*****5 stars
If you like books about hidden treasure and pirates, you’ll enjoy this one. It takes place in a small town of Eden on the outer banks of North Carolina as residents prepare for a Blackbeard festival. Eva Knightly moved to Eden five years ago and has since been working as the staff historian at the historical society. Involved in the upcoming festival, she is sidetracked when she learns a body was found of a woman named Gabby who cleaned the home of the police chief’s grandmother. Years ago, the police chief, William, had lost his wife, Catherine, when she fell into a sand hole on the beach and was covered by the sand. William hasn’t gotten over the death or his guilt, even though they’d been separated when the accident happened and that Catherine had been having an affair with an unknown man.
When it’s discovered that a strange gold coin was found on Gabby and had also been found on Catherine but never reported, Eva finds herself involved in helping William solve what begins to look like two murders. Catherine was a friend of Eva’s, despite the fact Eva had a crush on William during their marriage but never acted on it.
Why were the coins found on the two dead women, and were their deaths murder? What’s the connection between them and is the local pastor involved when he turns in two duplicate coins that he claims were left in the collection plate, or is someone else responsible? Who was Catherine seeing, and will Eva and William solve her murder and that of Gabby? Will that eventually get together? These questions and others are answered in this readable book that also includes letters written by an anonymous woman at the time of Blackbeard. While the author fictionalizes some of the information about the pirate, she also includes researched facts. I enjoyed the story and the conclusion of the mystery.
The Seafarer’s Secret
by Carol Ann Collins
About The Seafarer’s Secret
The Seafarer’s Secret
Cozy Mystery
Setting – North Carolina
Publisher : Beaufort Books (March 26, 2024)
Paperback : 310 pages
ISBN-10 : 0825310288
ISBN-13 : 978-0825310287
Digital ASIN : B0BZBCSG86
Secrets are revealed. Lies are exposed. And in order to have a future, William and Eva will have to delve into the past.
William Templeton, widower and police chief of Eden, North Carolina is working the scene of a local woman’s drowning when the body is found with an old gold coin in her pocket – identical to a coin that was discovered on Catherine’s body, his estranged wife, over a year ago. Catherine’s case, originally deemed a tragic accident, has been reopened, forcing William to step down as police chief.
Historian and Blackbeard expert, Eva Knightly, is brought into the investigation to help identify the coins and can’t understand why her good friend Catherine never mentioned anything about it. When more coins surface at a local church, Eva and William know it’s more than mere coincidence. With the entire town whispering about Blackbeard, cursed coins, and lost treasure, it becomes hard to separate what is true and what is a myth.
The Seafarer’s Secret is a thrilling cinematic mystery featuring the exigent slow-burning romance between William and Eva as they work together to reveal the secrets and lies of Eden, North Carolina. Though, in order to have a future, they’ll have to look deep into the past to keep from being a modern-day killer’s next victim.
About Carol Ann Collins
Writing allows Carol Ann Collins to combine two of her favorite things, history and romance. Her work is a combination of historical fact, pure fiction, and a vivid imagination. Though she is an introvert who had no problem staying inside during quarantine, she enjoys traveling with her husband and two adult children. In her spare time, she is an avid book collector and bargain shopper who loves to combine the two. To date, her favorite find is an 1869 edition of Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain purchased for $10.
Author Links
Website: https://www.carolanncollins.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcarolanncollins/
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23031966.Carol_Ann_Collins
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Bookshop.org – Kobo
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Ruff Drafts 
Thank you so much for hosting me and SEAFARER! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it!
Carol Ann Collins
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My pleasure. It’s a great book. Best wishes with it.
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