The Edge of Too Late: Harbor Pointe Series Book 5

Brandon has everything he could want – except the hand of the woman he loves. Angela doesn’t deny her feelings for Brandon, but a previous bad experience with marriage has left her leery of another commitment. But Brandon is nothing if not persistent, and he invites Angela to come away for a weekend at the atmospheric Harbor Pointe Inn intent on persuading her to say yes.

Jan Sikes packs quite a wallop into a short novella! She doesn’t need 300 pages to give us well-written characters and a compelling story. Brandon could be the quintessential entitled rich guy, thinking Angela should jump at the chance to be with him. But Sikes writes him in such a way that you can tell he genuinely cares about Angela. I get the feeling that if she chooses to tell him no, he won’t give up on her, but he won’t act like a spoiled brat about it, either. Angela looks forward to spending time with Brandon, but she’s also excited about the weekend because she’ll have the chance to both practice her photography and do a little ghost hunting. She’s sensitive to the world around her, empathic to people’s feelings, and as with Brandon, you can tell she cares about him very much – even if she doesn’t think she’s quite ready to jump into marriage again. I really cared about what happened to them, about where their story went, because Sikes wrote them in such a likable way.

The atmosphere at the inn is both romantic and creepy. The cover portrays it wonderfully, and Sikes creates the setting that you’d expect from an inn on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The innkeeper is courteous, sure, but you get the distinct feeling he’s not being forthright. He seems to be dodging the question of what happened to bring first responders out just as Brandon and Angela are checking in. His answer about an unfortunate accident doesn’t ring true, and you wonder along with our main characters what he might be hiding. A walk in the forest sounds peaceful, but even as Brandon and Angela are enjoying each other’s company, I found myself waiting tensely, peeking over my figurative shoulder, waiting to see what evil lurked among the trees. Suspense simmered just beneath the idyllic surface of the inn and its surroundings, and it was fantastic.

The story intensifies slowly at first, but when the penny drops, it drops quickly. The resolution of the mystery wasn’t as much of a surprise as it could have been, given the actions of some of the characters in the book. But there was still the tension of seeing how everything would play out, and whether Brandon and Angela would get a happy ending.

This was the first of Sikes’ books that I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be the last. She had me flipping those electronic pages as fast as I could to see what happened next! I strongly recommend her book for readers who like a little mystery and a touch of the paranormal with their romance.