I always look forward to Colleen Coble's new book releases, and I was especially excited for this one since her last release ended up being one of my all time favorites by her. Unfortunately, this one ended up not being exactly what I was expecting, and although I did still enjoy certain parts of it, it's not a new favorite, and it's not one I ended up loving.

I struggled to connect with any of the characters throughout the story, and I thought they all behaved quite juvenile and immature, and it was often hard to read about. Kylie's behavior didn't seem to be typical of a child her age, and I thought she desperately needed therapy, and proper discipline, instead of the pandering that Annie was constantly giving to her. I understand she was devastated by the loss of her father and grandparents, but she seemed to get away with whatever she wanted, including treating any and everyone badly that she didn't personally care for.

I thought it was an interesting plot point that both Jon and Kylie have celiac disease, as the author was able to bring attention to the struggles involved for anyone who's been diagnosed with this disease. However, the information on it went on and on, and I thought way more attention to this detail was given than was truly necessary to the plot. Including stressing over and over again which gluten free brands were the best for Annie to be buying for Kylie.

I'm someone who has read a lot of suspense novels over the years, especially Christian suspense, and I have to be honest that the content of this one really ended up bothering me. It was a lot darker than I was initially expecting, and while the faith element was there, it wasn't strong enough to combat all of the darkness that plays a big part in the mystery. I wanted a lot more Jesus to balance out all of the darkness, and I don't feel I got that.

I did enjoy the setting, the bigger mystery that's set up for the rest of the series, and as always, I really enjoyed Colleen Coble's immersive writing style. However, I wish more answers had been explained properly in the conclusion, and I felt everything wrapped up much too quickly.

Final Rating: 3/5.

I'm definitely intrigued enough to keep reading on with the rest of the series, but I hope I end up enjoying the second title more than I did this one.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Colleen Coble is a very good suspense author from a small town in Indiana that is about 40 miles from where I live. Truthfully, that is why I read one of her books in the beginning. Now, I can't wait for her next release.
Edge of Dusk did not disappoint. It was suspenseful and it was fun to catch up on some of the citizens of Rock Harbor. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

The Edge of Dusk is a roller coaster ride!
I’m not usually a big fan of romance, but this was more of a thriller/mystery with a bit of love mixed in.

This story starts with a bang, as Annie Pederson was just 9 years old when her 5-year-old sister Laura was kidnapped one evening while they were dockside listening for the eerie call of loons. A hooded figure in a boat grabbed her little sister Laura.. Annie wax knocked out and she never saw Laura again. Now, twenty-four years later, Annie is a Law Enforcement Ranger for the wilderness preserve areas in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with a young daughter of her own. She still feels responsible for the loss of her little sister. Annie has recently lost both her husband and parents to a boating accident. Now, she divides her time between her job and running her parents’ marina and campsites and mothering. She has little time for herself.

Former resident Jon Dunstan has returned to Rock Harbor to oversee his father’s affairs after he suffered a recent debilitating stroke. He is hoping to arrange for repairs needed to get the homestead sold, get his Dad settled and return to his thriving practice as an orthopedic surgeon in the city. Upon arrival at the old cottage, he realizes that it needs more work than he can manage, and knows he’ll be needing to hang around to oversee things for a while.

He also hopes to reunite with Annie. After all, he and Annie had once been engaged to be married before a major disagreement ended the relationship, with him leaving town for his residency. Soon after, Annie married his best friend, Nate and they had a child named Kylie. Still Jon’s torch for Annie glows brightly.

Meanwhile, a camper has gone missing, his campsite found destroyed. then, Annie finds a body, with an obvious gunshot wound to the head, floating in the water near her pier. After notifying the proper authorities, and retrieving his body, they learn that he is the missing camper.. It seems that there is a killer on the peninsula. Intriguingly enough, the last time Jon Dunstan was in town, two teenage girls went missing, and were never found. Still some of the residents cast suspicion Jon’s way and this new murder adds fuel to the fire. You see, Jon not very welcomed in Rock Harbor. He arrives in a hot little red Jaguars further highlighting his ostentatiousness.

