The Widow of Pale Harbor was pitched as gothic suspense/historical fiction. Set in 1846 Maine, the tale begins when Gabriel arrives to fill the slot as minister in this tiny seaside town. He arrives during a brutal storm and finds disturbing items left at the altar. While getting to know his new congregation, he is told to watch out for The Widow Carter, a recluse who locals believe killed her husband in cold blood. Her housemate and servant, Helen, does nothing to thaw the villagers perceptions, keeping Sophronia Carver at home and protected through use of herbal spells and bindings. Someone is leaving dead birds, threatening notes and other totems at window Carver’s house; at the same time strange things are happening in the village and all are blaming Widow Carver, calling her a witch. While Gabriel is enchanted by Widow Carver, he manages to put his foot in his mouth and make himself misunderstood for the first few meetings. Sadly, that’s where the romance takes over and the mystery takes a back seat. Even when Gabriel’s secret is found out by the Widow, it does nothing to dissipate their newly found attraction. The story had an interesting loop into Edgar Allan Poe to help lead us to the culprit and tie the clues together. This was a romantic suspense novel, heavy on the romance, very very light on the suspense. A nice light read on a rainy weekend.
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