Sea Swept - Nora Roberts

Every NR fan I know has told me that I must read the Chesapeake Bay series. And "must" is always emphasized that way when they talk about it. I figured it should be good but I picked it up last year at the last book. I never blogged about it because I didn't want to go out of order here. lol ... yes, I know.

Anyway, Cameron Quinn came from a troubled past as did the rest of the boys that Stella and Ray Quinn adopted. She was unable to have kids so they kept their eye out for children who needed the assistance. Cam did. When they came across him thinking about stealing their Corvette, they never thought about it twice. Cam had been beaten severely and regular abuse from a mother who just didn't care left him wary and mistrusting of everyone. Ray and Stella assumed legal guardianship and fought to adopt him to give him a better life.

It took a while but eventually he came around and became part of the family. In time, they gave him brothers. Phillip and Ethan had gone through similar issues and eventually became absorbed into the family whole. They thought of themselves as brothers and they were at the heart of it.

Eventually, they grew up and left the nest as children so often do. Ethan stayed the closest, choosing to fish the waters of the river and bay. Phillip went into advertising in Baltimore. And Cameron went to Europe to race. I think he raced hydrofoils solely. They're those things that float just on top of the water. Our story really starts with Ray's accident.

He had collected another child and only had him for a few months when he ran into a telephone pole on the way back from Baltimore. It started a ripple effect for everyone connected with him. Cam came back from Europe. Ethan and Phillip moved back into the house after the funeral. Seth was still in a surly stage especially since he didn't really know Cam. He, like the rest of them, had been abused not only by his mother but by the men she brought home constantly. He trusted no one.

Enter Anna Spinelli, a social worker with a caring heart and an insight into the kind of troubles that can tear a child apart. Her only interest, at first, is the best interests of the child. She guides the Quinns through the process, all the while seeing that they're becoming a family unit. The inevitable happens (it IS a NR book after all) and she falls for Cam. Being male, he falls for her too but doesn't realize it until it's too late.

One question lingers over all of them. Was Ray's accident truly an accident or was it suicide?