In the final book of the Harbor Intrigue Series, Lyn Cote takes all the parts familiar to readers of the series and steps up the romance element. The suspense element grabs you from the first chapter if not the first page. Sylvie Patterson wants to know the truth about the death of her cousin Ginger. Ridge is on loan to Winfield's police department and stuck right in the middle of the developing intrigue. When the string of break-ins continues, following the trail might become dangerous for body and heart. Side by side, Sylvie and Ridge seem to find the other uncovering their secrets too.

Lyn Cote cites scriptural references in Matthew and I Timothy to ground her inspirational romantic suspense work in scripture. As the author develops the theme of money and treasure alongside the suspects, she looks outward at the community as well as inside the person. Can the environmental movement, meant to protect God's creation from the greed of money, have a dark underside? Can lotteries, often founded to fund noble purposes, create an underside in a community? Can the medicine, a profession that helps the community, become tainted when greed creates a structure that denies insurance and medical care to parts of the community? How does a person of faith respond as an individual and a community member? Some of these threads are less developed than others as the hunt for suspects narrows but their presence may lead to good book club discussions.

Dangerous Secrets shines in its characterization of Sylvie and Ridge. Their romance brought each to new understandings of themselves and to depth of faith. The secondary plots and characters provided an intriguing inspirational development that added to the whole series by expanding the inspirational aspect outwards towards the community. It felt like the ripples spreading outwards on a water surface. This technique makes the suspense, the romance, the setting and the inspirational elements intriguing and a good choice for book club reading. Lyn Cote takes some of the dark undertones in a community and brings them to light in her writing and as inspirational meditations. Dangerous Secrets is a thoroughly enjoyable light romantic suspense read set within a Christian community but it can also be a great book club choice because the series introduces nuances, sometimes without providing preset answers, that can provoke group discussion grounded in and extending beyond the inspirational romance and to an audience that might include those of a mature faith.

Publisher: Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense (July 2007)
Series: Harbor Intrigue