Disclosure: I received these books to review. Post contains affiliate links; opinions shared are mine.

A book that goes on vacation with me has to be mind candy. There, I said it. I don’t look for a riveting read that will keep me enthralled — otherwise, I wouldn’t want to explore my vacation spot! Instead, I need something to keep me occupied when we’re sitting in traffic, or maybe read a chapter or two before dozing off for the night. So my “Beach Book” expectations are not high. Therefore, I recommend A Sweet Misfortune as an easy read – just read on knowing that they’re not riveting works of great American literature.

A Sweet Misfortune by Maggie Brendan followed an unusual story line. When her brother Preston went off to find his fortune in gold mining, Rachel was left to find disgraceful work as a dancer in a saloon.  Luckily, Preston was able to (easily) convince his friend John to care for Rachel until Preston’s return.  The whole thing went off without a hitch.  Unfortunately, Rachel was not keen on the idea of being rescued, and John was less than impressed with her work as a dancer.  Throw in a few homespun characters and good homecooking, and you’ve got yourself a fairly decent story.

There were some incongruent moments in the book. First, John seemed to be so put out by Rachel’s presence (if I read the words “soiled dove” one more time….) but continued to allow her to stay at his home — which seemed highly improper to me.  It didn’t make sense that he would risk damage to his own reputation in order to save hers.  Secondly, there were some characters who seemed to be in the spotlight but then all of a sudden, they weren’t. It was confusing and rather anticlimactic.  Finally, the whole love triangle (or parallelogram…or pentagon…whatever) thing just got boring.  So many suitors were vying for Rachel’s attention, despite her sketchy background, it was yawn-worthy.  If those things were brushed aside, though, we have a romantic read that held a few sweet moments.

 
On the other hand, I realize that some of you may really want an engrossing novel to get your mind off “real life” during vacation. For you, I present Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson. This story revolves around two cold cases that took place in a small rural county. The characters seem so familiar that I could easily place them with faces from my hometown. The main investigator of these missing-person cases was Evie Blackwell, a spunky young upstart from the Governor’s pocket. I liked the way she walked right into the situation, took control, and immediately put her problem solving skills to work. It was so interesting to see into her thinking process, and to watch the scenes unfold. I literally did not move from my seat until I finished reading this book. My body’s imprint might just be permanently molded into my couch, thanks to Traces of Guilt!

Somehow, though, the story seemed to be a bit too perfect. The three Thane brothers had some kind of uncanny knack for women, because two out of the three girlfriends had serious issues to address. How likely is that? Henderson did a great job of creating the background for each story, but it was almost too much to keep straight. Still, I really loved the way that she drew most of the threads together at the end. There were still a few loose ends, but I expect to see those in future titles in the series. At least, I hope so! If you want to fill your summer reading list with books that make you think, add Traces of Guilt. Fans of crime scene mysteries and law enforcement drama will absolutely drink this up.