Setting: Contemporary Seattle, Washington, and Pearl Cove, Australia
Sensuality: 8

The eldest brother in one of Seattle's most powerful families, Archer Donovan is handsome, dangerous, and fascinated by pearls. He's also been in love with Hannah McGarry, his half-brother's wife, for the last 10 years. Far away in Australia, Hannah's loveless marriage ends in violence when a cyclone tears apart her pearl farm and her husband, Len, dies. But Len's death wasn't an accident; he was murdered. Desperate for help, Hannah places a call to Archer, who rushes to her side and quickly finds that powerful competitors in the pearl trade are circling Pearl Cove like buzzards.

Businessmen, criminals, and government agencies are willing to do whatever it takes to find a fabulous pearl necklace, named the Black Trinity, and to learn Len's secret formula for producing the extraordinary black pearls. Racing against time and tracked by enemies too numerous to count, Archer and Hannah begin a dangerous game of hide and seek to find Len's murderer and recover the Black Trinity. But even if the two lovers survive their adventure, will Archer find a way to convince Hannah that he's a different man from his unbalanced half-brother? And can Hannah find the courage to chance her heart and love again?

Readers who have waited impatiently for this third book about the Donovan family won't be disappointed. Lowell combines her trademark sophisticated suspense and sexual intensity with a plot rich in the fascinating lore of cultured pearls and full of Australian atmosphere and the sights and sounds of Seattle. --Lois Faye Dyer


From Publishers Weekly
Formulaic but fun, Lowell's latest romantic suspense novel returns to the glamorous Donovan family she created in Amber Beach and Jade Island. When wheelchair-bound pearl harvester Len McGarry turns up dead on an Australian beach with an oyster shell sticking out of his chest, his beautiful widow, Hannah, knows that Len was murdered for his $3 million rainbow pearl necklace, the Black Trinity, now missing. Feeling herself in danger, Hannah seeks help from Len's partner and half-brother, the ruthless but hunky Archer Donovan. Archer fell for Hannah 10 years ago, when she was Len's teenage bride, and he's only too happy to help her track down both Len's killer and the necklace. Archer uses his family's resources, his inside knowledge of the pearl trade and his U.S. government connections to find the (rather predictable) bad guys. True love turns out to be harder to locate. As soon as they fall into bed, Archer knows he wants Hannah to have his baby. But Len was a cruel, unworthy husband, and Hannah, still recovering from her marriage, has trouble committing to Archer. Lowell uses the double search as backdrop for the push-and-pull between a reticent heroine and an oddly insistent, "elementally masculine" hero. Neither her plotting nor her airy prose take the romance genre anywhere new. Lowell does, however, infuse the minutiae of pearl diving and of international gem sales into a racy light read. (June) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
More love and intrigue with the Donovans of Amber Beach fame.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Black rainbow pearls inspire murder, theft, lust and international espionage after a devastating cyclone wipes out a small Australian pearl farm. Dick Hill keeps up with the racing (and racy) plot in spirited fashion. His American characters, particularly the Donovan men, are strong heroes. He stumbles over the women, particularly the story's Australian heroine, Hannah McGarry. At times her accent is accurate, at others simpering, and occasionally absent. His Asians are more believable. Hill's strongest performance comes in the erotic scenes between Archer and Hannah. From the sounds of it, he's participating, rather than narrating. If you're listening alone, it'll blow you away. But if someone else is with you, it could be embarrassing. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Romance author Lowell has once again given her readers a true gem with this, her third book featuring the Donovan clan (previous titles are Amber Beach, 1997, and Jade Island, 1998). Archer, the oldest son, is plunged into the past with a call for help from the only woman he has ever loved, Hannah McGarry, his half-brother Len's wife. After an injury paralyzes Len, he focuses on developing a unique strain of black pearls and mentally torturing his wife. When a cyclone hits their Australian pearl farm, Hannah finds her husband dead and the pearls missing. Archer comes to protect her and avenge Len's death. Greed and political intrigue lead them on a dangerous trek from Australia to Hong Kong to Seattle. It seems anyone could be involved: from farm employees to government operatives to Chinese gangs. Everyone wants either the pearls or Hannah, whom they believe knows how to create them. While trying to keep Hannah alive, Archer must deal with his attraction to her and the comparisons she constantly makes between him and Len. With the specter of Len hanging over them, it is difficult for Hannah to trust her attraction to Archer. This is a riveting mix of suspense and romance, sure to increase Lowell's popularity. Patty Engelmann


