Review: Maternal Harbor by Marie F. Martin

Published: September 7, 2012
Format: E-book
Source: Purchased on Amazon

Pregnant and alone, Teagan O'Riley befriends three expectant mothers at an OBGYN clinic.  Now, two of them are dead and the third is close on Teagan's heels, intent on eliminating the last obstacle in a monstrous plot.  She cannot risk entrusting the police.  Her finger prints are all over one crime scene and her foot print smeared into blood at another.  Surely, the authorities would remove the babies from her care and place them with child protective services, making them easy targets.  Teagan flees with the babies to the only refuge she can think of - the wilderness cabin belonging to the grandmother of her lost love.  But is even this remote location safe?

First Sentences

"The dash clock bullied.  Teagan O'Riley accelerated from Fishermen's Terminal, sped through an intersection on yellow and merged onto a street which shot straight to a busy Seattle OB/GYN clinic."

My Thoughts

The story line is a great one, however I am a little disappointed in the delivery.  Nothing irks me more than grammatical errors and I noticed more than my fair share.  Typically that completely turns me away from a book, but I had to find out how it ended.

Teagan's character is somewhat bland, but you know that no matter what, she will do whatever it takes to protect her baby.  I really liked Pai - she was quite and reserved and a little off, but probably my favorite!  I didn't get a lot from Doretta, and felt like she was flat and just all around boring.  I didn't feel the passion or anything from her like I did from the other characters.  Erica is a COMPLETE whack job.

The four women meet in an OB/GYN office and find out that they are all having boys around the same time. They form a bond as they are all single mothers and promise to stay in touch and care for the babies if anything were to ever happen to them.

Pai is the first to have her baby, and the first to start getting paranoid.  She knows something isn't right, but just doesn't know what it is.  Shortly thereafter Doretta and Teagan have their baby boys.

Erica has been acting strange ... and trust me -- it gets even more strange...

I honestly felt bad for her at times.  Is that weird?  I mean she had a troubled past and I'm not saying that I condone her behavior, but as we say in the south "bless her heart".

Anyway, while I enjoyed the story line I did feel like it could have sped up some.  There were many times I just kept thinking "okay, get to the good stuff!"  But don't worry, the good stuff came.  I have to admit that the ending was a great one, and I'm glad I didn't completely give up on the book.

My Ratings

Cover: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Plot: 4/5

Ending: 4/5

Overall: 3/5

Happy Reading!