Book Review: Murder and Desire in Orange Beach

By IndieBookView on August 16, 2024

Murder and Desire in Orange Beach

by Tami Ryan & Jim Cavanaugh

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Romance

ISBN: 9798325554285

Print Length: 380 pages

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

The novel Murder and Desire in Orange Beach delivers exactly what it promises on the back cover: a story of lust, jealousy, murder, and greed that can only end in tears. A damn-near perfect summer beach read, Murder and Desire is fit to please, poolside or seaside.

The book opens with a mysterious killing on the Fourth of July. "It had been a clear, beautiful summer night with a Thunder moon. It was a great night for fireworks and a perfect night for murder." The reader can't identify the victim or see the killer. Then the story goes back in time to narrate the life journeys that brought the main characters to Orange Beach, a Gulf Coast vacation town. The reader follows them through a series of business deals, political maneuvers, and sexy interludes, all the while picking up clues as to who was murdered in the opening scene and how the killing was accomplished.

The story is deliciously cast: a spoiled rich woman turned politician; a successful real estate developer; his very young assistant; an up-and-coming realtor; a smart, sweet cop; and a down-and-out ex-con. Most of the main characters are well-off beautiful people with a very loose grasp of ethical behavior toward others. A lot of despicables populate this book, not all of them criminals.