Book Review: Cranberry Cove by Hailey Piper

“Only men were so foolish as to believe they owned the world.”

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Abandoned since the 1970s, Cranberry Cove is an insidious enigma haunted by sinister histories rife with urban legends, a dilapidated hotel where horrible things happen, and where men often disappear without a trace. And after a criminal bigwig’s eldest son is viciously assaulted onsite, enforcer Emberly Hale must travel into its chilling core and through her own fraught past in order to uncover the truth. Can she solve the mystery? Prevent a street war? Survive to tell the tale?

Cranberry Cove is a tense, mysterious, and harrowing page-turner that jumps into a story-in-progress, as Emberly and her co-enforcer, Conner, embark on a journey for answers. The writing is immersive and chock-full of deliciously dark gothic elements that masterfully establish setting, character, and atmosphere while examining gender, power, entitlement, intent, and identity. Emberly’s hopes, challenges, and struggles render her vulnerable, endearing, and utterly believable, a fully-fleshed individual for whom the reader whole-heartedly roots, and her tender relationship with Conner is a bright spot.

Also tremendously innovative and satisfying: Emberly’s research into the locale’s history and the unexpected twists, turns, and grim realities that follow, where the line between fact and fiction, reality and fantasy is blurry and terrifying, producing a unique and creative story oozing anxiety, menace, and unease. A fantastic supernatural crime thriller that makes this reader eager for more Hailey Piper!

🖤Amanda