His eyes were still the brightest shade of blue she’d ever seen in her life, and as he met her gaze she felt frozen in place, hypnotized.
Suzanne Brockmann
Forever Blue
Format:
book, ebook & Audiobook
For ebook and print – the TDD series has been combined into sets of 2 or 3 books. (depending on the version you hunt down)
Publisher’s Synopsis:
The guy next door is home to stay—but can he be trusted?
Blue McCoy was once the hero of Lucy Tait’s teenaged dreams—quiet, dark and dangerous. But after high school he left Hatboro Creek, South Carolina, to join the military. Now, years later, a brooding Navy SEAL, Blue is back in town.
Lucy, now a no-nonsense police officer, is certainly not the person Blue remembers.
And when he’s accused of murder and Lucy is assigned his case, their brief affair becomes part of an extensive investigation where the stakes are vital: Blue’s freedom—and maybe Lucy’s heart.
Point of view:
3rd person. Alternating perspectives, not by chapter but clearly defined.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
I read this a few years ago, but when it showed up in Audible Escape* I decided to give the audiobook a try. It’s so hard to rate these older Suzanne Brockmann works. Compared to the level of writing in her Troubleshooters series as well as the production/narration quality of those audiobooks, it leaves many of these Tall Dark & Dangerous books feeling a slightly bereft. This book is also not one of my favorites of the series. Still clocks in at 3.5 stars.
Carter “Blue” McCoy is back in his tiny hometown to attend the wedding of his brother and former sweetheart. Blue doesn’t have feelings for Jenny Lee anymore – but it doesn’t stop the gossip mill from turning.
Lucy Tait is a rookie in the local Sheriff’s office and is still harboring feelings for her high school crush. When Blue’s brother is murdered and Blue becomes the prime suspect, Lucy is assigned to be lead investigator.
Here’s where things get a little tricky for me as a reader/listener. This is a small town, so I’m willing to give leeway in what is protocol or how people would/should/might act. There’s a lot of unprofessionalism and “seriously, would anyone get away with that?” going on that’s somewhat distracting in it’s totality.
Also, one of the things I love about Brockmann is her ability to write strong female characters. Even if vulnerable, they’re usually no dummies. Lucy is one of her weaker characters in terms of incompetence as an officer and her determination to think that, despite repeated statements to the contrary, Blue is still in love with Jenny Lee. It gets old by the end.
The mystery/suspense part is fairly solid, but as the stage is “small town” the action is fairly benign for a Military Romance.
*Audible has since discontinued the Escape program.
Narration:
This is my only experience with Ashley Adlon and it was good. She did have the tendency to sound like she had something in her mouth at times, but overall it was a OK recording. Honestly, I think I’d rather read it next time.
About the author:
After childhood plans to become the captain of a starship didn’t pan out, Suzanne Brockmann took her fascination with military history, her respect for the men and women who serve, her reverence for diversity, and her love of storytelling, and explored brave new worlds as a bestselling romance author. Over the past twenty-five years she has written more than fifty-five novels, including her award-winning Troubleshooters series about Navy SEAL heroes and the women—and sometimes men—who win their hearts.
You can connect with Suzanne Brockmann here: (Rellim’s note: She’s most active on Twitter.)
My Favorite Quotes
His eyes were still the brightest shade of blue she’d ever seen in her life, and as he met her gaze she felt frozen in place, hypnotized. – Forever Blue @SuzBrockmann #TallDarkDangerous #RomanticSuspense #NavySEAL
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