In Shelter Cove is the latest in Barbara Freethy’s Angel’s Bay series. While I haven’t read the other books, this one captured my interest from the first and held it until the end.

Brianna Kane and her young son Lucas moved to Angel’s Bay after her husband Derek was killed weeks before his release from prison. Brianna moved there to be near her beloved in-laws, but she also intends to prove that her husband was innocent and unjustly imprisoned for art theft and an attack on a guard. Angel’s Bay is the site of his alleged crime, as well as the place he was arrested.

Brianna is furious when she spots Jason Marlow at her husband’s memorial service. Jason grew up with her husband and was his best friend. He’s also the police officer who arrested Derek. Brianna blames Jason for robbing her and her son of a life with Derek. Although they were married for five years, Brianna never lived with her husband. They were engaged prior to his arrest, and married on one of his first days in prison.

Brianna confronts Jason at the cemetery, and tries to make it clear that she wants nothing to do with him. Jason has other plans. He’s been attracted to Brianna since he first saw her years earlier, before he knew she was engaged to his friend, and the attraction is still there.

Soon, Brianna and Jason are thrown together. Jason is caring for pets at the house next to Brianna’s, and gradually becomes involved in both her and her son’s lives. Her son has longed for a father figure and Jason fits the bill.

As Brianna begins to have feelings for Jason, she’s torn over feelings of disloyalty to Derek and, more importantly, to his parents. Brianna’s parents were distant, with little time for their daughter and Derek’s parents were the first real family she ever felt that she had. Now, her budding relationship with Jason threatens that family.

There are genuine obstacles to Brianna and Jason’s relationship. Jason firmly believes that he was correct in arresting Derek, while Brianna is convinced that he was innocent. While Jason feels that Brianna is the one for him, Brianna is less certain. Some may not enjoy the push-and-pull by Brianna over her relationship with Jason; I found it to be realistic.

There are many different characters in the book, with a number of secondary plots. I found most of them to be interesting, but at times felt that they distracted a bit from the main story. It’s possible that long-time readers of the series will feel more of a connection to some of the secondary characters than I did.

I had a few problems with the resolution of the mystery, as some of the revelations occur off-page, but not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book. Overall, I enjoyed the mix of contemporary romance and light mystery, and found the plot interesting and the main characters likeable.