Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Erik Mitchell traveled the world uncovering art fraud and relic theft, which pitted him against spoiled billionaires, unscrupulous collectors, mobsters, and cartels. He worked with law enforcement across the U.S. and Europe, but then a sting goes wrong, Erik ends up injured and returns to find his partner cheating. He decides to stop globetrotting and buy an antique shop in scenic Cape May, NJ, rebuild his life, and nurse his broken heart.
Undercover Newark cop Ben Nolan went down in a hail of bullets when a bust went sideways, after a tip-off from a traitor inside the department. When he recovers, he spends a couple of years as a private investigator, only to tire of seeing the worst of human nature. So when his aunt offers him the chance to take over her rental real estate business in Cape May, it seems too good to be true. Now if he could just believe he could ever be lucky again in love.
Sparks fly when Erik and Ben meet. But when a cursed hotel’s long-ago scandals resurface, the two men are pulled into a web of lies, danger, and deception that will test their bond—and might make them Cape May’s newest ghosts!
Treasure Trail contains sexually explicit material intended for adults 18 and over.
Treasure Trail by Morgan Brice is another terrific paranormal romance with a mystery element from this author who quickly become a musts read based on her other series of the same nature, Badlands and Witchbane, both of which are loosely interconnected by their main couples who solve paranormal/supernatural murder/mysteries, albeit in other towns and states. While each series operates independently of each other, it’s not unusual to see or “hear” characters from the other series being referred to or as is the case here where Simon Kincaide (Badlands), a medium and friend of Erik’s, is part of the story.
For me, a reader already a huge fan of the multiseries universe this author is creating, adding another couple with complex back histories and locating them in a town that carries it own rich paranormal history and historic legacy to use in future stories? Awesome! For the new reader who will treat this as a standalone? No problem because Brice provides enough of the backstory on each character (including secondary people such as Simon and Vic) that you won’t feel as though you are missing out on too much foundation story.
Treasure Trail is located in Cape May, New Jersey, a place, which is you have never had the pleasure of visiting, you should put it on your lists asap. It’s everything Brice describes here, vividly in the story. Full of gorgeous Victorian houses, a beach often underutilized, a lighthouse and birding to die for (not literally or course unless its in this story). It’s one of my favorite places to escape to . And, as Morgan Brice so aptly points out, with its location on shifting sands, it’s a liminal spot, perfect for paranormal activities and ghostly tales. That it has many of.
As Brice has done for Myrtle Beach and Pittsburgh, the author folds in Cape May beautifully into her story and couple, using it’s history , atmosphere, and settings effortlessly. So it allows us to focus on Erik and Ben, their relationship, their problematic back stories, and the mysteries they are working on.
As always, I love the paranormal treatment here. Brice brings in many elements of the paranormal community (as she does in each series), forming an eventual “otherworld family” for Erik and Ben to draw from. Each one is well defined and intesteresting in their own right. Erik and Ben? Oh, my. What a great couple. Erik is an unexpected combination of toughness and vulnerability that is truly appealing. And Ben himself is Erik’s equal so their partnership works on every level, including romantic. Yes, I believe that they were soulmates.
At the end, the author throws in a twist to this story that made me aware that she writes under another name and yes, there are more connected series than just Badlands and Witchbane. It has sent me running to her library to get caught up. Oh my. So yes, read the author’s note at the end.
Treasure Trail by Morgan Brice is a wonderful story and a great start to a new series. I absolutely recommend it as well as all the other series Morgan Brice has written that are joined to this one. Have fun and binge them them all!
Cover art: Lou Harper. Love this cover, it works for the tone and characters.
Sales Links: Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 246 pages
Published: June 26, 2019 by Darkwind Press
Edition Language: English
Book Details:
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 