Cover of Night

Following the death of her husband and after weighing her options, Cate Nightingale moved with her twin boys to Trail Stop, Idaho. Aptly named for what it is—the end of the trail, Cate purchased a bed and breakfast that she and her husband had visited during their avid rock climbing days. While not where she would have thought she would spend her life it offers a secure home and environment for her children. Town handyman, Cal Harris seems to be able to fix anything and everything and a bemused Cate finds herself calling him in to fix this and that on a routine basis.

Cal Harris has a secret. Actually, he has a few of them and as each one enfolds Cate finds herself more and more surprised by a man she thought shy, retiring and eternally tongue tied. The bigger secret, however, is the one kept by former tenant, Jeffrey Layton.

Layton checked into the out of the way B&B, made a quick appearance one morning and then abruptly disappeared without a trace, but leaving behind his solitary suitcase and shaving kit. Cate swings back and forth between anger, amusement and worry pondering what happened to Mr. Layton. Had she known what had he ran from, fear would most definitely have been added to that list of emotions. When two hitmen arrive in Trail Stop they demand Layton’s belongings, which Cate turns over…but she forgets one piece. It is that one piece that brings not only the hit men back.

The premise of COVER OF NIGHT is intriguing and what drew this reviewer to her first book by Ms. Howard. The easy pace of the beginning of the book sets the scene of a young widow trying to raise rambunctious twin boys. It almost reads like a good heart wrenching Woman’s Fiction, however the story ambles its way towards suspense. Unfortunately, it never quite made it there. While the idea of isolating an entire town to achieve a goal is captivating to consider, this reviewer could not make the leap to the bad guys doing this almost out of hand, making what followed implausible. When the device is discovered missing it would have made more sense for one of the hit men to call and simply say he was an associate of Layton’s and that Layton asked him to retrieve his belongings. One of the culprits, Goss, is actually an engaging sort of man, one who could be turned right by the right kind of woman. In fact, a story of his own would make for a good read. Goss is not only engaging, he is bright, so the actions he took were surprising, but not credible.

January 2007