Avon Books (Hardcover), ISBN 0380974045
I like jewels of all kinds: diamonds, pearls, sapphires, jade, emeralds or whatever strikes my fancy on any given day. My mother bestowed this living legacy on me at a young age. She also taught me to appreciate paper treasures as well as the mineral kind. In this context, Elizabeth Lowell's newest offering, Pearl Cove, definitely qualifies as a first-rate jewel that should not be passed up. 

The third book in her series about the Donovan family, Pearl Cove tells Archer Donovan's story. Archer, silent partner in the Pearl Cove pearl farm, walked away from the dark side of the Donovan gem empire ten years before. But a frantic call from Hannah McGarry, the wife of Archer's half-brother Len, draws him back into the hell he swore he'd never revisit.  

Hannah needs Archer's help in making sense of her husband's mysterious death and the international forces pressuring her to sell Pearl Cove. The police say Len McGarry died in the vault of the McGarry pearl business as a result of a cyclone that swept the shores of Broome, Australia. But Hannah and Archer believe a more destructive and sinister force precipitated his death.  

When the Black Trinity, a black pearl necklace worth more than $3 million, goes missing, Archer and Hannah set out to find the necklace and the killer before he can find them. Throw in several glamorous locales (Australia, Hong Kong, Seattle), highly adventurous plot twists and sizzling chemistry between the young widow Hannah and the cold, ruthless gem trader Archer, and you have all the makings of another great Lowell page-turner. 

In Pearl Cove, we not only learn more about Archer, a supporting character in the first two books, Amber Beach and Jade Island (more great reads), but we become privy to more Donovan family secrets and foibles. The intimate yet earthy family exchanges of the Donovan siblings provide many laughs. At the same time, the book showcases Lowell's knack for breathtaking verbal scenery and scorching intimacy. 

The first two books of the Donovan series told the stories of Honor Donovan and her husband Jake, and Kyle Donovan and his wife Lianne. Pearl Cove brings Archer and Hannah's story to the forefront. Three more books remain in the series, and I can't help hoping they will prove just as exceptional their predecessors. After all, a girl can never have too many jewels! 

Gina Hodges Martin

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