Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble, performed by Devon O'Day
This novel is part of a series of novels set at the fictional town of Hope Beach, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the book opens, Amy Lange, a midwife, is returning to the cottage she owns at Hope Beach, the Rosemary Cottage in the book's title. She is still mourning her older brother Ben, who co-owned the cottage with her, and who disappeared months ago while surfing in heavy seas. His body wasn't found, but his surfboard was found with the marks of shark teeth. She recently received an email leading her to believe that Ben's death was not as everyone believes, and that it may have been murder. Coast Guard officer Curtis Ireland lost his sister Gina around the same time as Ben died. She was killed by a boat while swimming offshore, but the boat was never identified. Curtis is raising her daughter Raine, and he hasn't told Ben's family that Raine was Ben's daughter.
As Amy finds out the truth about Raine, finds herself becoming drawn to Curtis, and starts becoming comfortable in the town again, she decides to stay permanently, addressing the need for someone with her skills in the community. She and Curtis begin working together to look into Ben's death, and soon they also believe Gina's death may be related. But do their actions put them in danger as well, and is another threat looming that could take Raine away from both of them?
This book has romance, danger, a strong faith by both main characters, and through Amy, a leaning toward natural healing methods.
A short commentary at the end of the book gave background on how her interests contributed toward the inclusion of some plot elements, and gave me information on the unusual pronunciation of the author's first name as ko-lean.
