Cape Refuge

March 25, 2002
Although Blackstock, a former bestselling romance author in the general market, is now well-known in the CBA for her writing partnership with Beverly LaHaye, her most successful books belong to the inspirational suspense genre, and this novel is no exception. On a small barrier island east of Savannah, Ga., lies Cape Refuge, the site of Hanover House, a halfway home for ex-cons and derelicts run by the island's most beloved no-nonsense Christian couple, Thelma and Wayne Owens. But when the Owenses are found spear-gunned through their throats in their warehouse church, the island and its inhabitants get turned upside-down. The Owens's daughter Morgan's husband, Jonathan, is charged with the murder, but former drug addict Gus Hampton and Hanover House resident Richard Dugan also fall under suspicion. As the Owenses' other daughter, Blair—who has spent a lifetime rejecting faith and love because of facial scars from the mysterious burns she suffered as a young child—examines her parents' papers, she discovers that Thelma and Wayne had a very shady past. Also drawn into the web of intrigue is a homeless teenager who comes to Hanover House seeking shelter from an abusive family. The pacing is a bit slow at the start, but good writing, well-honed descriptive details, compelling characters and a conclusion that doesn't succumb to pat answers keep the pages turning, making this an engaging novel for fans of Christian nail-biters.

April 1, 2002
Cape Refuge is a peaceful island off the coast of Savannah, GA, a place where the weary and the persecuted retreat to find themselves again. Nothing bad happens here until Wade and Thelma Owens are murdered. Prior to their deaths, the couple had been under pressure from the town council to shut down Hanover House, their bed-and-breakfast for lost souls, because some of their clients had criminal records. And Jonathan Cleary, the couple's son-in-law, had wanted to move his wife, Morgan, out of the house, fearing for her safety. Blair Owens, the second daughter, had moved out years ago and become the town librarian, seeking refuge in books from scars incurred during a fire. When motive and means point to Jonathan, the sisters band together to find the true killer. As Morgan takes over running Hanover House, her example reawakens Blair's interest in God even as they discover that their perfect parents were keeping secrets that may have killed them and endangered everyone at Hanover House. Because of her strong and lengthy publishing history, Blackstock (Emerald Windows) belongs in library collections as a standard purchase; this first book in an new series is an excellent starting point.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2002
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24 Blackstock's \plain\f3\fs24" Cape Refuge\plain\f3\fs24, the first entry in a series with the same title, begins with the murder of Thelma and Wayne Owens, who ran a Christian halfway house on an island off the coast of Georgia. Circumstantial evidence forces Sheriff Matt Cade to arrest the hotheaded husband of one of the murdered couple's two daughters. Readers will know he's innocent, but Blackstock capably camouflages the real culprit. She also turns in a winning portrait of a young runaway and of one of the daughters, Blair--an unhappy librarian who refuses to admit to herself that she's in love with the sheriff. A solid, if undistinguished, series opener, and a welcome respite to the soap-and-melodrama of Blackstock's Newpointe 911 series. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)