Moon Over Water (original 1998; edition 2009)

Moon Over Water by Debbie Macomber
Lorraine Dempsey had just buried her mother, Jenny and her fiancee wanted her to spend the night at his place.
She and her mother had discussed wedding plans. She just wanted some space.
Her father's letter from her mother's lawyer she reads and finds out her father, Thomas is still alive, and not dead at all and his location.
The story also follows Thomas and his love for Jenny and holding his daughter before he headed off to the war.
He's in Mexico now and has many nightmares and is married to a woman his daughter's age and she is due to deliver soon..
Jack Keller is an ex-mercenary and he's saved much of the money he had earned over the years.
She makes it to Mexico and then everything goes south. Even the backup plans and the other backup plans. She's in trouble with the law as she meets her father.
Her father's friend, Jack Keller is there to aid him and get her back to the US. It's quite the journey and hours spent with one another.
Action, adventure, uncovered treasure, romance and travel make this a really good read. ( )

I don't usually read romance novels, but I downloaded this one on a whim before a trip to Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula since I like to read books set where I travel. I should have known better. The book could have been a lot shorter if the characters didn't intentionally lie to each other. For their own good, of course.

I have to wonder if the author has ever traveled in this part of Mexico. I've been to Mérida a couple of times and it doesn't look anything like the author's description. (My first visit was 8 to 9 years after the book's time setting, but I don't think it could have changed so drastically between 1998 or 1999 and 2007.)

With billowing exhaust and much grinding of gears, the bus finally pulled into the station. Jason had been right to warn her about its likely condition. The rattletrap of a vehicle looked as if it'd been on the road since the Second World War. Its color was no longer distinguishable and half the windows were missing...

The bus was one thing, her fellow travelers another. The minute the bus rolled into the yard, people appeared from every direction. Adults and children and caged chickens. One man was hefting a pig under his arm.

I've ridden both city buses and intercity buses in Mérida and none of them looked anything like the author describes, nor does the bus station look like the dilapidated structure Macomber describes. Mérida is a modern and attractive city.

Lorraine, the book's protagonist, needs a new map. Her map “showed that El Mirador was about seventy-five miles north of Mérida”. I spent last Christmas near Progreso, almost exactly 23 miles due north of Mérida. Go any farther north and you'll be in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

Fans of Christian fiction might be interested to learn that this book is dedicated to Liz Curtis Higgs, a popular Christian speaker and author of Christian fiction. This might lead some readers to infer that this is a Christian romance novel. It isn't. Although the main character does attend church, the book includes sexual content that would not be found in Christian fiction. ( )

Having read several Macomber books before I was a bit disappointed in this one, as it was a lot closer to a standard "Mills and Boon" job. Girl goes on journey, falls into arms of "rescuer", mutual dislike turns to mutual attraction, major falling out, come back together in the end..

This book was different from most Macomber books that I have read. I found it interesting with a touch of mystery. It revealed a lot about Mexico and its people. Personal relationships had to be resolved - Mother/Daughter, Father/Daughter, and, of course, a love life. She handled them all rather well. ( )