4 stars
The Coral in question is to be found on a Pacific island where Amy
Slater’s parents live. It’s a very intense love story where the heroine is
surviving her worst nightmare, and those wanting to read JAK at her
wittiest will be disappointed. It is, however, a well written, cracking
adventure story with one heck of a climax, complete with skeletons galore
in the cupboard – and one in an underwater cave.
Amy Slater writes science fiction romance and has a very cautious
relationship with her neighbour Jed. He works abroad a lot, and they’re
just good friends. They each guard their privacy and independence, though
Amy is discretely weaning Jed away from an over-fondness for Scotch. Jed
works abroad a lot, and when not working he relaxes by building
beautifully engineered bird cages.
One day, Jed begs a lift from the airport as he’s recovering from a
serious accident abroad. Amy takes care of him, and their relationship
changes. They become lovers. Jed also finds that Amy is not only an
insomniac but also suffers from terrible nightmares about being trapped in
underwater caves, and they’re getting worse. Jed sympathises. He’s a
government agent, not the engineer he claims to be, and he’s done things
which have given him his own nightmares.
Amy's nightmares are expressed in her latest book, but Jed thinks that’s
only half the tale. He's right. When they go to her parents' island together, Amy panics on a routine scuba dive, and the whole story comes out. Together, Amy and Jed set out to exorcise the memories. On a tropical island, they deal with further villains, exonerate Amy’s parents, solve an old mystery and fall in love.
The relationship between Jed is delicately drawn. Amy’s and Jed’s past lives
are gradually painted in, so that the reader learns bit by bit about each
of them. This is JAK in top form. Jed is on an emotional journey from
isolation to sharing his life with Amy. Amy has to learn to deal with her
nightmares, and learn to trust Jed. The descriptions of the caves in Amy’s
nightmares – caves which we learn are based on Amy’s real experiences –
are graphically described in the new novel Amy is writing, called Private
Demons. We gradually learn how horrific Amy’s experiences have been by
reading pages of Amy’s book. After reading them, and reading the climax of
the story in the caves which Amy fears so much, I definitely don’t ever
want to go cave diving.
Phyllis Brighouse
Science fiction writer Amy Slater didn't know what to make of
the phone call she received from Jed Glaze asking her to pick him up at
the airport in the middle of the night. Up to this point, their
relationship had been strictly platonic, and could barely even be called a
relationship since Jed spent more time overseas on "business" than at
their small coastal village of Calliph's Bay. It wasn't that they weren't
attracted to each other. Amy had seen the hunger Jed tried to conceal
every time he looked at her. However, each had resisted to take their
relationship past the level of friendship, because they both have secrets
in their past that neither wants revealed.
This all changes the night Jed returns from his trip wounded and
feverish. Amy couldn't leave him alone in that condition, so she takes
him back to her cottage. Finally, forced to deal with each other on a
more intimate level, Amy has to admit that Jed isn't exactly what he
seems. And Jed discovers that Amy has been suffering from nightmares
for the last eight months. She claims that they are a product of an
over-active imagination. Jed disagrees. He suspects it has something
to do with an accident, eight months before on her parents' tropical island,
when Amy had pulled the dead body of a male friend out of a cave entrance
pool. Amy isn't talking, even after they give into their mutual
attraction and make love on her sofa. So Jed doesn't see any choice,
but to accompany her back to her parents' Pacific island home to deal
with the past.
It's a good thing, Jed is more than an engineer. He has
worked as a government agent for eight years. When Amy's secret turns
out to involve a twenty-five year old tale of blackmail, a fortune in
emeralds, and murder, it's going to take all of Jed's skills to keep
them both alive until they discover who is willing to kill over a
twenty-five year old secret. This is one of my favorite books. It has
all the ingredients that has me reaching for a Jayne Ann Krentz novel
every time I see a new one in the store. The relationship between Jed
and Amy has a nice balance, neither is too domineering and the journey
from "just friends" to lovers is one you will enjoy. I like a strong
suspense element in the books I read, and Ms. Krentz doesn't disappoint
me. I highly recommend this book.
Barbara Dombrowski
This is some darn good reading. A Coral Kiss is not only a
convincing love story, but a masterful suspense which grips
the reader's intellect from the first. The powerful emotions
which develop between parallels the build of danger
and suspense in the mystery. In addition to this, we are
treated to an obviously well researched and insightful
scuba-diving theme, which does not patronize, but does not
leave the layman behind. Boiling hot love scenes keep us on
our toes, as the drama pulls us to the edge of our seats.
This is a wonderful book, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
ZOE MARRIOTT
