Title: Dangerous Waters
Author: Anne Allen
Publisher: Matador
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Jeanne’s happy teenage years are disrupted by her parents deaths in a boating accident. Her memory of the accident is lost and she flees Guernsey to live with her mother’s sister in England. Many years later she returns after the death of her grandmother, who has left her the cottage that has been in the family for generations.
The months following her grandmother’s death bring a break up of her relationship resulting in a tragic aftermath and she flees to Guernsey to find solace and sort out her future. Fear of the past makes her wonder if she’s made the right move. A clear out of the attic reveals secrets of her grandmother’s past and gives Jeanne a new aim in life.
I’ve never been to the Channel Islands but this book made me long to see the places mentioned. The author has a good geographical knowledge of Guernsey, or she has done her research extremely well. I enjoyed the pace of the story, at times slow to match the lazy summer days, at other times racing to keep pace with the mystery and intrigue hidden below the main plot.
The romance of the story runs alongside the thrill of danger providing a nice foil to the tension created by the past. This book reminded me of romance books of a few decades ago, but with that little bit extra. Well worth the read and congratulations to Anne Allen for a well crafted novel.
