Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Jagged Ends
SERIES: Jagged Shores
AUTHOR: Thom Collins
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 246 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 30, 2024
BLURB:
Book five in the Jagged Shores series
Jerico is about to meet two figures from his past— one filled with love, the other consumed with vengeance.
The coastal town of Nyemouth is the perfect location for celebrity chef Jerico Osman to fulfil a lifetime ambition. With its stunning harbour and brisk holiday trade, there’ s no better place for him to open his first restaurant. It’ s a dream that has been a decade in the making. But there’ s another attraction in Nyemouth, one Jerico was completely unaware of.
Andy Quinn is content with his life. He has a great job managing Quay House, the popular waterfront hotel, and a peaceful home with a cat called Patches. Andy spent his twenties working in the cruise industry, exploring the world, and has finally settled in his hometown of Nyemouth. Those years at sea were a time of adventure and discovery, including a ship-board romance with a young Jerico. After fifteen years, Andy doubts the famous chef will even remember him, but from the moment they reconnect, the time they spent apart falls away.
Andy isn’ t the only figure from Jerico’ s past. A week before the restaurant is due to open, an act of reckless sabotage puts everything he cares about in danger, including Andy. Jerico has made an enemy, someone who will stop at nothing to see his long-realised dream become a nightmare. As a plan for vengeance is played out, who will survive until the end?
REVIEW:
Note: This is the fifth book in the series and while there are spoilers for an appearances by characters/couples from the previous books as well as illusions to the events of those books, it can probably work well enough as a standalone.
My goodness this story had a lot of action! What start off as a lovely story of reconnection of two men after many years soon devolves into a game of cat and mouse. I couldn’t stop reading it once I started 🙂
Andy is the manager of the Quay House hotel in Nyemouth – a seaside resort busy with tourists in the summer months. A new restaurant is opening soon in an old bank building that is headed by none other than celebrity chef Jerico Osman. Jerico and Andy met when they were young men in their early 20s working for and international cruise line. Jerico was part of the entertainment troupe and Andy was managing the shore excursions desk. They had a hot a heavy affair and when they both signed new contracts, they were no longer on the same ship and eventually lost touch. Andy eventually decided to return to his home town and manage the hotel there. Jerico has gone on to win a TV cooking show and has gone on to become a sought after celebrity chef. This is his first venture on this own opening a restaurant highlighting the cuisine of his homeland – Syrian food.
Andy has not yet run into Jerico and his mother Mari, a minor celebrity herself with dance hit songs from the past who is still gigging along, keeps nagging him to reach out to his old flame. Andy is not convinced that this is a good idea, but as he’s walking home, he sees Jerico through the window of the new restaurant and knocks on the door. After a minute, Jerico recognizes the man he hasn’t seen in nearly 15 years as Andy, the one who got away. They decide to go for a drink, but then someone attempts arson at the new restaurant. Both men are shocked, but thankfully minimal damage is done and it looks like things will still go to plan with the opening.
What Andy doesn’t know is that Jerico has a stalker and this stalker is escalating. Soon Andy is also in the sights of the unhinged man who wants to do Jerico harm. Incidents continue with Andy in particular as he is now the primary target. Despite the police and security, things are getting out of hand. It’s a tossup as to who will survive the rampage of this madman.
The stories in this series are unique in that the story is told from the perspective of the good and bad guys. There is little question as the motivation of the stalker here. What is surprising is the level of malevolence and the long history of deranged and dangerous behavior. The longer this guy has gotten away with his schemes, the less he worries about getting caught. He feels he can outsmart anyone – and he almost does! Jerico and Andy just want to move on with their lives with each other. It seems like Fate has brought them back together and they are both surprised at how easy their relationship feels once they spend time together again. They are both much more mature and they know what they want. They are honest with each other as they look forward to the future and they are clear they want to build something as a couple. I also really enjoyed getting to visit with the rest of the folks in Nyemouth from the previous books – Jacob and Jake and Matt, Andy’s neighbors are particularly supportive. I also loved Andy’s mother Mari. She is a delightfully supportive mum who wants to protect her son 🙂 Dominic and Arnie help to save the day as well. There is a lot of tension in this story as the hostilities increase, but thankfully there is a happy ending for Jerico and Andy 🙂 Fans of the series especially will enjoy this visit to Nyemouth. It has all the signature hallmarks of this series – danger, suspense, romance, and a hard won HEA. Recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Pride Publishing