Nora Roberts always gives her audience a "good read," and CAROLINA MOON is no exception. Combining mystery, intrigue and romance, Roberts examines an unsolved murder in a small southern town, and the relationships that develop 18 years later when those directly affected by the crime are reunited.
As a child, clairvoyant Tory Bodeen is abused and beaten by her father Hannibal, a Bible-quoting fundamentalist who fears her gift. Her only respite from this terrorization is the time she spends with her best friend, Hope Lavelle. Although the girls come from opposite social and economic ends --- Hope is the privileged daughter of a wealthy farmer and socialite, while Tory lives in poverty and abuse --- they are spiritual sisters. They share secrets and adventures like any other pair of eight-year-olds.
Everything changes one hot August night. The girls plan to sneak out of their houses after bedtime to meet for an adventure in the swamp, a favorite hiding place. Hope reaches the swamp, but because Tory has the misfortune to "see" where her mother has stored a forgotten object, her father whips her with his belt and locks her in her room as punishment.
With no way to reach her friend, Tory has another vision --- this time of danger approaching Hope. She watches helplessly as Hope is attacked, raped and strangled by an unseen man. Although Tory can lead the police to Hope's body the next morning, she can't lead them to the killer because she never saw his face. Not accepting Tory's clairvoyance, neither Hope's family nor the police believe that Tory wasn't really there, that she only saw the crime occur in a vision. The murder remains unsolved, and soon after, Tory's family moves away from Progress.
Eighteen years later, Tory returns to Progress --- the only place she ever considered a hometown --- to open Southern Comfort, a gift shop specializing in high-end South Carolina crafts. She becomes reacquainted with Faith Lavelle, Hope's twin. Faith and Tory must now redefine their relationship. When Hope was alive, Faith was the outsider. Faith is still haunted by Hope's death and the self-image that she was never as good as her twin. Her low self-esteem has led her through two disastrous marriages and countless love affairs. Paralleling Tory's return home, Faith must learn to accept herself, and the love she has long denied Tory's cousin, Wade.
Tory also becomes reacquainted with Faith and Hope's older brother Cade, and a new relationship develops. Cade doesn't blame Tory for Hope's death and is not frightened or disgusted by Tory's clairvoyance, but Tory has been hurt by such attitudes in the past.
Shortly after returning to Progress, Tory begins to have visions of Hope's murder, as well as visions of other women being killed in the same manner --- murders that are also unsolved. When a young high school teacher is brutally raped and murdered, it becomes evident that Hope's death was not a one-time event caused by a passing vagrant, but the work of a serial killer who is still living in their midst. Tory can see and feel the pain and terror of each death, but she cannot see the killer. For Tory, solving Hope's murder becomes the key to burying the past, moving on with her life, and building a permanent relationship with Cade.
While Roberts handles interpersonal relationships adeptly, there is one relationship she almost ignores --- that of Tory and her clairvoyance. Throughout the book, Tory is clearly ambivalent about her clairvoyance, but Roberts doesn't explore that in any depth. There is no reference to Tory learning to deal with her gift, either through the help of a mentor or self-development. At different times during the book, Tory both welcomes and rejects her visions, leaving the reader a bit confused as to her true feelings. I would have liked more in-depth examination of how Tory learned to accept the metaphysical, and how it affected her relationships with people.
--- Reviewed by Debbie Ann Weiner
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