I am a fan of clandestine fiction. I love Tom Clancy and other, similar stories. So when I saw The Expats, by Chris Pavone, I thought it looked pretty intriguing and decided to read it.

I was not impressed.

The story line was excellent. The plot and character development were really creative, but this story had several flaws, that, to me, seem fatal.

First of all, I had a difficult time reading the novel, simply because of the multiple occurrences of gratuitous sex. Within the first fifty pages, there were four separate times when Pavone added implicit sexual content. Each of these were completely unnecessary and added nothing to the story. Nothing at all. But at least they were implicit, and weren’t too descriptive.

However, by the end of the book, what had been implicit became explicit. The descriptions became graphic and remained completely unnecessary to the plot. Frankly, I was disgusted, and seriously contemplated setting the book aside and not finishing it.

I should have done just that. Because the remainder of the book, especially the last few pages where all the loose ends were tied up, seemed rushed and disjointed. I wondered if I were reading a Hardy Boys mystery, or watching a Scooby Doo episode, where, at the end, the bad guys tell all the explanations of why they did what they did.

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to read and review River’s Edge, by Terri Blackstock. This was the third in her Cape Refuge series. Before I read it, I decided to go back and find the first two novels and read them first. I was glad I did. This series is an excellent set of stories.

After River’s Edge, I was given a copy of the fourth book in this series, Breaker’s Reef. In many ways, this is the best of the four.

The first couple of books were sort of on the amateurish side, although still very good. But with River’s Edge, and especially with Breaker’s Reef, Backstock’s ability to weave a tale of suspense has really been refined.

The story is set in the by now familiar setting of Cape Refuge, a small island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. Shortly after the events settle down from the previous stories, another murder happens. But this story unwinds in ways completely unlike the previous ones, and twists and turns in unexpected ways.

With all of the familiar faces from the rest of the series, Breaker’s Reef takes the story of Cape Refuge to the next level. Events occur that the reader has suspected from the very beginning, and others occur that are a complete surprise. It’s hard to expand on that without providing something of a spoiler.

Breaker’s Reef is an excellent part of Terri Blackstock’s bibliography, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, with the rest of the series. I highly encourage you to pick up a copy and read it, along with Cape Refuge, Southern Storm, and River’s Edge. You’ll be glad you did.

Question: Have you read any of the Cape Refuge series? If so, what did you think of it? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I received this book free from Harper Collins Christian Publishing as part of their BookLook Bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.