Ponder: The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane

The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane © 2021 is the fifth book in Miramar series by Davis Bunn. I have read three of the others and have rated them three or four stars in my post dated 1/12/20. Although not stellar, they were reasonably entertaining reads. The back cover of The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane praises Davis Bunn's writing, but I did not notice until just now that those kudos are for three books in the Miramar series, not this one. My opinion is consistently true for The Cottage On Lighthouse Lane which I give three stars. I stayed up until 5:30 am a couple nights ago to finish the book. True, insomnia played a role in my being awake, but even so, the book was good enough it did not put me to sleep. 

The common threads in the Miramar series are the setting near the San Luis Obispo area where my son went to college at Cal Poly, the beach ambience, and the inner workings of the film-making industry. These aspects keep me interested in the Miramar series. There is some character crossover among the books but not so much so that it is a selling feature in the series or reading them in order is needed.

The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane achieves mystery and sustains interest by interleaving chapters on the main characters Billy, an upcoming actor, and Mimi, a teacher with a unique ESP-like ability. I kept wondering how these two people were going to become related and interactive. About one third of the way through the book, the two storylines join and the bonding between the two main characters begins. To reveal how would be a spoiler so I will refrain from doing so. Both Billy and Mimi had endured childhood trauma, not physical but having strong psychological impact, and so their draw to each other seemed natural and beyond circumstantial. The middle of the book had the typical stressors of a budding relationship but I found immersing myself in it very enjoyable. 

This novel was a potpourri of sorts. Discovering the interrelation among Hollywood stardom, lightning strikes, undiagnosed illnesses, grief comforting, cultural/political prejudices, and computer scams made for page turning curiosity, despite being illogical juxtapositions. Curious? The final third of the book was totally unrealistic and highly improbable, but in fiction there does need to be some suspension of disbelief. If it were not for the disappointing final chapters I would have rated The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane four stars. Not to be dissuaded by the weakest chapters of the book, I still intend to pursue reading the fourth book in the series Tranquility Falls and just checked it out of the library. However I am demoting The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane to a still respectable three-star rating which translate as

★★★☆☆ Better than average; not a waste of time.

Related Past and Future Reads: As a counterpoint, I read Unscripted, another Davis Bunn book, and scored it only two stars in my post dated 1/25/20, stating that its subtitle should have been "and unedited". I also erroneously thought it was part of the Miramar series. True, you cannot judge a book by its cover, but I have also learned that you can't judge a book by its author either, no matter how many awards he has won, even if he has won four Christy Awards. In looking up Christy awards I think I now want to read the book that is the awards namesake, Christy, in addition to the previously mentioned Davis Bunn novel Tranquility Falls.