From Kirkus Reviews
In her third steamy romance about the gem-dealing Donovans (Amber Beach, 1997, etc.), Lowell joins Nora Roberts in the celebration of lusty heroes with large, loving families. Archer, the eldest of the Donovans, is a pearl lover and former government operative. Though he has forsaken the terrible loneliness of trouble-shooting for Uncle and gone to work in the mineral import-export business of his family, he hasn't forgotten his deadly skills or lost his hair-trigger reflexes. Which is all to the good when Hannah McGarry, the widow of his half-brother Len, involves him in the search for a priceless set of pearls that has become implicated variously in the shadowy interests of the Chinese, Australian, and US governments. After Len is murdered at his Australian pearl farm, Hannah sends for Archer because her own life is in danger. Len, it seems, was a ruthless, obsessed fellow who had developed a priceless black pearl, and now the major pearl interests believe that Hannah knows its secret formula, though in truth Len never told her any part of his culturing methods. A bitter paraplegic, he merely exploited her genius for sorting pearls and withheld his love. Hannah now makes the mistake of believing that Archer is the same species of ruthless tough guy that Len was. While Archer can be as ruthless as he has to be, underneath those hard muscles and behind that hairy chest, he's just a love-hungry teddy bear who has always had the hots for Hannah. As Lowell interweaves Hannah and Archer's romantic tussle with a virtual handbook of pearl culturing, buying, history, and lore, Archer sneaks the voluptuous Hannah out of Australia and back to the protection of his family home in Seattle. Supported by the Donovans, the pair vanquish the bad guys along with all the barriers to marriage and babies. Strong, interesting, and sexy charactersand, happily for lovers of romance and priceless jewels, there are still three Donovan siblings to go. ($150,000 ad/promo) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
He might help her...if the price is right.

Surrounded by potential enemies, Hannah McGarry faces the mystery of her husband's suspicious death, the prospect of bankruptcy...and the disappearance of the fabulous Black Trinity necklace that was to be her financial security. Desperate, she calls Archer Donovan, a silent partner in Pear Cove, her late husband's pearl farm venture. He might help her...if the price is right.

Archer Donovan would rather forget he'd ever heard of Pearl Cove...its memories of living on the dark side, the soul-numbing certainty that there was no law, no justice, no mercy; just hunters and the hunted. That life taught him to trust no one but family. But when Hannah McGarry calls in an old debt Archer is back in the game. And at his side in pursuit of the stolen fortune is a woman he shouldn't want, yet cannot resist...a woman who may know more than she's telling about her husband's death...and more than is safe to know about the dark and elusive black pearls. With deadly competitors on their tails, Archer and Hannah race through uncharted waters in search of the fabulous Black Trinity. And the closer they come to finding the coveted pearls, the closer they come to danger and death...and to each other.


Download Description
"He might help her...if the price is right. Surrounded by potential enemies, Hannah McGarry faces the mystery of her husband's suspicious death, the prospect of bankruptcy...and the disappearance of the fabulous Black Trinity necklace that was to be her financial security. Desperate, she calls Archer Donovan, a silent partner in Pear Cove, her late husband's pearl farm venture. He might help her...if the price is right. Archer Donovan would rather forget he'd ever heard of Pearl Cove...its memories of living on the dark side, the soul-numbing certainty that there was no law, no justice, no mercy; just hunters and the hunted. That life taught him to trust no one but family. But when Hannah McGarry calls in an old debt Archer is back in the game. And at his side in pursuit of the stolen fortune is a woman he shouldn't want, yet cannot resist...a woman who may know more than she's telling about her husband's death...and more than is safe to know about the dark and elusive black pearls. With deadly competitors on their tails, Archer and Hannah race through uncharted waters in search of the fabulous Black Trinity. And the closer they come to finding the coveted pearls, the closer they come to danger and death...and to each other. "


About the Author
Elizabeth Lowell is the award-winning author of numerous historical and contemporary novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Forget Me Not, Only Love, A Woman Without Lies, Autumn Lover, and, Winter Fire. Her most recent major accomplishment is a four-book series of suspense novels featuring the unforgettable Donovan family -- Amber Beach, Jade Island, Pearl Cove and Midnight in Ruby Bayou -- all of which were immediate New York Times bestsellers. There are more than fifteen million Elizabeth Lowell, books currently in print. Ms. Lowell, lives in the San Juan Islands with her, husband, with whom she writesmystery novels under a pseudonym.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Elizabeth Lowell delighted readers with her first two sagas about the high-powered, Seattle-based Donovan family, Jade Island and Amber Beach, both of which became instant New York Times bestsellers. Now comes Pearl Cove, the third in this series about a family of international gem traders, this time featuring the aloof, mysterious, and seemingly self-contained eldest Donovan son, Archer.

Archer Donovan is the eldest son in the powerful, gem-dealing Donovan family. Like his siblings, Archer is something of an expert when it comes to precious stones, but until recently he made his living doing covert operations for Uncle Sam. It was during one such job that Archer discovered he had a half brother in the same business — Len McGarry, the result of a dalliance Archer's father had as a teenager. No sooner did Archer find Len then he very nearly lost him, when an assignment went horribly wrong and nearly cost Len his life. Archer was able to save him, but injuries condemned Len to a life as a bitter and mean-spirited paraplegic. In the process of rescuing Len, Archer met and fell in love with Hannah, Len's wife, a fact Archer worked hard to hide. But Len caught on anyway and banished Archer from his life, though not before giving him half ownership in a pearl farm Len owned — a gesture of gratitude for saving his life.

As a silent partner in the pearl farm, Archer has little to do with it until he is awakened in the middle of the night 10 years later by a frantic yet wary phone call from Hannah informing him that Len is dead. While it appears that Lendiedfrom injuries sustained in a recent cyclone that struck Pearl Cove, Hannah is certain he was murdered by someone who was after Len's prized collection of black rainbow pearls. Most of the pearls are missing, including the prize of Len's collection, the Black Trinity, an exquisite three-strand necklace of black pearls. While Pearl Cove is suffering financial difficulties, Len's secret for creating the one-of-a-kind black pearls which gleam beneath their lustrous surface with every color of the rainbow, is worth billions of dollars. And there are plenty of interested parties who want to get that secret: the Aussies, the Chinese, the Japanese...even Uncle Sam himself.

It doesn't take long for Archer and Hannah to confirm that Len's death was no accident, and that Hannah is likely the next victim in line. Along with trying to find out where the missing pearls might be and who the killer is, Archer is forced to deal with his feelings for Hannah, which are more intense than ever. Hannah is also attracted to Archer, but she has spent too many years trapped inside the bitter marriage she had with Len. With each cautious step they take, they draw closer to discovering the missing jewels, Len's murderer, and the love they feel for one another.

With appearances from characters who were featured in the first two books in the Donovan series, Pearl Cove is a steamy tale of keen suspense and high intrigue, anchored by a delicious sense of intimacy and continuity with the main characters. There is still one more Donovan offspring whose story Lowell has yet to tell: Faith, the Donovan boys' sister. If the first three books in this series are any indication, the fourth promises to be a true gem.

— Beth Amos

FROM THE PUBLISHER

He might help her...if the price is right.

Surrounded by potential enemies, Hannah McGarry faces the mystery of her husband's suspicious death, the prospect of bankruptcy...and the disappearance of the fabulous Black Trinity necklace that was to be her financial security. Desperate, she calls Archer Donovan, a silent partner in Pear Cove, her late husband's pearl farm venture. He might help her...if the price is right.

