A truly magnificent read. I was swept away by the setting and the characters. I really liked the plot of the story and the surprise ending! I literally couldn't put this book down! ( )

Title: Darkwater Secrets (Darkwater Inn #1)
Author: Robin Caroll
Pages: 272
Year: 2018
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.
Adelaide Fountaine is the general manager of an old, but beautiful and classy hotel. A pharmaceutical company is having a several-day meeting with their sales force at the hotel. A guest misses check-out time, won’t answer the room telephone or knocking on the door, so the door is forced open and a grisly discovery is made. The guest in room 219 has been murdered. Adelaide’s childhood friend, Beau Savoie is called to the scene as he is a homicide detective. As Beau investigates, Adelaide hopes he won’t discover information she has about the victim.
Beau Savoie has been in love with Adelaide for years but has kept his feelings to himself. He now will be in close proximity to Adelaide as he investigates the murder. Ever since she came back to New Orleans after college, she has seemed more distant. Would she even think of him in a romantic way? He wonders if there is anything going on between her and Dmitri, the hotel owner’s son, who is being groomed to take over as CEO of the hotel. As Beau questions those in the hotel at the time of the murder and looks into the victim’s life, he learns his victim is far from innocent.
This was an average mystery for me. The faith element in the story is there, but not in-your-face. Rape is part of the story, so that may preclude some from reading the story. Voodoo is also a dark part of the story, not the main element, but it is present. The romantic angle was so-so but seemed to drag a bit. The story could have used a little more action in my opinion. I thought the way the murderer was treated seemed almost like he was a hero, minimizing the fact that he killed someone in vigilante style justice. I am unsure if I will continue with the series or not. ( )

Excellent suspense book handling a very dark topic. Robin Caroll crafts her characters with excellent emotional appeal and entangles a very intricate web of secrets. Recommended for lovers of romantic suspense and mystery. ( )

Take a trip to New Orleans in Robin Caroll’s Darkwater Secrets! With a historic inn, a murder, a whole lot of secrets, and three main characters to tell it all, it’s an intriguing read from beginning to end. I quite enjoyed seeing all the pieces of the mystery slowly and cleverly come together for the grand and satisfying revelation—it did happen earlier than expected though, a quarter of the book left to read, and thus, felt slightly anticlimactic—and Adelaide, Beau, and Dimitri proved to be wonderful characters with great development, despite their romantic complications—I hope to see the three of them again soon in a second book. I had fun reading Darkwater Secrets, so if you like mystery and suspense, I’m sure you will, too.

Thanks to JustRead Tours, I received a complimentary copy of Darkwater Secrets and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

New Orleans is one of my favorite cities to visit. Nothing beats the sultry atmosphere of the city that has seen its share of colorful citizens, historic events, and renewed hope after tragedy. Robin Caroll has set her newest series right in the heart of the French Quarter, and the first book, Darkwater Secrets, captures all the sights, smells, and tastes of New Orleans. The novel is a wonderful combo of mystery and suspense, romance and drama as good as a seafood gumbo. I give this book a recommended rating.

While the setting is so very satisfying — carnival season with scenes at the St. Louis cemetery, Cafe du Monde, and St. Louis Cathedral — I really, really liked the characters. At the center of the novel is Adelaide Fountaine, general manager of the historic (but fictional) Darkwater Inn. She along with junior hotel owner Dimitri Pampalon and Detective Beau Savoie fuel the story. Along with a murder, there are secrets galore — everyone seems to be hiding something. Add to the mix some voodoo and real life struggles, and you have an intriguing plot. The novel has a definite Christian worldview, yet only one character really lives out his faith. I found this very realistic. Within the faith thread is the complex issues of justice and revenge. At the heart is the question of whether real justice can be achieved and whether people can take that into their own hands when the system fails. I thought the author handled the argument expertly. The story certainly made me think.

Darkwater Secrets was a page turner. Don’t be surprised if you look at the clock to discover you’ve stayed up way too late! 😉 I think for those groups who enjoy intrigue and mystery, it is an excellent choice for a book club. Twisting and turning with plenty to discuss. The mystery is solved at the end of the novel, but there is plenty more to come. I am eagerly awaiting book 2. And for those of you who find themselves wishing for some of Dimitri’s delicious dishes, there is Recipes from The Darkwater Inn — free for Kindle. Yum!

Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Gilead Publishing and JustRead Book Tours for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )