Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Brilliance Audio (2006), Edition: Unabridged
Description
Fiction. Romance. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:For breathless action, gripping suspense, and intense romance, bestselling author Linda Howard never misses a beat�??and her thrilling new novel will have your heart racing. In the charming rural town of Trail Stop, Idaho, accessible to the outside world by only a single road, young widow Cate Nightingale lives peacefully with her four-year-old twin boys, running a bed-and-breakfast. Though the overnight guests are few and far between�??occasional hunters and lake fishermen�??Cate always manages to make ends meet with the help of the local jack-of-all-trades, Calvin Harris, who can handle everything from carpentry to plumbing. But Calvin is not what he seems, and Cate�??s luck is about to run out. One morning, the B&B�??s only guest inexplicably vanishes, leaving behind his personal effects. A few days later Cate is shocked when armed men storm the house, demanding the mystery man�??s belongings. Fearing for her children�??s lives, Cate agrees to cooperate�??until Calvin saves the day, forcing the intruders to scatter into the surrounding woods. The nightmare, however, is just beginning. Cate, Calvin, and their entire community find themselves cut off and alone with no means to call for help as the threat gathers intensity and first blood is drawn. With their fellow residents trapped and the entire town held hostage, Cate and Calvin have no choice but to take the fight to their enemies under the cover of night. While reticent Cal becomes a fearless protector, Cate makes the most daring move of her life . . . into t… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member DreamingInFiction
This book had everything! Suspense, Romance, action, laughs and tears!
I loved the 4 year old twins Conner & Tanner and I wish we got to read more about them.. They had me in fits of giggles. :)
Linda Howard did extremely well telling all sides of every story! The good, the bad, women, men and of
I'm really looking forward to reading more from her soon.
I loved the 4 year old twins Conner & Tanner and I wish we got to read more about them.. They had me in fits of giggles. :)
Linda Howard did extremely well telling all sides of every story! The good, the bad, women, men and of
Show More
course the children. :)I'm really looking forward to reading more from her soon.
Show Less
LibraryThing member chrissywest
Romance takes a back seat to suspense in Linda Howard’s, Cover of Night.I have a lot of mixed feelings with this book. I’ll start with what I liked. The characters were great. They were well developed, especially Cate and her twins - some scenes with the twins were pretty funny. I enjoyed
Show More
reading about the small town life in ‘Trail Stop, Idaho’ - what kind of name is ‘Trail Stop’? And that about covers what I liked.Dislikes. The uneventful, first 80 or so pages. I didn’t need to read 80 pages of character development, or wait that long - sitting in my comfy chair, scratching my palms wondering when something is actually going to happen… you know something is brewing, but what? Also in the 80 pages of fluff there was hardly any interaction between Cate and Cal. There only love scene lasted about a page, maybe a page and a half. Their relationship was really forced. Sure, Cal had been in love with Cate for 3 years already, but Cate lost her husband and never even noticed Cal until way past the half-way point of the book. I think I’ll just stop well I’m ahead.I have read far worse books over the years. Once you get by the first 80 pages and the plot does pick up, the book is hard to put down. Afterall it is a suspense novel, not a romance novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member muzzie
Cate Nightingale , mother of two four-year-old twin boys has been a widow for three years. When her husband died, the family had been living in Seattle but she could not afford to live there and spend time with the boys. Before the birth of the boys, Cate and her husband went on rock-climbing
Owning and running a B&B allowed her to spend time with the twins and earn enough to live simply, The townspeople soon became fond of the family, and the B&B quickly became a gathering place for the townspeople. Cate was a good cook and was becoming known for her muffins, scones, and hospitality. The only problem she had with the B&B was the need for frequent repairs and she was forever calling on the town handyman Cal Harris. Cal was extremely shy around Cate and was constantly blushing.
One busy morning one of the guests disappears and leaves his things behind. Unknown to Cate, he had worked for a mobster in Chicago. Before she knows what’s happening, Cate and the townspeople are caught up in a life and death situation. Ms. Howard weaves a plot involving Cate, Cal, a hunting and fishing guide and an ex nun, the townspeople, and a group of mobsters. She shows how townspeople can band together in an effort to save each other using what is at hand. I was especially intrigued to learn how useful a corn chip could be. The book was a page-turner and one I couldn’t put down. An enjoyable book for someone who enjoys suspense with a touch of romance.
Show More
vacations and stayed at a bed and breakfast (B&B) in Trail Stop, Idaho. The town was isolated with only a couple of stores and less than four dozen residents. Cate had fond memories of the town and people, therefore, when the B&B became available, she and the boys moved to Trails End. Owning and running a B&B allowed her to spend time with the twins and earn enough to live simply, The townspeople soon became fond of the family, and the B&B quickly became a gathering place for the townspeople. Cate was a good cook and was becoming known for her muffins, scones, and hospitality. The only problem she had with the B&B was the need for frequent repairs and she was forever calling on the town handyman Cal Harris. Cal was extremely shy around Cate and was constantly blushing.
One busy morning one of the guests disappears and leaves his things behind. Unknown to Cate, he had worked for a mobster in Chicago. Before she knows what’s happening, Cate and the townspeople are caught up in a life and death situation. Ms. Howard weaves a plot involving Cate, Cal, a hunting and fishing guide and an ex nun, the townspeople, and a group of mobsters. She shows how townspeople can band together in an effort to save each other using what is at hand. I was especially intrigued to learn how useful a corn chip could be. The book was a page-turner and one I couldn’t put down. An enjoyable book for someone who enjoys suspense with a touch of romance.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cherylk
Cate Nightingale lives with her two four year old twin boys in Trail Stop, Idaho running a B & B. Calvin Harris who is the local jack of all trades is not what he seems and Cate’s luck is about to run out.
One morning at the B & B a guest disappears; leaving behind all of his personal belongs. A
With no way to communicate for help, both Cate and Calvin decided to fight their enemies head on under the cover of night. As Cate soon realizes it may not be only her enemies that she has to watch out for but also Calvin and the strong feelings she has for him.
This book was just ok for me. It didn’t seem very strong in the fact that when Cate and Calvin were fighting the bad guys it was like the bad guys came in hot and heavy at first and than let Cate and Calvin save the day, so that there could be a happy ending.
Now as far as love scenes go, I don’t require that the people have to do it all the time and often which is not the way with this book but when Cate and Calvin did hook up it was kind of luke warm for me.
I will check out another of Linda Howard’s books but I hope that it is better than this one.
One morning at the B & B a guest disappears; leaving behind all of his personal belongs. A
Show More
couple days later armed men storm the house and demand the mystery man’s belongings. Calvin forces the intruders into the surrounding woods where the nightmare begins for Cate, Calvin and the entire residents of the community. All of a sudden everyone finds themselves cut off and alone from the rest of civilization with no means to call for help as the threat intensifies and first blood is drawn.With no way to communicate for help, both Cate and Calvin decided to fight their enemies head on under the cover of night. As Cate soon realizes it may not be only her enemies that she has to watch out for but also Calvin and the strong feelings she has for him.
This book was just ok for me. It didn’t seem very strong in the fact that when Cate and Calvin were fighting the bad guys it was like the bad guys came in hot and heavy at first and than let Cate and Calvin save the day, so that there could be a happy ending.
Now as far as love scenes go, I don’t require that the people have to do it all the time and often which is not the way with this book but when Cate and Calvin did hook up it was kind of luke warm for me.
I will check out another of Linda Howard’s books but I hope that it is better than this one.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lwatson1120
“Cover of Night” by Linda Howard was a suspense packed novel filled with laughter, romance, and drama. The beginning dragged out a bit while the author set up the characters’ back stories, although it eventually came together into a great, picturesque novel. I could relate and empathize with
Show More
the characters in their struggles. I also really took great pleasure in the relationships that unfurled from the characters’ experience. Overall, it was a really excellent weekend read. I was impressed with Mrs. Howard’s style of writing, and I will positively read another one of her novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member reneebooks
Trail Stop, Idaho, is a tiny isolated town connected to the outside world by a single road. Cate Nightingale is a widow with four-year-old twin boys and still mourns the loss of her husband who died three years earlier. After his death she moved to Trail Stop and bought the local bed-and-breakfast.
One morning Cate discovers that Jeffrey Layton, one of the B&B guests, has disappeared out the window of his room leaving his personal possessions behind. A few days later Cate and her friend Neenah are held at gunpoint by two men who had checked in as guests. These men demand Cate give them the possessions that Layton left behind. Cal gets the jump on the two villains and ends up kicking their asses and they slink out of town.
But the trouble is just beginning. These thugs come up with plan to hold the entire town hostage until they get Layton's possessions which they believe contains one of those little flash drives (about the size of a pack of gum) with some mob secret files. They blow up the bridge leading to town, cut off their electricity, and start shooting townspeople at random. This part of the plot was rather farfetched and not realistic at all.
Amazon's review uses phrases like "breathless action", "gripping suspense", and "intense romance". Uh, no. Not quite, people. Slight exaggeration here, but it was a good book, just not her best. The first third of the book contained a lot of character setup with antics of her 4 yo twins who were not overly cutesy but acted like real boys. Cate's mother takes them away for a visit to her home so they were out of the way when the action begins. Cal was an unusual hero for Howard. He appeared to be a beta with all his blushes and stammering, but when the gunmen appear his marine training becomes evident and he starts acting more like an alpha male. The suspense was good and interesting and kept me turning the pages. The romance was a bit on the light side but still very good although it developed so quickly over the course of a couple of days. And I enjoyed the secondary romance. Many Linda Howard fans may find CoN rather dull but LH's dull is better than many author's best. She knows how to tell a story well and keeps you turning the pages. (Grade: B-)
Show More
Calvin Harris is the town handyman who helps Cate with the many problems that seem to plague the old house. Plumbing, carpentry, whatever, he can fix it. Cate thinks "Mr. Harris" is an extremely shy man who never opens his mouth. But Cal is not what he seems. He is a former marine who came to town to visit his former commanding officer. When Cate moved into town, Cal found himself very attracted to her so decided to stay and make his home there. Cate thinks that Cal is just a rather uninteresting man who gets extremely tongue tied around her and blushes uncontrollably whenever she speaks to him. The whole town is aware of Cal's attraction to her for the last three years and tries to throw them together, but Cate is oblivious.One morning Cate discovers that Jeffrey Layton, one of the B&B guests, has disappeared out the window of his room leaving his personal possessions behind. A few days later Cate and her friend Neenah are held at gunpoint by two men who had checked in as guests. These men demand Cate give them the possessions that Layton left behind. Cal gets the jump on the two villains and ends up kicking their asses and they slink out of town.
But the trouble is just beginning. These thugs come up with plan to hold the entire town hostage until they get Layton's possessions which they believe contains one of those little flash drives (about the size of a pack of gum) with some mob secret files. They blow up the bridge leading to town, cut off their electricity, and start shooting townspeople at random. This part of the plot was rather farfetched and not realistic at all.
Amazon's review uses phrases like "breathless action", "gripping suspense", and "intense romance". Uh, no. Not quite, people. Slight exaggeration here, but it was a good book, just not her best. The first third of the book contained a lot of character setup with antics of her 4 yo twins who were not overly cutesy but acted like real boys. Cate's mother takes them away for a visit to her home so they were out of the way when the action begins. Cal was an unusual hero for Howard. He appeared to be a beta with all his blushes and stammering, but when the gunmen appear his marine training becomes evident and he starts acting more like an alpha male. The suspense was good and interesting and kept me turning the pages. The romance was a bit on the light side but still very good although it developed so quickly over the course of a couple of days. And I enjoyed the secondary romance. Many Linda Howard fans may find CoN rather dull but LH's dull is better than many author's best. She knows how to tell a story well and keeps you turning the pages. (Grade: B-)
Show Less
LibraryThing member gogglemiss
I enjoyed this small town yarn, in its slow meandering way. The characters were a delight. Cal, seemingly a shy, gentle handyman, formerly a Marine has the hots for widowed mother Cate. She runs a B & B in the middle of nowhere. Cate's two sons were delightful, but the bad men didn't seem all that
Show More
believable to me. Although, it was gripping at times, I felt that there was something missing. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
This one was quite readable but left a bit of an aftertaste, several of the plot devices become apparent plot devices when you look back on the story.
Basically, Cate Nightingale owns a small guest house where she has got a lot of the locals on her side by feeding them well. She lives there with her
When a guest absconds from the hotel leaving his luggage little does she realise that this is going to lead to the small community being under siege and having to get closer to Cal, finding that there's more to this man than a simple handyman.
It wasn't a bad story but it left a lingering slightly bad aftertaste, a lot of what happened was a little too easy and a bit contrived.
Basically, Cate Nightingale owns a small guest house where she has got a lot of the locals on her side by feeding them well. She lives there with her
Show More
two sons, still somewhat raw from her husband's death. She is somewhat attracted to the local handyman Cal Harris, but is willing to let the relationship grow, to give herself time to get over the guilt of thinking about another man.When a guest absconds from the hotel leaving his luggage little does she realise that this is going to lead to the small community being under siege and having to get closer to Cal, finding that there's more to this man than a simple handyman.
It wasn't a bad story but it left a lingering slightly bad aftertaste, a lot of what happened was a little too easy and a bit contrived.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jonahfied
The hostage plot - not my favorite. It seemed pretty far fetched. I liked the love story aspect (it was sweet!), and loved the kids in the book. The bad guys were just plain annoying and the secondary love story seemed too convenient. One of LH's less believable novels, and not my favorite.
LibraryThing member cenneidigh
One of my favorites of Linda Howard. The situation in the town and the forced intimacy is romantic. The death of close friends is sad, but the triumph at the end is worth read through the rest. I love the building love story.
LibraryThing member amf0001
Even a bad Linda Howard is better than most books out there, and this one isn't precisely bad.. just the mystery/crime segment is so preposterous you can't suspend disbelief to give it any credence, and the hero totally changes character from shy and stumbling to totally in control and sexy. I
Show More
liked the heroine, I liked that she was widowed and loved her first husband and didn't have bad sex with him or stay a virgin or do any other weird romance novel cliches. So it's worth a read, but not a keeper, but I did take it out again from the library, so it's worth a reread too. Show Less
LibraryThing member dd196406
Very good book. The characters were believable and engaging. I enjoyed it.
LibraryThing member Tam2603
This is one of my favourite Linda Howard books.
I liked both MCs - the heroine was a normal woman (unusual for most romance books! And such a nice change from the uber-beautiful, uber-confident/independent or uber-fragile types that populate a lot of m/f romance books) with two adorable twins (I
I found it very engaging and sweet how his falling for her made him shy and tongue-tied, although he normally isn't that way).
The crime/suspense part was also good - I liked how it fit the MCs and the setting of the rural town so perfectly.
I liked both MCs - the heroine was a normal woman (unusual for most romance books! And such a nice change from the uber-beautiful, uber-confident/independent or uber-fragile types that populate a lot of m/f romance books) with two adorable twins (I
Show More
don't dig kids in books normally, but they were funny and cute) and her "love interest", the hero, was great - I just dig those strong, silent types. The crime/suspense part was also good - I liked how it fit the MCs and the setting of the rural town so perfectly.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lost_Lenore
In my opinion, this is not one of Linda's Howard best work but it's an OK reading.
It's a little confusing and fast paced but full of twists and turns, humor and all of the things Linda Howard does to make a little suspense catching.
It's a little confusing and fast paced but full of twists and turns, humor and all of the things Linda Howard does to make a little suspense catching.
LibraryThing member joycrazy
This book is a special favorite of mine. I've read it many times and always find something to enjoy. I love the pacing, the plot, the characters of the whole dang town. They were funny and sad and resillent and courageous. This book is a keeper.