As the investigation heats up, eyes are back on Jon, who insists that he’s innocent, as he struggles to re-connect and repair his relationship with Annie. But someone on the peninsula is determined to prove otherwise. One night the pavilion on Annie’s property is torched and a threatening note is left warning Annie to stop investigating or else.

Annie’s character and given the rather abrupt ending, I think readers will see more of her in future novels. I felt like Kylie’s babysitter Taylor needed more development. But maybe Coble kept the character vague for good reason. Thus book has a #1 after the title, meaning I think we will learn more about those we met in The Edge of Dusk in the sequels.

To me there were a lot of loose end the author didn’t resolve which I won’t spell as it would contain spoilers.

(2.5 stars)
I picked up Edge of Dusk as a thriller/crime novel without knowing anything more than the publisher's blurb, and never having read anything by Colleen Coble before. It is my view that this book would be better described as a Christian romance novel where an estranged couple work to solve a set of intersecting mysteries in the course of rekindling their personal relationship.

Coble has two very clear agendas in this book—Christianity and gluten-free diets—that are not mentioned in the book's publicity. They are repeated ad nauseum throughout the novel to the point where I wanted to yell, "I literally do not care what sort of bread your your turkey sandwiches are made on". These agendas get in the way of the novel being a thriller/crime novel. The religious agenda requires belief and foreknowledge (no sex before marriage, bible content) from the reader to be in any way interesting: "[s]he was no Naomi like in the bible." With these agendas being advanced so repeatedly, I think it would be more honest for them to be captured in the publisher's blurb (indeed this novel might really appeal to Christians and people struggling with finding out they are gluten-free).

For me personally, both agenda's impacted upon character building: "His character and faith were the most important parts of him. He pulled out his phone and searched for the verse he thought he remembered. He found it in Hebrews..." There sure were a lot of thought bubbles about God: "Was God leading him to this point?" So most of the time the novel felt tedious, with the author needing to constantly tell us what the characters were thinking all the time, rather than showing it through their actions. This led to me getting the impression the author thought I was dumb, needed constant reminding about very banal characteristics of people who I struggled to relate to. The characters were also mostly caught up in each other rather than the mystery I came for, so I encourage it to be marketed to romance readers more than crime ones: "God brought me back to you and Kylie. We have a lot of wrinkles to figure out, but I'll but here for all of it with you."

The only bit of Edge of Dusk that I personally found interesting was the Finnish connection to the Lake Superior area (apparently from a wave of immigration in the 1800s) evidenced by Finnish terms littered throughout the novel. This might have been better explained for a non-North American audience (at least as well as the gluten-free diet was) to make this a better standalone book.

A great start to a new series. Inventive storytelling.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Coble’s books have always hooked me within the first couple pages and this was no different.

The layers of mystery seemed overwhelming at times, but not in a bad way. I had a hard time putting this book down because I wanted to find out if what I was piecing together in my mind was how it would turn out.

The main characters are pretty likable - there were only a few times where I wanted to shake them and tell them to just tell the truth to each other.

I’m giving this 4 stars because Coble’s writing style is very readable and the story is compelling. However, there was at least one plot item that wasn’t wrapped up and the story seemed to abruptly end. If this is the beginning of a series then the ending was decent. If it’s meant to be a stand-alone, I wish there was an epilogue to further tie up the storyline.

I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a suspenseful storyline with a side of drama/romance.

Edge of Dusk is book 1 in the brand new Annie Pederson series.  Coming back to Rock Harbor and joining with characters from that series, this is a welcome addition to the huge collection of books written by Colleen Coble.

The story has multiple layers that contain mystery, suspense and romance. The characterization is absolutely amazing. I loved getting to know Annie and Jon; they have both come a long way from the young couple who each felt let down by the other and ended up going their separate ways. There is a lot of overcome, mostly in the form of feelings that were hurt and some residual anger on both their parts; Colleen does a masterful job of weaving those feelings into a story that has Christian beliefs as an integral part of the story.

