Retro Reading: Wave Good-Bye by Lila Dare

All good thing need to come to an end, and I have mixed feelings about the ending of this series.

Lila Dare had a great run with the series, but for some reason, this had my confused and almost not caring for the characters. In a way, it felt like one big hot mess.

In this installment, hair chain, Snippets has moved into St. Elizabeth and threatens to put Violetta's out of business. Business is down and with only a few customers a day, Violetta thinks that maybe she should close down the salon.

Her daughter, Grace Ann isn't too happy about hearing that news, but when it's discovered that there's mold growing throughout the salon and house, thanks to Hurricane Horatio, Violetta begins to wonder about the future.

After an inspection, it is determined that the shop will have to be closed down, resulting in the temporary layoff of the staff. For Grace, though, she's offered a position at Snippets since the manager, Lisa Butterworth, was found dead in the shop's salt water aquarium. Having been a rival of Lisa's, Grace is suspected in her murder and this time, her ex-husband Hank will do almost anything to see her arrested.

Grace looks at Hank as just a pain and continues on with her life. She starts to enjoy her time at Snippets (and with the benefits that come with it, you'd wish you could join their crew!) and she eventually is allowed to hire the crew from Violetta's.

She also has her share of romantic problems and says goodbye to her somewhat boyfriend, Marty, a reporter who now lives in Washington, D.C. When he comes down for a visit, you'd almost wish that she would have slugged him one.

For much of the book, it's Grace really trying to adapt to her pending new life. And this is where I became lost.

Horatio had blown into town after Halloween and according to the timeline of the series, this installment should be taking place after Christmas or the first of the year. Yet, it takes place in the fall, so, if you follow the series closely, has it been a full year (and Grace mentions that she had just met Special Agent Dillon a few months earlier in the spring) or, was this maybe supposed to have been the third installment? I don't know.

But that's not where the confusion lies.

The characters seem a bit off as well.

They come across as being weak. For tough southern women, they sort of act like they've been tossed into a story and don't know what to do. It's evident with an interaction between Dillon and Grace.

Prior to this installment, both had each other's phone number (she calls Dillon on occasion during her other investigations) and he gives her his phone number and also tells her what his first name is. He told her prior to this and she acts like this is the first time hearing it.

Maybe Dare was bored with the series or had become lazy, but these things happen and had it ended at the third installment it would have been a satisfying ending.

I still recommend this series, but just be warned that this installment isn't the best that you'll ever read.