Cocoa Beach - Beatriz Williams

Cocoa Beach

By Beatriz Williams

  • Release Date: 2017-06-27
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 144 Ratings

Description

The New York Times bestselling author of A Certain Age transports readers to sunny Florida in this lush and enthralling historical novel—an enchanting blend of love, suspense, betrayal, and redemption set among the rumrunners and scoundrels of Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach.

Burdened by a dark family secret, Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. While an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charismatic British army surgeon whose persistent charm opens her heart to the possibility of love. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets—secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind.

Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the tropical boomtown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to settle her husband’s estate. Despite the evidence, Virginia does not believe Simon perished in the fire that destroyed the seaside home he built for her and their young daughter. Separated from her husband since the early days of their marriage, the headstrong Virginia plans to uncover the truth, for the sake of the daughter Simon never met.

Simon’s brother and sister welcome her with open arms and introduce her to a dazzling new world of citrus groves, white beaches, bootleggers, and Prohibition agents. But Virginia senses a predatory presence lurking beneath the irresistible, hedonistic surface of this coastal oasis. The more she learns about Simon and his mysterious business interests, the more she fears that the dangers that surrounded Simon now threaten her and their daughter’s life as well.

Reviews

  • Beautifully written

    5
    By lbreader
    What an enjoyable read and a good mystery
  • Cocoa Beach

    2
    By AvidReaderWV6
    This was my least favorite of her books. Very slow!
  • Cocoa Beach

    3
    By No No Nannette
    Hmmmm. Mixed feelings. Bogged down halfway through. Again, pay attention to the dates. When it was good, it was very good. When it was bad, it was boring. The heroine was unlikeable not knowing if the hero was a bad guy or good made the romance guarded.
  • A fun mix

    5
    By PierresFamily
    Beatriz Williams' Cocoa Beach is a fun mix of world and Florida history, romance and suspense. Williams takes us back and forth in time, covering both the World War I years, as well as the first couple years afterward, with a taste of the dangers of life during Prohibition. For the most part, she delineates the time changes by chapters, so it was pretty easy to keep up. I think this story would make a great movie. The character development is great; early on, she managed to render me loyal to protagonist Virginia. It was hard to put this book down, and I think this story could make a good movie.
  • Cocoa Beach

    5
    By Racchel44
    Awesome read but you do have to pay attention to dates at the beginning of every chapter. Thrilling unexpected ending. Ms Williams describes the era and the place similar to an Anne Rice novel describing New Orleans. You are placed in the time and the culture with the smells and sights of Cocoa Beach. You can smell the orange blossoms, the sea and (in France) the stench of war and the wounded. HIghly recommend this over even the latest coolest novels like Girl on a Train.
  • Very hard to follow. I threw it out after the unfinished ending,,

    1
    By Sarasota Sweetie
    Recommend to know one ugh waist of my time and my money'