Ponder: Tranquility Falls

Tranquility Falls ©2020 is the fourth book in the Miramar Bay series by Davis Bunn. I have read books 1, 2, and 3 and have rated them three or four stars in my post dated 1/12/20. I read Book 5 and rated it three stars in my post for 7/25/21. Tranquility Falls is another one I rated 4 stars. In order for me to read several books in a series, I need to like the author's style in addition to some common thread... sometimes the characters and sometimes the setting. The Miramar Series has a peaceful common beach type setting on the mid-California Coast, fictitious but imaginatively close to San Luis Obispo. There is minimal character overlap and those inter-relations are more convenient than necessary. I read the books out of order and it did not matter. The text on the cover of Tranquility Falls asks the question.

 What's more difficult? Holding on or letting go?

Daniel is in Miramar Bay recuperating from the fast life of Los Angeles where he was a well renown television news anchor. He is recovering from alcohol addiction and the death of his fiancé in an auto accident. This information is presented early on in the book to set the stage; this background data explains the Daniel's reactions and behavior but is not the focus of the book's plot. Good. I dislike reading about situations that are too depressing. A certain amount of bad is needed to create tension and suspense; too much bad makes for a bummer of a read. Daniel fears a return to the LA area will tempt him to succumb to his past weaknesses. Daniel has a 17 year old niece, Nicole, who is staying with him after her heartless mother unceremoniously dumped her and her possessions off. Daniel and Nicole share the affection and attentions of a yellow Labradoodle named Goldie who had been rescued from a shelter by Daniel's fiancé. The following photo is of a group of Labradoodle assistance dogs from Wikipedia. 

A second major character in the book is Jennifer, a divorced mother raising an 11 year old daughter, Amber, whose twin sister died of a disease several years prior. Her husband deserted her, leaving her to cope on her own, claiming her life was "too full of sorrow" and he could not bear it. Jennifer's is a sad situation but the novel does not dwell on it. The focus is on how past experiences affect her actions in her present and future life. Jennifer fears trusting any man who will merely leave when the going gets tough.

Both main characters Daniel and Jennifer are coping in their present lives, having survived the tragedies of the past. Can Daniel trust himself to return to his career, a field where he is very talented? Can Jennifer allow herself to place trust in anyone other than herself? These quandaries brings to my mind the lyrics of the 1993 Garth Brooks song Standing Outside the Fire.

Life is not tried it is merely survived

If you're standing outside the fire

Off course there needs to be nasty characters to create tension and conflict in the book: Lisa, Daniel's self-centered and heartless sister; co-workers where Jennifer works at the city hall who are embezzling funds and setting Jennifer up as the scape goat; a district attorney out to win a case, oblivious to whether or not justice is being served. I found this book very uplifting in the way people truly cared and pulled for each other. Daniel's AA sponsor Travis and his wife Ricki are selfless, supportive, and loyal. Connections Daniel had from his reckless LA days see through to the good, decent man within and reach out a helping hand. Sol, the defense attorney, is willing to take risks to exonerate Jennifer from false accusations. Even the unseen but quirky character of Sergei, a Ukranian-style heavily accented hacker in Alabama, enters the battle for the good guy. Per Wikipedia, "Bunn is writer of historical fiction and legal thrillers, in which Christian faith plays a major part."  Christian in his books is Christian in the best way. It is not the scripture quoting, bible thumping, mannerisms of the bible belt, but rather a true effort to treat others well and help them when and however possible. Reading one of Bunn's books is like watching a Hallmark movie but with the sappiness extracted and some real meaty suspense injected.

Per Kensington book publishers "Davis Bunn is an internationally bestselling author with more than seven million books in print in twenty languages." His number of reviews on Amazon is relatively small, only 158 for Tranquility Falls. Just out of curiosity, I poked around Amazon to see what quantity of reviews is typical. The Brenda Novak series Whisky Creek and Silver Springs had hundreds of reviews per book, while authors like Jodi Picoult and Louise Penny had thousands of reviews. For Tranquility Falls, 75% of Amazon reviewers rated it 5 stars for an overall rating 4.6 stars. I give it 4 stars and intend to read more Bunn books of the Miramar Bay series. The Emerald Tide is due out in August of 2022.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience