Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh Published by Berkley on December 3, 2019
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors; the children, more than schoolmates.
That is until one fateful summer—and several vanished bodies—shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever.
Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape.
It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.
My experience with this author has normally been paranormal romance but I enjoyed her work. A Madness of Sunshine is a mystery / thriller, with a bit of romance. The setting is a small town in New Zealand where Ana comes back to town after 8 years as things happen to reveal secrets old and new.
The layers of story kept it interesting. Ana is a widow who has had some difficulties in her past. She is still coming to terms with the loss of her husband in some ways. I wish there was a little more to understand what happened to her around some of the events in her past.
Will is the town cop, a detective, banished from a city after a tragic case. He does a great job looking after the townspeople and shutting down trouble before it can start. When a beautiful young woman goes missing, he starts a search and investigation right away. I enjoy watching him do his police work. He is an outsider, new to town. Ana is surprising to him and although she has been gone, she knows these people. She helps him.
There were some twists but the bad guys showed themselves at times. Psychopaths are also narcissists. They think they are most important and should just always have their way. A murder investigation clearly points out that many men are assholes; there are too many possible suspects. That makes the good guys all the dearer.
About Nalini Singh
I’ve been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There’s no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I’ve worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer’s mill.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Releases
I loved this first thriller she did, too. Hope she does more in the New Zealand or Asian settings.
I really liked it. It shows just a bit of that area’s culture too which is interesting. I really liked the main characters as people too.
I am not reading this one, as I’m not a big thriller fan, but I’m so excited she’s doing this. I do love Nalini! Thanks Anne.
Thank you. I think it might be a bit more like a police procedural than a thriller, more suspense. But there are a couple scary moments of action. I love this sort of thing. I have only read a bit of her pnr / fantasy books and want to read more of her work.
I’m excited to see what her work looks like outside of the paranormal sphere.
I really liked this one.
I like her writing so I’m happy to see her stretch to other genres that I love. Excellent review, Anne?
Thank you! I really enjoyed this one.
I’m curious about this one. It’s a genre I really enjoy and sounds good.
It’s not the typical genre for this author but I really enjoyed it! I hope she does more.
I have been pretty tempted by this one. I am thrilled to see that you enjoyed it, Anne. I will have to add it to my list!
The mystery thriller sort of book is probably my favorite along with UF that has a kickass heroine. This one had the added interest of being set in New Zealand which was a bit different and fun, and the romance was more in the background, a part of daily life not a separate story.
I’m just starting this one, Anne, and you definitely have me looking forward to getting into it further. Beautiful review!
I really loved this, although it is different from this author. It’s in a favorite genre for me. I hope you really enjoy it too.