4 Smooches!
Synopsis
Hattie C. Cooper presents the first novel in the thrilling new trilogy of Sawmill Cove, Idaho.
A musician touring the world, Jay Jeffries left Sawmill Cove long ago to escape painful shadows from his past. But when his brother and sister-in-law are mysteriously murdered, Jay must return home to become the guardian of the only witness: Jay’s four-year-old niece, Penny, who has not spoken a word since the eve of the murder. Though the murder remains unsolved, and mysterious events continue to occur throughout the town, Jay’s primary focus remains protecting Penny.
Ultimately it may take Ryan Hart, a Forensic Artist who is as strong as she is beautiful, to help Jay and Penny come together. Ryan travels the country helping young witnesses like Penny Jeffries heal, but this case is different. For one, her new guardian Jay doesn’t want Ryan anywhere near Penny. And second, the case mirrors her own childhood in an eerily similar manner.
Now, Jay, Ryan, and Penny must all face the dark memories of their past while also accepting their unforeseen futures. Like the lake sitting still and silent amidst Sawmill Cove, the stories at its heart contain incalculable depths.
Review
Silent Memories begins with musician Jay Jeffries returning home to take care of his young niece after a senseless tragedy leaves her orphaned and unable to speak. It’s back in Sawmill cove where he meets composite sketch artist Ryan Hart who is assigned to help crack their case.
This was a difficult one for me to rate. On the surface it had every element you could wish for in a tragic romance, a great cast of characters, a horrible double murder, a tragic little girl caught in the crossfire of it all and a fragile love story teeming with hope and sweetness but once you get past all of that there was just something missing and I think it stems from the very little use of dialogue. We’re told everything but never really shown it. In saying that it was still a very enjoyable read with a writing style very reminiscent of Mia Sheridan or L.B Dunbar, it flows like poetry with Hattie’s descriptive writing bringing the scent of pine needles or the last rays of a sunset to life and in the next line being able to demonstrate the emotional upheaval that Jay, Penny and Ryan are struggling through.
‘Jay swung around, his face ready for a fight. she noted the immediate wave of surprise when he saw her, but the expression was quickly replaced by fury. He straightened and stared her down like a grizzly ready to attack. “You’re Ryan Hart?”
“Yes, I am,” she said as she walked forward and held out her hand. “And I guessing you are Mr. Jay Jeffries?” Jay didn’t take his eyes off hers and proceeded to ignore her hand. “You stay away from Penny.” He took a step forward and Ryan noted the stormy gray tone of his eyes. He pointed a finger in her face. “I’m warning you.”
The predictability factor of who the murderer was and all the events leading up to the finale of the story didn’t detract from the enjoyment of actually getting there. I loved trying to decipher the small clues and trying to piece all the past incidents in my head to get a whole picture but again the only thing I feel that let the book down was the lack of characterisation and interaction between Jay and Ryan. One moment they’re enemies and the next they’re falling for each other with very little to bridge the two together apart from an aesthetic attraction. I need my characters to show me how deep or damaged they are, I want them to demonstrate how much they need each other, how they got to that point and to do that they need to hash things out and talk. A lot. What I don’t like is to be told by the author.
The plot for Silent Memories was clearly well thought out and I can detect an awful lot of potential for Hattie, she’s poetic when describing scenery or scents and sounds going on in the peripheral of the story but I do feel like she needs to let her characters talk more and not smother what is a tremendous tale with too much descriptive talk. It was a beautiful emotional story with great connecting events but maybe too many loose ends left hanging in the wind for me after a rather abrupt ending. I do like my epilogues and I feel that it would have been very beneficial here unless the next Sawmill cove book centers around Jay and Ryan again.
~Nicole
