3 stars, a fair/good read. A small-town mystery revolving around the death of two women who were both found with a gold coin in their possession. The story that follows has pirate's treasure, murder mystery, and romance.

The romance between the main characters was a slow burn and very sweet; I think the word sweet could be used to describe the entire book, despite a recurring theme of the book being grief. I personally prefer a more dark and gritty book that comes across as very realistic, but this was a nice change of pace, and I took the book for what it was, which is fiction.

In my opinion, the references to Blackbeard gave the book a slightly more childish feel, but it doesn't distract from the story too much or take away from the enjoyment of the romance aspect.

If you like slower paced, lighter stories, this book is a nice read.

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Two women are dead within a year in a small town on the coast of North Carolina. Each of them were found with a gold coin - is it a coincidence, could it be a signature from a killer, or is it part of a pirates treasure that has been discovered?

Small town murder mystery. Pirate history. Subtle, slow burn romance. Reunited friends. These themes are weaved into this book to keep you interested and to hook you into the story. I really enjoyed the writing and the plot line of the book. Hints about twists are given so that you’re able to work alongside the main character and figure out what’s going on and how everything is connected, but also aren’t so obvious that you figure everything out too quickly. I would definitely recommend this one to anybody looking for a good historical-fiction mystery read.

Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Beaufort Books for the advanced copy!

I really enjoyed this small town mystery. Carol Ann Collins does a great job at sucking you into the story and making it feel like you're there in the small town. It is such an immersive story and writing that you completely forget that you're reading it. I flew through the book.

Also the slow burn between William and Eva was just amazing. They were such well developed characters! The struggle that William faced with his emotions was well written and made me feel sympathy for him.
At times this book wasn't always really fast paced for me but I was never bored.

Ill be looking forward to read more book Collins will publish in the future because this one was absolutely amazing.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hidden treasure, pirates, murder investigation, and budding romance - what more could you want! I loved this book and all the little twists and turns along the way kept me hooked from the beginning.

The Seafarer’s Secret by Carol Ann Collins


Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Mystery: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5


“ Secrets are revealed. Lies are exposed. And in order to have a future, William and Eva will have to delve into the past”


I wanted to read this book for a few reasons. First, I live in NC and have a house on the outer banks that I so much enjoy visiting. Second, the blurb sounded great and thirdly, the author. I absolutely was NOT disappointed.

A woman’s body is found and inside her pocket is a coin. Not just any coin though. One that was identical to the coin found in William Templeton’s dead wife’s body about a year ago. William is the police Chief for Eden NC and now wants to open up his wife’s death investigation that was deemed accidental when it happened a year ago. Eva Knightly is a historian who will help with the investigation due to the rarity of the coins found and of course the towns history is focused on Blackbeard and his discoveries. Now the two are focused on investigating the death of the two women and the coins that are showing up in various places. They find out that the coins are supposed to be cursed. Can the two find who the killer is before someone else is dead or is there something else more sinister happening?

The story goes into depth on the history of Black beard but not so much that you would get bored. I really enjoyed learning about the outer banks and the rich history with pirates. The police procdural aspect was well done and the characters were so well formed and developed. I truly found this book to be very informative and yet also a very well written mystery that you will wait patiently for the ending on. I promise you will want to know how it ends.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When two women are found dead on the coast of North Carolina with identical unidentified coins in their pockets, the town is left wondering if these deaths are truly accidental or connected murders. The town has a rich history focused on Blackbeard, including a Blackbeard Festival only a few weeks out, when two more coins are discovered and an expert is brought in to identify them. Are the coins part of Blackbeard’s lost treasure? Are the coins cursed as legend says? Is there a murderer on the loose waiting to strike again?

This books focuses on Eva, a historical expert, and the police chief, William, as they work together to figure out the mystery behind the deaths of Catherine, William’s late wife and Eva’s friend, and another local woman named Gabby. I enjoyed the depth of the history given about Blackbeard and felt like I learned more history as well as enjoyed this thriller. I also enjoyed the emotional struggle William dealt with over the death of his wife and the town’s speculation on him. He was an easy character to love and sympathize with. Eva’s personality and respect for her friend also made her a character that was easy to cheer for and connect to. I never found myself bored reading this book and looked forward to picking it back up when I had a free minute. The pace wasn’t insanely fast, but it did hold my attention well and didn’t drag.

