Haven of Swans
A beautiful woman stands by the side of the road, barefoot and bleeding, a child in her arms. Someone just tried to kill her, but she wouldn't recognize him if she saw his face. She doesn't even remember her own name.
A suburban cop surveys a kitchen in disarray—a woman and child missing, a chilling note. This crime scene is unlike any he has ever seen.
The man who calls himself Gideon waits and plans. He sees himself as a destroyer of evil, one who rids the world of abominations. He has already killed five. He will kill again.
And somewhere in the wilderness, in a secret geocache near where the wild swans gather, lies the unspeakable clue that links them all together.
Michigan's rugged and beautiful Upper Peninsula is the setting for this absorbing tale of love and loss, beauty and terror, grievous sins and second chances. A deftly woven thriller from the bestselling author of the Rock Harbor novels.
Previously published as Abomination.
This was previously published as Abomination but this version has a title and cover art that is more in line with the other books in the Rock Harbor series than the original release.
Like her other books in the series you don’t necessarily have to read them all in order and they would work well as standalones except for the parts about her personal life. Each book is essentially its own contained mystery. Colleen Coble writes excellent suspense thrillers that build with the right momentum.
This was a good story that will keep you guessing until the big reveal. I hope you have a strong stomach because Coble doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the gruesome details. There’s plenty of adventure to go along with the intriguing mysterious element along with the right bit of lightheartedness which you’ll need to get over the missing body parts.
Her characters are mostly well written, you’ll end up caring about the good ones and hoping the bad ones take a long walk off a short cliff. The only character issue I had was with her law enforcement, they didn’t feel entirely realistic nor how the crime was handled. It wasn’t terrible, it just felt a little lackadaisical. But her serial killer more than made up in the department of excellent and interesting characters.
Coble has long established herself in the Christian Fiction market as being a Queen of Romantic Suspense. This one is heavier on the suspense and light on the romance but all she’s done is proven she has a wider range of talent than previously shown.
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com