Give me a book with a picture of the sea and a lighthouse on the cover and I feel I can't go wrong. But, alas, Harbour Falls fell short for me. Maddy is an author, an accomplished fiction mystery author. Having left Harbour Falls some years ago, she now calls Los Angeles home. Four years ago there was a much publicized scandal in her home town. A local girl engaged to a local wealthy business owner on the island goes missing the day before their wedding. Rumor has it there was friction and deadly riptides flowing between groom and bride. Maddy returns home for a short 3-month visit in hopes to write her first true mystery story and has high hopes of trying to solve all the unanswered questions. Under the guise that she has returned for a short visit in hopes to overcome writer's block, caution and discretion are the tools she must employ to put her sleuth skills to good use. But sometimes when you go looking for trouble -- you find it.

My first problem with the story came when it seemed within 24 hours of arriving on the island, she immediately begins having feelings for the groom who was left without a bride -- who just happens to be a guy Maddy knew from her high school days and always had a crush on. The relationship that blossomed rather abruptly between the two just seemed a bit contrived to me. It moved faster than a sports car on the Autobahn. Within days the author had the main character thinking she was in love with him and then 2 minutes later was doubting his innocence and honesty. The story played out like a soap opera cat and mouse game and I got the sense that Maddy's character lacked character.

The circumstances around the mystery were interesting and had some validity but got lost in the sexual teasing and on again, off again trust issues. The clincher came when I was on the last chapter of the book and realized that the author opened up new questions and new mysteries only to tell you the answers could be expected in the next book. What? Really? I don't do series books and am not going to "fall" for another episode of Harbour Falls or its inhabitants.