In the Waning Light

Publisher's Summary

Two decades after her sister's brutal attack and murder, Meg Brogan has finally found happiness...or so it appears. A bestselling true-crime writer, Meg has money, fame, and a wealthy fiancé. But when a television-show host presses her to tackle the one story everyone claims she cannot write - the story of her own family's destruction - her perfect life shatters.

Determined to finally face her past, Meg returns to her hometown of Shelter Bay. Shrouded in cold, brooding fog, the close-knit coastal town harbors dark secrets and suspicious residents. One of the few people to welcome Meg back is Blake Sutton, her high-school sweetheart and the marina's new owner. Desperate for clues, Meg digs through her family's files. As Pacific storms brew outside, her passion for Blake reignites.

But someone doesn't want Meg digging up the past. And that person will go to deadly lengths to prevent the writer from revealing a terrible truth.

©2015 Loreth Anne White (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Yes it is a suspense thriller, but...

...this book has many, many explicit sex scenes very crudely and completely described with nothing left to the imagination. The underlying suspense novel is actually quite good. In any case, it's not my cup of tea.

200 of 211 people found this review helpful

Predictable...

This book was totally predictable right down to the ending. Narration wasn't bad but overall the book lacked in both character and plot development.

57 of 61 people found this review helpful

Intense and Moving Thriller about Seeking Truth

Anyone with a large chunk of amnesia can never be whole or able to make well-informed decisions until they are in possession of their truth. I admired the heroine's choice to turn down her wealthy fiance's marriage proposal because a powerful force in her nature was compelling her to seek wholeness. As they say, "You can't go home again"--but you can go back to the places that shaped you to understand the people and events most influential in creating your adult self.

The author captures the many secrets, rumors, and suspicions of small town life beautifully. Shelter Bay is depicted in excellent, atmospheric detail. The plot is intense and at times quite violent--the reader acquires clue after clue to explain not just why Meg Brogan became a true-crime writer, but why her inner self wouldn't rest until she could retrieve the events leading to her sister's death and the dissolution of her family. With so many forces working against her, it was a huge relief to learn that the warm and appealing character Blake Sutton, Meg's boyfriend in high school, was still in love with her--and was more of a support than her former lover could ever be. I also found his son to be an enchanting character. The narrator was superb, creating a mesmerizing spell and never getting in the way of the narrative.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, though it was difficult to put down! Entertaining, tragic, and terrifying by turns, this is a good read well worth a credit.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Just OK For Me

This book was simply "okay". The first half of the book was great. It was interesting, exciting, the characters were spot-on, the details perfect, the mystery to the whole story kept it a decent page turner. The second half of the book was boring, became very bland, and I eventually lost all interest. I solved the mystery as soon as the "murderer" was introduced (the author didn't do a very good job at actually keeping it a "mystery") and after that, the book was actually difficult to stay motivated to finish. I found myself forcing to continue listening to it, just because the second half lost all of my interest and became a complete snooze-fest. It was very predictable in the end.

It was decent book, I just wish the mystery was better and the ending better. It was very average, not much different from your other mystery books. Nothing really made it stand out or be unique from other reads.

Tanya Eby was good with the delivery of the story

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Good story

This is a good story. Would have give it 4 stars except that it has way too much sex.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Unbelievable Characters (in a bad way)

Part way in to the book, I wondered if it was published in the 80s or 90s. Nope, 2015. The characters in this book are all undeveloped stereotypes that seem out of touch with the modern world. I thought this might be a mindless, enjoyable mystery, but the characters are so ridiculously simplistic that I couldn't finish.

46 of 54 people found this review helpful

fantastic!

Wow! This was one of the best audio book I've listened to! It was full of twists and turns and the ending left me speechless!! This is the third book I've listened to by this author and I can't wait for her next book!!

18 of 23 people found this review helpful

Slow start, then builds to great read

I almost gave up on this as it started slow and was confusing. I stuck with it though and it picked up the pace and came together! Really good!

21 of 27 people found this review helpful

Excellent Book

Would you listen to In the Waning Light again? Why?

