a review by Rebecca Muir
Publisher: Piatkus
Release date: 2012
Copper Beach is an action-packed thriller set in a world where the paranormal is full of power. Abby Radwell has a psychic talent for detecting and decoding “hot” books –those with a psychic encryption. She works by referral only, because the world of “hot” books is full of dangerous people who would pay a lot of money or go to extreme lengths to get their hands on rare and valuable works.
After a hold-up in a client’s private library, Abby starts to receive blackmail threats. She reluctantly hires Sam Coppersmith (also psychically gifted, although he specialises in “hot” rocks – crystals and the like) to both investigate who is sending the threats, and to keep her safe in the meantime. It becomes apparent that Sam and his family (a wealthy family who own a research company specialising in psychic energy and technology) are more involved than it first appeared, and may hold the key to unravelling what is really going on – what is the mysterious old alchemy notebook which everyone seems to be looking for, and why does everyone think Abby has it? However, Abby must first break through Sam’s tough guy exterior and help him come to terms with the past.
This was not a bad book, and the storyline was fast-paced and gripping. However, it was also not a fantastic book. I felt like the interaction between Abby and Sam was not particularly well executed. It was on one hand a bit predictable and on the other a bit over the top. It just felt a bit forced, like the main point was to be able to write some hot sex scenes. Speaking of which, the word “hot” was used too much – as well as “hot” books and “hot” rocks, Sam keeps on being described as having “hot” eyes, and I was never sure if this was to say, as in the case of the books and the rocks, that he was exuding psychic energy, or if it was just a comment on how sexy he was.
If you like paranormal thrillers, or fast-paced action with a sexy but troubled man, the strong silent type who is misunderstood by all the world except the smart, beautiful woman who is in danger and needs the help of the sexy but troubled man, then you’ll probably like this book. A warning though that it does contain fairly graphic sex scenes, so it is not really suitable for younger readers.
