The Wanderer

February 11, 2013
Carr takes a detour from her bestselling Virgin River books with this solid contemporary series start. Henry “Coop” Cooper Jr. heads from Virgin River, Calif., to the tiny Oregon hamlet of Thunder Point after learning his longtime Army buddy has died and bequeathed him something. What he didn’t expect: that the “something” would be over 200 acres of waterfront land, a beaten-down bar, and the fate of a small town. He also doesn’t expect to find love with Coast Guard pilot Sarah Dupre, who landed in town a year earlier with the teen brother she’s raising. While Coop isn’t one for settling down, something about Sarah draws him in. Sarah’s also cautious and not looking to get involved, but readers will cheer her on as she tentatively explores the possibility of a future with Coop. Carr neatly weaves in the lives of other town residents, laying the groundwork for future books. Agent: Liza Dawson, Liza Dawson Associates.

Starred review from April 15, 2013

Seriously concerned to discover that an old army buddy he hadn't seen in years has been killed, helicopter pilot Hank Cooper takes his truck and toy hauler and heads for the rugged Oregon coast and the tiny town of Thunder Point, where he learns that he's inherited his friend's property. Suddenly, footloose Coop has some major decisions to make while taking into consideration a town full of people he's beginning to care about, a teenage football player who's being relentlessly bullied, and drop-dead gorgeous Sarah Dupre, a helicopter search-and-rescue pilot. VERDICT As she did with Virgin River, Carr has once again created a town anyone would like to move to, and while readers will love to hate some of its inhabitants, there are many more they'll come to adore. Funny, touching, and gently suspenseful, this beautifully descriptive story gets Carr's latest series off to a wonderful start; the next two installments will be released this year (The Newcomer in July and The Hero in September). Carr (My Kind of Christmas) lives in Las Vegas. [See also Editors' Spring Picks, LJ 2/15/13, p. 35.]

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2013
The first book in Carr's new Thunder Point series brings with it all the attributes that made her Virgin River series resonate with readers. It features a quietly heroic military veteran, an independent young woman, a talented but troubled teen, and a community of genuinely nice folks with a few bad apples. Thunder Point, on Oregon's rocky coast, has its charms, but Hank Cooper just wants to find out how his old friend Ben Bailey died and then get out of town. That is, until he learns that he's inherited Ben's bait shop basically a rundown baralong with a good stretch of undeveloped waterfront property that is not in any shape to be sold; additionally, Hank doesn't really believe that Ben's death was accidental. When Landon Dupre, high-school quarterback and new kid in town, is bullied on Ben's beach, Hank steps in and meets his sister, Sarah, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot. Carr has created another community where readers will want to spend time getting to know its inhabitants.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)