4 1/2 Stars

Midnight Sea is Colleen Coble’s latest Women of Faith novel and draws on characters from her Aloha Reef series.

Leilani Tagama is making every effort to lay to rest her reckless past, working on her aunt’s coffee farm and pursuing her love of floristry design when she is blinded by a bullet in an attack against a fellow worker.

Ben Mahoney reluctantly agrees to help Lani as she comes to terms with her blindness as he has a special affinity for those without sight, stemming from his past and the guilt that eats away at him. He introduces her to Fisher, a golden retriever he is training as a guide dog, and Lani falls in love – with the dog!

The mystery surrounding the shooting looms larger as Lani’s life is threatened again, she befriends a young Tongan boy she fears is being abused and she discovers a treasure people are willing to kill for.

Colleen Coble has written a terrific romantic suspense, one I would rate as up there with her best. The setting in Hawaii is again captivating and her detailed descriptions have you smelling the coffee and hearing the surf. Lani and Ben are fascinating and substantial characters and while they struggle with the usual issues of guilt and a sad past, Colleen’s writing is refreshing and totally absorbing. The suspense will have you anxious to turn each page but hoping the story doesn’t end. A number of the secondary characters are calling out for their own stories to be told – I hope Colleen gets a chance to write them!