The Lightkeepers Ball by Colleen Coble ~ review

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Olivia seems to have it all, but her heart yearns for more.
Olivia Stewart's family is one of the Four Hundred-the highest echelon of society in 1910. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Olivia leaves their New York City home for Mercy Falls, California, to determine what befell Eleanor. She suspects Harrison Bennett, the man Eleanor planned to marry. But the more Olivia gets to know him, the more she doubts his guilt-and the more she is drawn to him herself.
When several attempts are made on her life, Olivia turns to Harrison for help. He takes her on a ride in his aeroplane, but then crashes, and they're forced to spend two days alone together. With her reputation hanging by a thread, Harrison offers to marry her to make the situation right. As a charity ball to rebuild the Mercy Falls lighthouse draws near, she realizes she wants more than a sham engagement-she wants Harrison in her life forever. But her enemy plans to shatter the happiness she is ready to grasp. If Olivia dares to drop her masquerade, she just might see the path to true happiness.

My take on this book:
Eleanor Stewart leaves her home in New York to marry Harrison Bennett, but when her mother gets word that Eleanor is dead, a drowning no less, Olivia, Eleanor's sister thinks something isn't right, her sister was afraid of water so why would she have drowned. She thinks the fiance might have had something to do with it and decides to take hop a ship to Mercy Falls to get some answers. When she is pushed off the ship before arriving at Mercy Falls she begins to think someone is out to get her. The man that saves her turns out to be Harrison Bennett, but he has no idea who she is because she is using the families formal English title of Lady Devonworth. As the story unfolds its obvious that Olivia's life is in jeopardy, can she figure out the truth before its to late?
The author weaves together suspense, romance, action and mystery along with several plot twists which held my attention until the final pages as I tried to guess who-dun-it. While there is a definite christian message it isn't preachy or overwhelming.
While I enjoyed the mystery in this story, but the historical flavor of the book was what drew me to the story, that and the beautiful cover. Sometimes you can judge a book by the cover, and this one is a real winner!
Even though this is the third book in the Mercy Falls series it can easily be read as a stand alone work, I didn't read the first two and had no problems jumping right into this story!

rating 5/5
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.