When Mountains Fall Woman at the Helm Mystery
Cozy Mystery, Romance, Suspense
Rawhide Press
September 11, 2019
479
Running a marina in isolated Waka Bay, British Columbia was her husband's dream, not hers. But now he's dead and a prime suspect in a murder. Shattered by grief, Camryn Hudson must return to the bay to exonerate her husband, protect her seven year-old son, and save a failing business. Loner Finn Weber's mission seems equally impossible. He left a top job in Seattle to work in tiny Port McNeill. Fulfilling a bargain with his ailing mother, he must sail to Waka Bay every weekend. He never imagined the danger of cruising into Camryn's heart while withholding a family secret. A killer roams the land and vultures demand possession of the marina. Can Camryn solve a crime and survive in Waka Bay?
Available at Amazon.
Reviewed by Sherry Perkins
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
“He walked close to her, too close. The man broke every private space rule there was.”— When Mountains Fall
Rolynn Anderson describes her stories as makeover suspense or transformative challenges. I can see why. Her characters are in the midst of crisis. Their subsequent actions determine how successful they are or whether they are able to sustain that adaptive response. Because through trial or tribulation, we are all forged.
“When Mountains Fall” starts with a Biblical reference, one appropriate for the ordeal the main character is about to navigate. There’s also a map. Whenever a map is included with the story, you know a literal or figurative journey is about to ensue.
Camryn Hudson, the main character, is a strong and resourceful woman. She’s just lost her husband, Dennis, and is left to raise their son. But she is also forced to clear her husband’s good name. Dennis has posthumously been considered the main suspect in a grisly murder, and Camryn is unjustly implicated in providing a false alibi for him.
It’s hard to tell which is worse—the following murder investigation by the Mounties or the reactionary response from her meddling in-laws. However, Camryn is going to see this thing through to the bitter end, if it doesn’t destroy her and her son first. Thankfully there are a cast of supporting characters along the way.
There’s a little native mysticism, a nice nod to a character in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (my favorite book, ever!), a lot of self-determination and inner strength, and a handsome neighbor—this is a romance, after all. But the environmental surroundings could also be considered supporting characters since they play prominently into proving how strong a woman Camryn is.
I liked this book. It could be a bit detail oriented at times but ultimately that underscored how thorough and logical the main character is. Anderson has a wonderful acknowledgement in this book and her others. It’s well worth reading to understand who she is herself and how that is part and parcel of the stories too.
A four-star cozy mystery about the transformative strength of love even after a tragic death, a threat to family integrity and false criminal accusations.