I love this author and always feel that any book by her is a delightful way to spend a few days.

Colleen Coble brings us back to Rock Harbor, MI in a new series. There is a lot of action, mystery, and suspense throughout the story. Annie witnessed the kidnapping of her little sister when she was nine years old, 24 years earlier. Now, she is a Ranger, widowed and a working single parent raising a daughter. Her first love, Jon, returns to Rock Harbor after his father had a stroke. They rekindle their relationship trying to solve a nine year old cold case while sinister events are happening. Along with the suspense and romance, the story adds a real life dimension with one of the characters living with celiac disease. This is an excellent story well worth reading. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Edge of Dusk by Colleen Coble kept my interest but it was not one of my favorites by this author. I thought the ending left you hanging and that she could of expanded on it. Still worth a read!

Annie was a ranger with an 8 year old daughter, along with running the marina and cabins.
Especially during the summer months, now getting them ready
Painting she knew of, finding dead bodies was not on the agenda.
Nor was an old love, that had come back to town to be with his dad.
An excellent plot, of life in a small town, with friends, murder and secrets.
A good flowing plot and story line, another winner of a new series for the author.
Readers will also enjoy reading.
Given ARC by Net Galley and Thomas Nelson for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

Annie Peterson was only nine years old when her five year old sister Laura was kidnapped. Twenty-four years later she is a law enforcement ranger in upper Michigan.

Annie’s husband and parents died in a boating accident two years ago and she inherited the Tremolo Resort and Marina. She’s doing her best to keep it up but sold a rich investor, Max a lifetime land lease to afford the upkeep. When she goes to the resort to start repairs for the season, Annie finds the body of a missing hiker in the water.

Now her eight year old daughter Kylie has just been diagnosed with celiac disease and requires a new diet. Added to that, Jon Dustan- her first love has returned to town after 9 years because his father recently had a stroke. He’s fixing up their family cabin to sell. He was attached to a missing person cold case before he left and is being targeted by someone who wants him gone.

Who is the murderer and will Annie find out what happened to her sister and finally get closure?

This is my first book by this author and I loved it. There’s a good mystery and romance.I also loved that she included faith in her story. I can’t wait to read more installments.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so good! I get excited every time I see that she has written another book!
I started reading her books a few years ago and I am amazed at how much better her books are now!
I always think about taking it slow, but before I realize, I have read the entire book in just a few hours.
I believe this is the first book in a series. But, none of them keep you hanging.

Thank you so much, NetGalley for giving me this book to read and review! I cannot wait for the next one!

This book is excellent. It flowed quickly and was a page turner. There were a lot of little subplots throughout the storyline, and a few twists and turns as well. I enjoy Colleen Coble's books and this was another good one to add to the mix.

The only downside I would say is the ending felt rushed. Even though, the person whodunit was revealed, there were still a few other twists that were said in the last 2-3 pages and no other information was given at all. It seemed like it was sort of a cliffhanger ending as far as wrapping up all the loose ends but hopefully this means this is the first book in a new series and a different book will pick up where this ended.

Overall though, a good book.

If you like gentle reads with a bunch of mystery and light romance, this new "Christian" fiction book is pretty good. There are some whole sections I skimmed after getting to the halfway point (too much internal dialogue about will he/won't he/she for my taste) but the overall plot was good. Makes me a tad wary about solo camping in Michigan's UP (grin) but it made for a good storyline. A+ for clean fun and keeping the plot tension tight.

Colleen Coble does not disappoint! This is a must read!
Abduction, old unsolved murders, recent murders, danger, twists and turns, along with a broken romance will keep you turning the pages.
Even though I figured out one of the mysteries early on, it did not keep me from throughly enjoying the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

#AEdgeofDusk #NetGalley

This book was creepy, a missing child, two teens gone missing and a shooter in the woods. Annie has lived with the trauma of being there when her younger sister got kidnapped, something she will forever remember. She keeps a close eye on her daughter, who is now age nine, the same age she was when her sister got taken. Colleen Coble knows how to write suspense, that kept me reading far too late. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Edge Of Dusk – Colleen Coble

Annie Pederson was just 9 years old when her 5-year-old sister Laura was kidnapped one evening while they were dockside listening for the eerie call of loons. She was never found. Now, twenty-four years later, Annie is a Law Enforcement Ranger for the wilderness preserve areas in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with a young daughter of her own. Having recently lost both her husband and parents to a boating accident, she divides her time between her job and running her parents’ marina and campsites.

