Murder in Forest Bay: A Novel

Colleen Rae, a seasoned writer who has traveled extensively, loved deeply, and aged gracefully, provides us, once again, a compelling story of those ordinary people next door — a few too bitten by ambition they abandon their morality, extend their capabilities, and do things considered unthinkable.

But this is a mystery and quietly enjoyable — a calming read with an intriguing plot staffed with memorable characters. It is incapsulating in that one is drawn in closely, meets and joins these multidimensional people as they invite you into their story, community, and homes.

Samatha, a small-town blossoming newspaper gal, discovers the anomaly that becomes the crime she solves. We love Samantha — young and reaching but no longer naive. It’s an enduring story, a vineyard involved, avarice and envy. And, like a summer week at the beach, not once forgotten and as easy to recommend as a mellow Merlot.

— D.L. LaRoche, author of The Arkansas Rose,The Mortician and Other Love Stories, Ordinary Times, and others