LibraryThing member Dawn772
I was captivated by this romantic suspense from beginning to end. An endearing yet alpha hero, a clever capable heroine with the cutest kids and an exciting layered plot. Widow Cate owner of a bed-and-breakfast seems to always need her shy handyman Cal whose tool box is a magnet for her
Show More
four-year-old twin boys. Show Less
LibraryThing member EmScape
This romantic suspense novel had all the things I hate most about the genre: two people falling in love in a matter of days while they face dangerous bad guys, a small town full of busy-bodies trying to get them together, various issues that could be resolved if people just _talked to each other_,
However, I didn't have a bad time reading it. Cate's rambunctious twin boys added sweetness and humor to the beginning chapters, even though they were safely bundled away as soon as the action started. Cal's improbable military skills were at least accompanied by an almost-believable explanation, the miscommunications were mostly between the bad guys and secondary characters instead of our two lovebirds, and Cate's being forced to use her rock climbing skills for the first time since her husband's death was a nice bit of character development. Oh, and the resilience and genuinely believable close relationships between the townspeople were nicely handled as well.
Not the best book ever, but not a waste of time, either.
Show More
a hero with improbable military skills that make him pretty much invincible, and a heroine who is quite capable, but acquiesces to the hero's idea of how things should go when push comes to shove. Also, the bad guys' plot was pretty laughable and unrealistic. However, I didn't have a bad time reading it. Cate's rambunctious twin boys added sweetness and humor to the beginning chapters, even though they were safely bundled away as soon as the action started. Cal's improbable military skills were at least accompanied by an almost-believable explanation, the miscommunications were mostly between the bad guys and secondary characters instead of our two lovebirds, and Cate's being forced to use her rock climbing skills for the first time since her husband's death was a nice bit of character development. Oh, and the resilience and genuinely believable close relationships between the townspeople were nicely handled as well.
Not the best book ever, but not a waste of time, either.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SunnySD
Widowed mother of twin boys, bed-and-breakfast owner Cate Nightingale has no time and no inclination for romance. Good thing, as there's little opportunity in the isolated corner of Idaho where she lives. She thinks it's a bit odd when one of her overnight guests chooses to leave by climbing out
Okay. So if this book had been two-thirds shorter and not so over-plotted, it would have been a much better read. Reading it, the set-up and explanation are SO obvious it's painful. It feels as if whenever a proofreader said, "Hey, this doesn't make sense," Howard added ten paragraphs explaining WHY.
The short version? This book has good bones, but too much flesh (and not in a steamy-romance way, either).
Show More
the window, but guests are often odd... only this one has a deadly secret and worse, a set of killers on his trail. From peaceful tranquility, the little town of Trails End is hurtled into a nightmarish Alamo-ish stand-off - the only thing standing between them and certain death are a lot of hunting rifles and the military prowess of ex-Force Recon marine and local jack-of-all-trades Calvin Harris. Cate's shy handyman has hidden depths - and as the action heats up, so does the sexual tension.Okay. So if this book had been two-thirds shorter and not so over-plotted, it would have been a much better read. Reading it, the set-up and explanation are SO obvious it's painful. It feels as if whenever a proofreader said, "Hey, this doesn't make sense," Howard added ten paragraphs explaining WHY.
The short version? This book has good bones, but too much flesh (and not in a steamy-romance way, either).
Show Less
LibraryThing member Carol420
All of Linda Howard's stories seem to be filled with lots of dangerous people, hard-core emotions, and some really well-done writing. Oh, and let's not forget the sexy romance. This one was certainly no exception. The character of Cate was a strong heroine who holds her own when it comes to
Show More
building a new life as a widow and getting out into the wilderness to help save the town. If you read many of this genre of books you will figure out fairly quick how it was going to end. You will laugh, maybe shed a few tears, but above all you'll cheer. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006-06-27
Physical description
6.5 inches
ISBN
1423310012 / 9781423310013