Shattered Whispers by Christy Barritt

Shattered Whispers is the second book in the Lantern Beach Exposure series. Abby Mendez has moved the Lantern Beach to follow her dream of operating a live theatre. Her troupe is working on a play that she has written and is directing in an old theatre building she bought. She has invested her life savings into her dream and has to work at cleaning jobs to make ends meet. Still, she is enjoying it until she discovers a dead body in her theatre office…and the killer is still there!

Hunter Bancroft, an agent with the Blackout Security firm, is out walking despite a pending storm when he hears a scream from the old theatre building. Rushing in he just misses the killer making his escape, but he finds Abby shaken but unhurt.

The mystery builds as Abby’s life starts to unravel. Is she really being targeted by a deadly villain or is something else going on? Could it involve Ocean Essense, a cosmetics firm that has opened up a research facility on Lantern Beach? As Abby’s life appears to be in danger, her friends hire Hunter as a bodyguard.

Hunter and Abby are opposites in personality and have both come from failed relationships. They are distrustful of each other but must learn to put their personal feelings aside and work together. It may be the only way Abby will get out of this alive.

This is another great story by Christy Barritt. The book which launches this romantic suspense series is Fractured Lies. It introduces the Ocean Essence firm and leaves us wondering, along with the Lantern Beach residents, why such a large company would choose to open a lab in such a remote location. Christy Barritt has an excellent blend of action and romance that will entertain a wide range of readers.