Fragile Designs

I enjoyed reading Fragile Designs and I read it quickly, within a day, because I couldn’t put it down. Carly is a widow with an infant son, Noah, and they’re living with her grandmother in Beaufort, South Carolina. Carly’s late husband is a police officer who was murdered before he knew Carly was pregnant. The murder case is unsolved at the start of the story.

Carly’s grandmother is renovating her large home in the coastal tourist area and they have plans to convert it into a B&B. Carly’s two sisters visit to assist with the renovation. Their family relationships are complicated and old secrets are discovered that threaten to tear apart their family.

Lucas is a homicide detective and his brother is Carly’s ex-boyfriend who’s renovating her grandma’s house next door. Lucas doesn’t have a high opinion of Carly, in part because he knew her late husband. Lucas and Carly are drawn together when Carly needs his help to find out why her late husband was murdered and her family are in danger.

Lucas and Carly’s friends-to-more romance is sweet and they both have issues to resolve before they can commit to a relationship. Carly has a big heart and she is prepared to make sacrifices for her loved ones. Lucas can’t help doting on baby Noah. I loved how Lucas got to know Carly and put aside his preconceived ideas in order to protect her and her family.

The Russian history of the famous Faberge eggs is fascinating and I appreciated how it played an integral role in the story. The…

I enjoyed getting to know the Turner family amidst the chaos of renovation and murderous mystery. I loved seeing the growth between sisters and the neighbours too. There were plenty of twists in the saga of finding the heirlooms and more importantly the family members. A nice ending, too bad it's not a series, but the epilogue was good for some of that closure.