Archer Donovan would rather forget he'd ever heard of Pearl Cove...its memories of living on the dark side, the soul-numbing certainty that there was no law, no justice, no mercy; just hunters and the hunted. That life taught him to trust no one but family. But when Hannah McGarry calls in an old debt Archer is back in the game. And at his side in pursuit of the stolen fortune is a woman he shouldn't want, yet cannot resist...a woman who may know more than she's telling about her husband's death...and more than is safe to know about the dark and elusive black pearls. With deadly competitors on their tails, Archer and Hannah race through uncharted waters in search of the fabulous Black Trinity. And the closer they come to finding the coveted pearls, the closer they come to danger and death...and to each other.

SYNOPSIS

He might help her...if the price is right.

Surrounded by potential enemies, Hannah McGarry faces the mystery of her husband's suspicious death, the prospect of bankruptcy...and the disappearance of the fabulous Black Trinity necklace that was to be her financial security.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Formulaic but fun, Lowell's latest romantic suspense novel returns to the glamorous Donovan family she created in Amber Beach and Jade Island. When wheelchair-bound pearl harvester Len McGarry turns up dead on an Australian beach with an oyster shell sticking out of his chest, his beautiful widow, Hannah, knows that Len was murdered for his $3 million rainbow pearl necklace, the Black Trinity, now missing. Feeling herself in danger, Hannah seeks help from Len's partner and half-brother, the ruthless but hunky Archer Donovan. Archer fell for Hannah 10 years ago, when she was Len's teenage bride, and he's only too happy to help her track down both Len's killer and the necklace. Archer uses his family's resources, his inside knowledge of the pearl trade and his U.S. government connections to find the (rather predictable) bad guys. True love turns out to be harder to locate. As soon as they fall into bed, Archer knows he wants Hannah to have his baby. But Len was a cruel, unworthy husband, and Hannah, still recovering from her marriage, has trouble committing to Archer. Lowell uses the double search as backdrop for the push-and-pull between a reticent heroine and an oddly insistent, "elementally masculine" hero. Neither her plotting nor her airy prose take the romance genre anywhere new. Lowell does, however, infuse the minutiae of pearl diving and of international gem sales into a racy light read. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

More love and intrigue with the Donovans of Amber Beach fame.

Kirkus Reviews

In her third steamy romance about the gem-dealing Donovans (Amber Beach, 1997, etc.), Lowell joins Nora Roberts in the celebration of lusty heroes with large, loving families. Archer, the eldest of the Donovans, is a pearl lover and former government operative. Though he has forsaken the terrible loneliness of trouble-shooting for "Uncle" and gone to work in the mineral import-export business of his family, he hasn't forgotten his deadly skills or lost his hair-trigger reflexes. Which is all to the good when Hannah McGarry, the widow of his half-brother Len, involves him in the search for a priceless set of pearls that has become implicated variously in the shadowy interests of the Chinese, Australian, and US governments. After Len is murdered at his Australian pearl farm, Hannah sends for Archer because her own life is in danger. Len, it seems, was a ruthless, obsessed fellow who had developed a priceless black pearl, and now the major pearl interests believe that Hannah knows its secret formula, though in truth Len never told her any part of his culturing methods. A bitter paraplegic, he merely exploited her genius for sorting pearls and withheld his love. Hannah now makes the mistake of believing that Archer is the same species of ruthless tough guy that Len was. While Archer can be as ruthless as he has to be, underneath those hard muscles and behind that hairy chest, he's just a love-hungry teddy bear who has always had the hots for Hannah. As Lowell interweaves Hannah and Archer's romantic tussle with a virtual handbook of pearl culturing, buying, history, and lore, Archer sneaks the voluptuous Hannah out of Australia and back to the protection of his family home in Seattle.Supported by the Donovans, the pair vanquish the bad guys along with all the barriers to marriage and babies. Strong, interesting, and sexy characters—and, happily for lovers of romance and priceless jewels, there are still three Donovan siblings to go. ($150,000 ad/promo)