Avon (Paperback), ISBN 0-380-78988-4
Pearl Cove continues the enthralling saga of the Donovan family, a clan of four delectable males and two beautiful twin sisters. In her third Donovan novel, Elizabeth Lowell focuses on Archer, the oldest brother. Archer Donovan knows more about Pearl Cove and its beautiful mistress, Hannah McGarry, than he cares to remember. Married to Archer's older half-brother Len McGarry, Hannah discovers her husband's murdered body after a terrible cyclone devastates Pearl Cove, the pearl farm she and Len operated near Broome, Australia (one of the South Seas great pearl producing regions).

In addition to her husband's death, Hannah must deal with the disappearance of the Black Trinity, a fabulous necklace of black rainbow pearls personally cultured by Len himself. No one knows Len's formula for producing these rare and beautiful gems. Whoever murdered Len believes Hannah holds the secret, but Hannah doesn't have a clue. But that won't prevent someone from killing her too -- unless Archer stops the murderer first.

Archer knows about hunters and the hunted. Not so long ago Archer lived on the dark side where justice and law never interfered -- only results counted. Can Archer defend Hannah against these merciless forces and shield her from his own desires?

Their history argues against it. Ten years ago Archer met the frightened 19-year-old Hannah and promptly married her off to Len. But Archer never forgot Hannah. Three years later Archer rescued the McGarrys from a perilous situation that left Len crippled and consumed with rage. Len took out his rage and frustration by battering Hannah.

The ever-present specter of Len's abuse compounds Archer's difficulties in locating the Black Trinity and staving off Hannah's deadly competitors. Archer must show no mercy to Hannah's enemies while simultaneously convincing Hannah that he does not share his half-brother's cruelty. Hannah recognizes the need for Archer's protection, and she craves his hard body. Can Archer persuade her that he offers more than a temporary refuge and hot sex?

In Amber Beach and Jade Island (two previous Donovan books that I enthusiastically recommend) Elizabeth Lowell enfolded the amber and the jade trades in romantic suspense. In Pearl Cove, Lowell spins an absorbing tale of two compelling characters caught up the mystical, romantic world of cultured pearls. On top of sex scenes that steam as hot and heavy as a South Seas island in the summer, Lowell builds Archer and Hannah's story like the oyster growing layer upon layer of lustrous nacre to produce a priceless pearl.

Doris Valliant

Click here to read Gina Hodges Martin's review of the hardcover edition of Pearl Cove.

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