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Mainstream Fiction |
SHATTERED ILLUSIONS Candice Poarch BET/Arabesque November 2000 (4) Nathasha Brooks-Harris |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW: |
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Delcia
Adams is an attractive widow who’s committed to making her business prosper.
She’s now living her dream of owning a campground on her family’s land.
She’s a single mother of a beautiful baby girl and she’s equally committed
to giving her the best upbringing possible. After a reasonable grieving period,
Delcia begins to pay attention to her social life and finds love with Richard
Connally. Like her husband, Bruce, Richard ends up dead. Carter
Matthews is a fine retired Navy Seal who ventures to Delcia’s campground.
He’s there for a two-fold purpose: for a much-needed vacation and to find his
foster brother’s murderer. He has followed the clues and they all lead him to
the Coree Island campground. Carter thinks that somewhere in that area he’ll
find the missing piece of
the puzzle and finally have the closure he so desperately needs. Fate
steps in and throws a wicked curveball that directly impacts his plans. He never
dreams that he’ll meet a gorgeous woman with a wonderful baby girl and he’ll
wind up falling in love with both of them. The proverbial sparks fly and they
become a couple. Carter is not at all thrilled to fall in love because his Seal
training reminds him to keep his mind on the mission at hand. Love will only
complicate things and he has set a definite timeline to find the killer before
he or she strikes again. Shattered
Illusions is a book that’s replete with suspense and intrigue.
Readers must pay attention to all of the clues given along the way as they will
come in handy later. There are many red herrings strategically dropped at the
right places within the novel that lead readers off track. But keep on reading
to the end and you’ll understand what Poarch was trying to convey and why. This
is an excellent book that has a good, old-fashioned romance happening, but also
an interesting suspense that is sure to keep readers riveted to their seats
until they figure out who dunnit. There’s plenty of conflict and drama
embedded in the plot and readers won’t want for anything more other than to
quickly finish the book (and see if they can solve the mystery of Richard’s
murder). Shattered
Illusions is a wonderfully layered story with deeply emotional
characters who speak to the
mind and the heart. The three-dimensional characters imbue the overall
plot with reality and a sense of familial devotion which is nice to see in a
world that’s quickly becoming anti-family and more self-centered than ever
before. It’s also great to read about the sights and sounds of
North Carolina’s Coree Island as opposed to some of the East and West
Coast settings that have become trite and mundane. However, please don’t read
this book on an empty stomach because Poarch wrote in some mouth-watering
Southern meals that will take readers back down home and guaranteed, you’ll be
tempted to put the book down and cook something similar! If you’re looking for a good read and a story that will entertain you, pick up a copy of Shattered Illusions. It’s a little sweet when it comes to the love scenes, but is still worth reading. Poarch gives enough information that readers won’t have any trouble reading between the lines. One thing’s or sure, Shattered Illusions is a page-turner. |
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nathasha@romanceincolor.net (5th December 2000) |
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