I would read another book by this author, and I would be happy to see this book have a sequel. All the way around, great job! It was a lovely read.

Enjoyable read mixing modern day murder and historic story.. Eden, NC is gearing up for the annual Bluebeard's Festival celebrating their infamous pirate and his lost treasure. Then a young woman is murdered and the body has a gold coin on it. This is followed by the appearance of more gold coins, now linked to the death of the local police chief's wife a year ago - deemed accidental. Whilst the "baddie" was pretty obvious from their first appearance I feel that the journey was worth more than the ending, making it a mutli-thread story. Clearly based on a real-life town with a lot of artistic licence, I suspect, about Bluebeard. However, none the worse for that. The two main characters, Eve, the historian and William, police chief, are a 'nice pair' and work well together. Love the gossipy town characters, completely relatable this side of the Pond too. I know the area slightly from family visits and descriptions certainly matched that. The author mentioned the Lost Colony, Roanoke, I wonder if she would like to write a story about that, they're only about 100km apart after all? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Edward Teach or more famously Blackbeard and his life as a pirate is one of wonder. For a pirate to spurn violence and still instill the fear of gods in his opponents is no mean feat. Author Carol Ann Collins uses the pirate’s story and the rumor of his treasure to create a tale with all the ingredients mixed in perfect proportions and also provide us with food for thought as to his marketing skills, so much that 300 years later he is still remembered as this ferocious pirate. The author offers mystery, murder, secrets, and a slow burn romance in this fascinating tale of a treasure hunt set around a small town called Eden in North Carolina.

The opening scene of four oldies getting together to gossip over coffee and Eva Knightly shamelessly eavesdropping on the foursome to gather the shenanigans happening in the town was like an instant attention grabbing one that I felt invested wholly into the story from the word go. Eva as the town historian has more than a passing interest in the coin discovered with the body of a drowned victim and to know that the same had been found with Catherine, her best friend’s body also spikes her curiosity. Knowing that the town views William, Catherine’s husband, and the police chief with suspicious eyes, Eva decides to get to the bottom of both suspicious deaths.

The Seafarer’s Secret has the plot going wondrously in parts but losing steam somewhere in the middle. Even though the murder mystery begins as the central plot point, the investigation I felt could have more gripping. The author beautifully crafted the romance between Eva and William as the reader connects to the emotions of William as he doubts his ability to give his 100 percent to another woman after being burned by the previous one. There are minor discrepancies in the story, like William, despite being the police chief unaware of the coin found on his wife. Definitely not a big deal just me being a weirdo, especially coz the author has very skilfully merged the history of Blackbeard thru snippets of diary entries and giving glimpses of his love story with Mary. Though I did guess the suspense and the identity of the murderer there were still things that were cleared up only with the reveal and made it thoroughly enjoyable,

Carol Ann Collins writes with an ease that the reader gets transported to the little town of Eden and its secrets effortlessly. The secondary characters including Amelia, and her grandfather Elbert, Julia, and Emmerson have been sketched with depth that they feel like people you meet in real life.

Sold for Blackbeard and his treasure.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Books Go Social, Beaufort Books, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

"The Seafarer's Secret" by Carol Ann Collins stands out with its captivating blend of history, mystery, and the allure of the sea. It offers a unique and immersive experience, transporting me as it's reader to a fascinating era of maritime exploration plus the story of Blackbeard which I didn't know about it before this.
The descriptive writing skillfully brings the seafaring life to life, creating a vivid and authentic setting. The plot revolves around a quest to uncover a family secret, adding intrigue and suspense to the story. The supporting characters are well-developed and contribute depth to the narrative. While it provides me an enjoyable reading experience, there are some moments where the pacing feels slow, and the historical backdrop overshadows the main plot for a little. Its somewhat affecting character development in my opinion.
Overall, "The Seafarer's Secret" is an engaging maritime adventure that will appeal to readers who enjoy historical mysteries. While it has its not my cup of tea , the book still does an excellent job offers a unique exploration of the sea and family secrets.