Jon Dunstan has returned to Rock Harbor to oversee his father’s affairs after a recent debilitating stroke. He is hoping to arrange for repairs needed to get the homestead sold, get his Dad settled and get back to his thriving orthopedics practice in Chicago. When he goes to view the old cottage, he realizes that it needs more work than he can manage, and he’ll be needing to oversee things for a while. He is also anxious to see Annie – he and Annie had been engaged to be married before a furious argument ended the relationship, with him leaving town for his residency, and Annie soon marrying his best friend. She is the girl he has never forgotten.

Meanwhile, a camper has gone missing, his campsite found in ruins. Shortly thereafter, Annie finds a body, with an obvious gunshot wound to the head, floating in the water near her pier. After notifying the proper authorities, and retrieving his body, they learn that he is the missing camper. It seems apparent that there is a killer on the peninsula. Intriguingly enough, the last time Jon Dunstan was in town, two teenaged girls went missing, and were never found.

As the investigation heats up, all eyes turn to Jon, who insists that he’s innocent, as he struggles to re-connect and repair his relationship with Annie. But someone on the peninsula is determined to prove otherwise…and they want Annie to stop investigating…

This was a great read! It captured my interest immediately and I couldn’t put it down. I loved Annie’s character and hope to see more of her in future novels. I didn’t quite understand the actions of Taylor in some of the scenes, and I would have liked more insight into her past and who her now deceased ‘mother’ was. Having said that, I just did a bit of snooping on the author’s website and am ecstatic to see the Rock Harbor is a series of novels, so here’s hoping all of my questions are answered as the series goes on. My first from Colleen Coble, but most definitely NOT my last!

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & Thomas Nelson in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Edge of Dusk is another great novel by Colleen Coble. It was really nice to travel back to Rock Harbor and see some familiar faces pop back up from time to time but also be introduced to new characters.

Annie Pederson grew up in Rock Harbor and is now living there with her daughter and running her parents marina and resort and working as a law enforcement officer for the park service. She still lives every day with the mystery of who kidnapped her sister 24 years prior and hopes to find her body in order to receive some closure. Jon Dustan is an orthopedic surgeon who travels back to Rock Harbor to get his father's cabin ready to sell.

Annie and Jon were once engaged but events happened, Jon moved away for his residency, and Annie married his best friend. Now with her husband having passed and Jon back in town sparks begin to fly. Everything is put at risk when two bodies show up at Annie's resort from a cold case that Jon was once suspected of being involved in. Add to that threats to Annie's life and the two are forced to work together to find out what exactly is going on.

The mystery will keep you wondering who the culprit is and it was very difficult to put down. The romance between Jon and Annie is very sweet but it doesn't come to a full conclusion since there are more novels in this series.

The book ends with some sort of closure to the cases they were working on but questions still remain as to whether Annie's sister is still alive and her identity. I can't wait for the next book in the series in order to get some more answers.

Another great suspense read by Colleen Coble. You really can’t go wrong with her books and this one was no exception. I don’t know if this is technically part of her Rock Harbor series, but it was set there. Mother and daughter Annie and Kylie are being targeted by someone connected to Annie’s past and dead bodies keep turning up. This will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Colleen Coble's books always delight and this one is no different. She takes us back to Rock Harbor and Bree and Kade from a previous series play a big secondary role in this new series that focuses on new characters Annie and Jon. I wasn't a big fan of the cliff hanger at the end of the book as I prefer my series to still be stand alone novels so the endings are more wrapped up than this one is. It will continue in the next book in the series but for those who prefer stand alone novels this book won't be for them.