I recently sought out Linda Hall’s 2014 novel, Night Watch, and purchased a digital copy. I had read more than half a dozen of Linda’s books through the years, but it had been a while since I checked her list of publications. Night Watch grabbed me from the first page.
This first volume of the Em Ridge Mystery series captivated me with a wide cast of varied and flawed characters, a most realistic setting, such natural dialogue that I forgot I was reading, and a story filled with tension and hope.
Reasons for my immediate attachment to the story:
- The characters are strong, individual, and all of them have secrets
- The main character, although strong and self-sufficient, also has deep needs
- Tension is high in every scene, on every page, throughout the story
- With every answer comes another question…or two…or three
- The setting is credible because of the sailing experience of the author. I know this, but if I didn’t, I’d say she’d done a boatload of research, which is still true, I’m sure
- Because of the varied characters, there’s someone for every reader to identify with
- This is a multi-faceted novel, with important themes flowing throughout
I was especially concerned for the main character, Em. Full name and title: Captain Emmeline Ridge. She is a thirty-something ship captain, who currently makes her living ferrying boats from one place to another, and she is very good at it. However, when events and people conspire against her, she must find out who is after her and why.
Em misses her husband, Jesse, who was killed in a boat accident. She is more or less estranged from her family, but her neighbors are colorful and supportive. It gave me a sense of goodness and hope in the midst of evil and trauma. So many others were not who they seemed. Was her husband one of those?
For her own sake, Em needs to know what terrible secret her husband carried at the time of his death. But will her investigation cost her more than she bargained for?
I must have more of Em Ridge.
Check out Linda’s website for more information and links to her books.