I would like to thanks the publisher to send this as ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

When I saw the cover and title of this book, I was intrigued to learn more. I didn't know much about Blackbeard or the Outer Banks so I really enjoyed learning more of the history of Blackbeard and reading about the beautiful setting. The mystery in the story - the coins, the treasure, the deaths, made me want to keep turning the pages to find out how it was all connected. I highly recommend this book and will be buying a copy to keep once it hits the bookstores! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A light, entertaining read this novel, set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is moderately well written and structured, though its characters are rather two-dimensional. I enjoyed the ambience the author created of life in small town America, where everyone knows everyone else and gossip is rife. I'm not entirely convinced by the accuracy of some of the historical background pertaining to Pirate Blackbeard, but this is fiction after all and a short(ish) narrative to boot, so it's difficult to take Collins to task. For anyone interested in knowing more about the fascinating figure of Blackbeard and, indeed, about Eden, NC, the town in which the story is set, there is plenty of easy-to-find information on the internet.

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Seafarer's Secret by Carol Ann Collins puts a new twist on a tale that is old as time. In a little town called Eden, the infamous tale of Blackbeard The Pirate is far from what we have always assumed of him. There is one person working to make sure we are all informed, Eva Knightly. Eva, who works as the Museum Historian, will receive new information on Blackbeard that will re open investigations of deaths that recently happened. You will be taken by surprise as you are led through a hidden treasure map involving the town, the enticing residents and Blackbeards history. As you navigate your way through this book, you will easily fall in love with the little town of Eden! The ending was absolutely not what I would have guessed and for that I would give the book 5/5 stars!

"The Seafarer's Secret" by Carol Ann Collins is a captivating and thrilling mystery novel that takes readers on a journey filled with secrets, lies, and the allure of lost treasure. Set in the town of Eden, North Carolina, the story centers around William Templeton, a widower and police chief, and Eva Knightly, a historian and Blackbeard expert.

The discovery of an old gold coin in a drowned woman's pocket, identical to one found on William's estranged wife's body a year ago, forces the reopening of Catherine's case. As William steps down as police chief, Eva is brought in to help identify the coins and assist with the investigation. The appearance of more coins at a local church raises suspicions, fueling speculation about Blackbeard, cursed coins, and hidden treasure.

Collins skillfully weaves a narrative that combines elements of history, mystery, and romance. The slow-burning relationship between William and Eva adds an intriguing layer to the story, as they work together to uncover the secrets and lies that lurk in the depths of Eden. The author's attention to detail and the seamless integration of Blackbeard lore into the plot create a sense of authenticity and provide a fascinating backdrop for the unfolding mystery.

The book excels in building suspense and keeping readers guessing. As William and Eva delve deeper into the past, they encounter numerous twists and turns, presenting a tantalizing blend of truth and myth. The author adeptly explores the themes of trust, betrayal, and the consequences of buried secrets, making the reader question the motives and actions of each character.

The writing style in "The Seafarer's Secret" is engaging and cinematic, transporting readers into the heart of the story. Collins paints a vivid picture of Eden, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the small town and its secrets. The pacing of the book is well-balanced, keeping the reader hooked from beginning to end.

Overall, "The Seafarer's Secret" is a gripping and satisfying mystery, perfect for readers who enjoy a blend of history, suspense, and romance. Carol Ann Collins's ability to create believable characters, evoke a sense of place, and unravel a complex web of secrets makes this book an enjoyable and compelling read.

Thank you NetGalley for receiving this book for an honest review.

What a good book. I honestly enjoyed this one. There were alot of secrets and lies. William and Eva want to have a future but they have to get into the past. Its interesting to see where they go. This one is highly recommended to read.You will not be disappointed.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery, set in NC’s Outer Banks. Police chief William and local historian Eva get pulled into mysterious deaths and gold coins, and the mystery soon involves the death a year earlier of William’s wife. The two must figure out how the coins and deaths are linked and who is responsible as they figure out how to move ahead from grieving. I loved the Outer Banks setting, and the mystery centered on Blackbeard’s treasure in a plausible way that didn’t distract from the story. There were a few minor elements that didn’t quite add up for me, but they weren’t central to the plot. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.