Catherine Coulter The Cove Review

Overall Rating

The Cove
Catherine Coulter
Putnam, Nov 2003, $19.95, 327 pp.
ISBN: 0399150862

Whatever Sally St. John Brainerd knows about her arms dealer father's murder, she obviously trusts no one including the FBI. Instead of turning to the authorities to tell them what she knows about Amory St. John's murder, Sally flees to her aunt's remote home in THE COVE, Oregon.

FBI Agent James Quinlan tracks Sally to the picturesque coastal town, but does not attempt to bring her in. Instead he goes undercover as a private sleuth trying to solve a three year old missing persons' case. Two elderly people vanished at The Cove. The quaint town that boasts of the best ice cream in the world is not quite as tranquil as it first appears. Soon homicides occur and Sally vanishes. With the help of his partner Dillon Savich, James must rescue her from a place that no one has ever returned alive before.

THE COVE is a reprint of the first of Catherine Coulter's popular FBI police procedural tales. The story line is action packed with the suspense growing by the page. The description of the seemingly benevolent sleepy town is cleverly intertwined into the prime plot. Though some of the key players seem two-dimensional, fans of the author and those who appreciate a fast moving suspense thriller will take delight with the novel in which this popular romance writer made a sharp right turn.

Harriet Klausner