Outer Banks lore and description are nicely woven into this tale of murder. When two Ohio families come to the Outer Banks for a vacation, they find that they haven’t left all their troubles behind.  Byron Butler, father and minister, is still tormented by disturbing dreams, and young Dugan Walton struggles to be understood and accepted.  Dugan is thought to be “the boy who cried wolf” when he claims to have seen a young woman’s body in the weeds.  Byron’s daughter, Chrissy, is a happy young woman of eighteen, but when she starts seeing a street magician she meets on the trip, her father’s unease increases. Bryon comes to believe that God has brought him to Corolla to prevent a killer from murdering another young woman.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: November 6th, 2009 under 2000-, 2007, Coast, Currituck, Ellis, Joe C., Mystery.
Comments: none

The theme of family honor makes this a satisfying read for someone looking for an old-fashioned tale. Money has been a problem for Eliza Chandler Edwards.  As a married woman she had plenty, but only because her husband was scamming his investors.  (Eliza was an innocent bystander to this.)  As a widow (her husband was killed by one of his clients), she is poor as a church mouse, in part because she felt honor-bound to sell her home and personal goods to repay her husband’s victims.  When the novel opens, Eliza is living in Currituck County with her great-uncle Fred, helping him run a produce stand.  Just as Eliza tried to right her late husband’s wrongs, the wealthy Beckett family wants to make up for a wrong committed by a family member.  Patriarch PawPaw Beckett summons handsome grandson Lancelot to track down the last heirs of Elias Chandler, a business partner cheated by PawPaw’s father.  Eliza is suspicious of Beckett and the money he wants to give her, but they are clearly attracted to each other.  A hurricane and the arrival of someone from Eliza’s Texas days help move the plot along.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: May 24th, 2009 under 2000-, 2002, Browning, Dixie, Coast, Currituck, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none

Sarah Jones Sullivan has had a unenviable life.  Her father, an ambitious United States senator, used Sarah as a prop during his political career.  Without a mother or confidantes to guide her, shy Sarah married one of her father’s proteges, Congressman Stanley Sullivan.  When each man’s misbehavior (influence peddling by dad; sexual adventures by the husband) becomes public, Sarah’s life is in shambles. Rocky Waters was a young reporter when he met the teenage Sarah Jones at one of her father’s political events. Now, almost two decades later, Rocky wants to warn Sarah that a scandal-hungry public is about to feast on her life again.  Sarah, now a widow with a secret she wants to hide, is suspicious of Rocky, but since this is a romance novel, suspicion gives way to something else. This is a nice novel of second chances and forgiveness.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: May 9th, 2009 under 2000-, 2001, Browning, Dixie, Coast, Currituck, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none

An Independent Spirit is based on the Revolutionary War-era story of Betsy Dowdy, who rode to warn a North Carolina general about the approach of British soldiers from Virginia. This book presents the year leading up to her famous ride, with fourteen year-old Betsy living on Currituck Island, riding her wild pony Black Bess, and traveling to Edenton. Betsy’s quiet life is interrupted when Virginia’s Lord Dunmore threatens her community and her beloved wild ponies. Her all-night ride from Currituck to Hertford brings news of troop movements and leads to a patriot victory at the Battle of Great Bridge. This edition of the book includes a bibliography and teacher’s guide.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: February 25th, 2009 under 2000-, 2006, Children & Young Adults, Chowan, Coast, Currituck, Docufiction, Historical, Smith, Donna Campbell.
Comments: none