Book Review: Midnight Sea

Reviewed by Adam Blumer.

Coble, Colleen. Midnight Sea. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. Paperback, 320 pages. $14.99.

(Review copy courtesy of Thomas Nelson.)
Purchase: Thomas Nelson | CBD | Amazon

Read an excerpt.

Reading Group Guide.

Aloha Reef Series #4 / Women of Faith Series #15

ISBNs: 1595541403 / 9781595541406

Subjects: Christian Fiction / Suspense

RITA finalist Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of several novels including The Rock Harbor Series, The Aloha Reef Series, and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea.

The Gist

Leilani (Lani) Tagama, a florist designer, is working at her aunt’s coffee farm in Hawaii when a bullet kills a coworker and strikes Lani, blinding her. Who pulled the trigger and how Lani copes with her blindness draw the reader into a fun, engaging quest of discovery. While Lani struggles through the unanswered question of whether her blindness is permanent, Ben Mahoney arrives on the scene. Fueled by guilt due to a friend who went blind because of his negligence, Ben temporarily allows Lani to use his guide dog, Fisher, a golden retriever.

Her connection with Ben immediately brings up memories of a past Lani would rather forget. Before trusting Christ, she had the reputation of being loose and has lived with the consequences and stigma of her lifestyle ever since. Even those who know of her conversion doubt someone like her could change. While Lani wrestles through unanswered questions and ponders her future direction, another attempt is made on her life. Someone wants her dead. But why?

Page Appeal

Coble has written plenty of mystery novels and knows how to spin a fun web of mystery and suspense. She especially likes to makes dogs central to her tales. Interestingly, the plot begins long before Lani was born. How past events feed a killer’s present motives is what makes the plot strong and compelling.

Coble’s words shine, and she makes her prose sing as only a master of the art can. Her characters have real-life struggles we can identify with. Her setting in Hawaii is especially memorable and goes beyond the familiar cliches of “aloha” and hula-hula dancing. For example, the novel increased my understanding of how coffee beans (“cherries”) are grown and roasted on a coffee farm. Her depiction of Hawaiian culture was also educational. At first, I mentally groaned when I saw lists of “Words Used in This Book” and “Hippie Slang.” I thought, If I have to flip back and forth to remember what “chrome dome” or “pipi” means, this book is going to get old fast. But Coble did such a good job of seamlessly weaving in these expressions in an understandable way that I forgot about the lists.

Reflections on Christian Living

Midnight Sea offers surprising depth about the Christian life that I found refreshing compared to similar novels. As a new believer, Lani struggles with her sinful past in light of God’s promises. Often godly friends reflect on biblical truths and exhort her not to let guilt about past sins hinder her from present and future joy. When Lani is tempted to go to an unsaved friend’s party, knowing full well where temptation could lead, Annie, a Christian sister, lovingly exhorts Lani to do the right thing with the following outcome (pp. 214-215):

Lani examined the feelings she’d been having every time she thought of her old life. “I miss the fun I used to have. Now it attracts me and repels me at the same time.”

[Annie:] “Do you know why?”

“I guess because I know that old life of guys and alcohol and no thought in my head beyond the next party is wrong for me. God expects more of my life than a never-ending party. I wish it didn’t draw me.”

“It doesn’t have to, Lani. You’re free to resist sin now. Before you were a Christian, you didn’t have the power to break free of that life. Now you do. You’ve done it. Sin is always attractive, but we can see beyond the surface now.”

Her [Lani’s] restlessness faded. “You’re right. I’m not going to go tonight.” Strength flowed into her as she said the words. She could be free of the old life. She just had to take the freedom God had given her and remember she had it.

As anyone would, Lani wonders why God allowed her to go blind. But instead of responding with bitterness, she ultimately responds patiently to the lessons God wants her to learn.

Reminders of Nancy Drew

When I was a kid, after exhausting my collection of Hardy Boys novels, I sometimes turned to my sister’s Nancy Drew series for another good read. When stolen orchids and the smuggling of priceless coral became central to the plot of Midnight Sea, I got the feeling that Nancy Drew had covered this territory before. But I was surprised by a plot twist I never saw coming. Coble does a great job of taking a familiar plot device and turning it on its head. I never would have guessed in a million years, and she should be commended for her creativity.

The Question of Physical Contact

Coble has won numerous awards in the Christian romance category. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised to encounter no less than three of what many readers would call “kissing scenes.” Some readers may disagree and consider me “old fashioned,” but I find such displays of physical contact between two unmarried people unacceptable. And I’m not referring to hand holding or a brief kiss after she says “yes” to a marriage proposal. Without quoting a scene verbatim, the following words and phrases from page 286 should give readers a clearer sense of what I mean:

• The kiss “deepened with promise.”
• His “passion … [was] intoxicating.”
• She “drowned in his kiss” and “reveled in the touch of his lips … [and] the whisper of his breath on her face.”
• “She felt bereft when he pulled away, and she tried to burrow closer.”

What physical contact is appropriate between two unmarried people has been debated time and again, and there’s no reason to start the debate again here. I simply remind readers of what the Bible teaches. Never are we to ignite passions in another person that cannot be righteously fulfilled; that act is called “defrauding” (1 Thess. 4:6), and the heroine in this scene is clearly “bereft.”

Another concern is that these scenes can create false expectations in single and married women of what romance is supposed to be, leading to discontentment. It also teaches readers that physical contact between unmarried couples is no big deal as long as they put on the brakes at the right time. Unfortunately, our churches are filled with believers who suffer past scars because they thought they could put on the brakes but were unable to stop at the cliff’s edge. How is this message helpful as we exhort one another to purity?

A couple other scenes in the novel frustrated me as well, but for other reasons. One character who is depicted as a Christian is shown sitting in an evangelical church with his rosary beads. Later, he tells Ben, “I’ll dance at your wedding, even if I cry in my beer a little” (p. 170). These examples simply illustrate the fact that we may cross paths with believers who do not believe the same way we do. God calls us to a loving and gracious response.

The Bottom Line

Despite its flaws, Midnight Sea is a fun, compelling read. The Christian characters struggle with real-world issues and develop into more mature believers by the story’s end. Their victories over past guilt can be an inspiration to many. Character development is often what separates great novels from the not-so-good ones, and Midnight Sea is stronger than much of its competition. Coble does an excellent job of keeping the pages turning and the reader guessing. Midnight Sea is a worthwhile read for Christian mystery fans, but I hesitate to recommend it wholeheartedly due to several passionate scenes of physical contact between an unmarried man and woman.

Adam Blumer is a freelance writer, a contract editor, and SI’s managing editor. A Bob Jones University graduate with a B.A. in Print Journalism, he served as an editor and writer for 14 years at Northland Baptist Bible College (Dunbar, WI) and Awana Clubs International Headquarters (Streamwood, IL). A graduate of the Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Course, he has published short stories and articles. His first novel is scheduled for publication sometime in 2008. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, reading, playing the piano, and hiking in the woods. God has blessed him and his wife, Kim, with two daughters. See his ministry website and author’s blog.

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