Reviewer: Robyn Roberts
Title: All That Glitters
Author: Heather Ames
Publisher: Awe-Struck Ebooks
ISBN-13: 978-1-58749-649-3
Release Date: February 2008
Genre/Sub-genre: Romantic Suspense
Year/Setting: Present Day - Cactus Station, AZ
Overall Rating: 4.0
Sexual Content Rating: Subtle/Sensual
Language (Profanity/Slang) Rating: Mild
Violent Content Rating: None/Minimal
Heather's Website:
www.heatherames.com
Cody and Crystal have each inherited half of a ghost town from their uncles. Their two uncles had prospected in the Superstition Mountains looking for the Lost Dutchman Mine. The uncles had conspired to keep Cody away from Crystal many summers ago when they were teenagers and falling in love. Now, in a strange twist of fate, the untimely death of both uncles in a mining cave-in causes Cody and Crystal to be thrown together once again.
Crystal is a no-nonsense kind of a gal. She’s been burned and doesn’t want to remember or relive any of those memories so she keeps those wayward thoughts locked away in the far reaches of her memory banks. Cody never finished school and feels inferior to Crystal and her college degree. He knows all about panning for gold, but not the book smarts Crystal has. How can you start a relationship with a woman whom you feel inferior to? Besides, she thinks he used her and left her after that summer of their youth. She had no idea that the uncles made sure Cody left her alone.
When a couple of gold nuggets are found, the gold rush starts sending people to the ghost town. Cody and Crystal hope to make a go of their town and revitalize it, they just can’t agree on how that should be done. So when a body is found in the attic, Crystal is appalled that Cody turns it into a macabre attraction. She just can’t see selling tickets to people and showing them the decomposing body of a fellow prospector, Jake. It stinks—in more ways than one.
As the town begins to thrive, more and more strange things begin to happen. Is it the ghost of Jake terrorizing their town, or is it somebody else trying to run them off. Can Crystal and Cody stay safe and stay alive? Or will unknown people or forces kill them? Can they ever find a way through their own bull-headedness in order to love again?
This is a fascinating tale of lost treasure and lost love. It’s a beautiful mesh of a love story and a mystery/suspense novel. Ms. Ames does a nice job of using all the elements needed for a good mystery, sprinkling in a healthy dose of suspense and wrapping it up in a romance. I love both mysteries and romance novels, so this was a winning blend for me. I think the story will appeal to a wide variety of readers. It doesn’t matter if you prefer mystery or romance as both are equally represented in the story.
Cody and Crystal are a fun and spunky couple. Cody loves to push Crystal’s buttons, just to get a rise out of her. Crystal is trying so hard to shield her emotions and keep from being hurt, that she actually makes herself more vulnerable. She is a smart lady with a good sense of humor, but a lightning quick tongue if you make her mad. Their continuing feud is comical, yet serious at the same time.
The story winds us through their relationship as well as the start of a turn-around in the ghost town. But when the ghosts start to threaten the safety of the people, it may become a ghost town again. As the story moves closer to the end, I found myself unable to stop reading. The suspense was driving me on and I couldn’t believe all the things that happened in the end. You’ll want to read every word. It’s a bang up ending to a great book.
Robyn
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