A young man rebuilding his life after a troubled past and a successful lawyer with secrets of her own fall in love, just as threats from her past begin to surface
A chance meeting in the rain
Colin Hancock is trying to walk a straight line. After years of bad decisions, he is focused on finishing his teaching degree and staying out of trouble. Maria Sanchez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, has a law degree and a good job at a firm in Wilmington, North Carolina, but she came home carrying a painful experience she rarely talks about. A chance encounter on a rainy road brings them together.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who like Nicholas Sparks with more tension than usual, fans of romantic suspense, and anyone drawn to stories about second chances.
What you will get
A romantic suspense novel about two people with very different pasts who find each other, then face a campaign of menace that tests whether their trust can hold.
See Me Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Romance · Second chances · Romantic suspense · North Carolina
Length
496 pages · ≈ 15 h
More about this book
This is one of Sparks's more thriller-like books. The romance develops at an unhurried pace in the first half, with plenty of time spent on Colin's discipline and blunt honesty and on Maria's close, lively family. Their differences in background and temperament make the attraction interesting, and Colin is an unusual hero for Sparks: guarded, direct and working hard to change.
In the second half the threats against Maria escalate, and the book turns into a suspense story about who is behind them. Sparks handles the tension well, though the identity of the culprit may not surprise seasoned mystery readers. Maria's sister Serena adds warmth and humour, and the family scenes are among the most enjoyable parts.
At nearly five hundred pages it is long, and some readers will find the early chapters slow. There are scenes of intimidation and danger, though nothing graphic. Readers expecting the quiet heartbreak of his earlier novels may be surprised by the change of gear. For those who want a love story with real stakes, it delivers. About 496 pages in the Grand Central hardcover.
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The Return
Dear John
The Wedding
The Choice
Message in a Bottle
The Rescue
Nights in Rodanthe
True Believer
The Notebook