors second book, before I read this one, but will be sending it to kindle heaven unread.