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A review by paulabrandon
Colton Baby Homecoming by Lara Lacombe
3.0
The characters were what made this romantic thriller come alive for me, and there was some decent suspense, but there are far too many plot strands left dangling at the end for me to be fully satisfied. I don't mind one overriding arc to be carried across a mini-series, but this has at least three!
This story involves Ridge Colton finding an abandoned baby on his porch with a note. He takes the baby to hospital, where he discovers his ex from a decade ago, Darcy Morrow, is currently working. She's filling in to help a staff shortage. Due to various circumstances, Ridge cares for the baby until child services can take her. Darcy heads to his place to help - where a masked figure tries to kidnap the baby!
What sets this book back is that too many additional plot strands are thrown into the works. Ridge's father is a serial killer who murdered his mother, and likes to give each of his children clues as to where her body is buried. Then there is the Alphabet Killer, who murders people by their name (obviously), and has just taken victim F. An "F" was written on the note left with the baby, so they wonder if it's all linked. Then there's the mystery of Ridge's youngest sister Josie, who has been missing for several years.
Whew! Got all that? I needed a score card to keep up with the number of siblings and all the discrete plot lines.
While the mystery of the baby is wrapped up, none of the other strands are. By the end of the book, the Alphabet killer is still on the loose, the Colton matriarch body is still buried someplace unknown, and Josie's whereabouts are still a mystery. I don't consider this a spoiler. I like to know beforehand if a book is going to leave so much material unresolved. Not satisfactory, and I don't have the time to read the other 6 books!
However, I really liked Ridge, Darcy and baby Sara. Ridge's connection with the baby was genuinely heartwarming. Darcy was a strong character. I liked how she could face up to the mistakes she had made in the past and make confident decisions about her future. Certainly more than what Ridge could do. So that's what saved the book for me, considering I don't give high ratings to other books that leave so much plot material left hanging in the air.
This story involves Ridge Colton finding an abandoned baby on his porch with a note. He takes the baby to hospital, where he discovers his ex from a decade ago, Darcy Morrow, is currently working. She's filling in to help a staff shortage. Due to various circumstances, Ridge cares for the baby until child services can take her. Darcy heads to his place to help - where a masked figure tries to kidnap the baby!
What sets this book back is that too many additional plot strands are thrown into the works. Ridge's father is a serial killer who murdered his mother, and likes to give each of his children clues as to where her body is buried. Then there is the Alphabet Killer, who murders people by their name (obviously), and has just taken victim F. An "F" was written on the note left with the baby, so they wonder if it's all linked.
Spoiler
It's not.Whew! Got all that? I needed a score card to keep up with the number of siblings and all the discrete plot lines.
While the mystery of the baby is wrapped up
Spoiler
albeit in an offhand "Oh, we'll catch those baby traffickers," sort of way, which is really lameHowever, I really liked Ridge, Darcy and baby Sara. Ridge's connection with the baby was genuinely heartwarming. Darcy was a strong character. I liked how she could face up to the mistakes she had made in the past and make confident decisions about her future. Certainly more than what Ridge could do. So that's what saved the book for me, considering I don't give high ratings to other books that leave so much plot material left hanging in the air.