I would probably not listen to it again because it is the type of book once you know who did it, the suspense of the story is gone but.... listening to it the first time is very well worth it!

What other book might you compare In the Waning Light to and why?

In an odd way, it reminded me of a Nicholas Sparks type book. It had man elements. Suspense, thriller, murder, mystery, love, life, and lessons.

Which scene was your favorite?

All of the scenes were really good because of the character development and descriptions used. It felt as though I was there or watching it play out in my mind.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I didn't want to stop the book once I started listening. It started a little slow but once it kicked in, it was very suspenseful and kept me wanting to listen during every free moment I had.

16 of 21 people found this review helpful

SO ENTERTAINING AND CAPTIVATING!!

Great story! And ok...I have to eat a few of my words in my last review of this author's "A Dark Lure". I made a remark about Tanya Eby that I'll now have to retract after listening to this book. Tanya Eby did a good job. But I can truthfully say that I think she has come a long way since I first heard her narrate a book. I think she has expanded her character voices tremendously. I won't hesitate to buy any book in the future that she narrates.

Now back to the actual story. I'm becoming a BIG fan of Loreth Anne White. I love the depth of her stories and the way she builds the background of her characters. I also like her endings. She doesn't leave you hanging and I feel good after she closes the story. I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant writer

I discovered LAW about a year or so ago and I absolutely love every single one of her thriller romance books, this one included. I actually have both the Kindle and Audible versions, it's great to hear the characters come to life. She's fantastic at creating a back story and giving depth and character to each individual and her plots are always interesting and diverse. My favourite is "In the barren ground" but this one is nearly as good. The heroine, Meg, is a true crime writer and Blake, the hero, is a single dad and ex-army medic. They have a very difficult and complicated past, including family tragedy and secrets and the plot revolves around their efforts to make sense of it all. There is enough romance in there to keep things interesting but without the never-ending descriptive sex scenes popular with other authors (yes, there is such a thing as too many sex scenes!) and although the story is a bit predictable it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book. Tanya Eby is good too, not the best narrator I've ever heard but certainly worth 4 stars.

Great story

Great story line. Really good reading with plenty emotions. Enjoyed listening from start to finish.

Great mixture of suspense and romance

This writer just gets better and better. This book is a great combination of romance, suspense and a “whodunit” mystery that is not easy to solve. The writer very skilfully implicates several potential bad guys, and in a great twist on characterisations avoids the temptation to paint every character either “good” or “bad”. This book has good guys making bad decisions that have unforeseen consequences, and people who are not completely bad, but have done bad things and are living with the guilt.

Nothing is clear-cut in this book and the story is skilfully blended from multiple points of view so the reader finds themselves understanding why bad decisions were made with the best intentions, and how “little lies” can have big implications. The romance is another twist from the norm, with an h who is unable to commit due to very understandable unresolved issues in her past, and an H who freely falls in love and acknowledges his feelings. Add to the mix there is the genuinely nice ex-fiance of the h, who may not have been perfect but nevertheless stepped up and was there when it mattered, a realistic portrayal of the development of dementia in one of the side characters, and a young boy who manages to be a normal young boy – sometimes irritable and annoying, other times surprisingly mature. We also had a murder victim who was a loving, affectionate sister, but also a shameless flirt and a bit of a “good time” girl, but was never judged for her choices. And a very realistic depiction of how domestic violence and bullying, in so many varied forms, can be so invisible and yet have such an inpact on people’s lives. The story mixes multiple POV, flashbacks and returning memories in a suspenseful plot that ended with a really nail-biting climax.

Particular credit must be given to the realistic depiction of injury in this book. When a character was injured, they suffered accordingly and needed recovery time. It annoys me in books when characters seem to bounce back miraculously and, particularly in romances, seem capable of athletic bedroom performances within hours of being shot/beaten/etc. I have only one minor criticism in this book: I would have preferred some of the characters to have lived to face the consequences of their actions – death can be a very neat conclusion that conveniently lets the writer avoid messy repercussions for the central characters. I would have liked to see how relationships were built, re-built or destroyed as a result of past actions. However this minor issue does not spoil a really good book.