Title: The Last Treasure: A Novel- Author: Erika Marks
- Genre: Women’s Fiction
- Pages: 368
- Published: August 2016 – NAL Accent
- Source: Publisher
Description: From the author of It Comes in Waves and The Guest House comes a novel of three lives entangled in the secrets of the sea and the enduring bonds of love.
As students with a shared passion for shipwrecks, Liv, Sam, and Whit formed a close bond searching for the mysterious Patriot, a schooner that disappeared off the Carolina Coast in 1812 with Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodosia aboard. But as the elusive ship drew them together, love would bring them even closer—and ultimately tear them apart.
It’s been seven years since Liv left Sam to be with Whit, and the once close-knit trio went their separate ways. Liv has given up her obsession with Theodosia Burr to focus on her career as a salvage diver and her passionate but troubled marriage to the reckless and hedonistic Whit. But when a diary of Theodosia’s is discovered in a collector’s estate, she is pulled back to the world of the Patriot, this time with startling new clues to what might have really happened.
Diving back into the lost history of the Patriot could be just what Liv needs to find closure to a mystery that still haunts her. But when she and Whit reunite with Sam for one last salvage in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, buried romantic tensions begin to resurface, and once again Liv must choose between two men with very different hearts. (publisher)
My take: The Last Treasure is one of those books that grabbed me from the start. I didn’t expect to read it as quickly as I did but I couldn’t stop reading. There’s the romantic triangle of Liv, Sam and Whit, a mystery that might never be solved, and diving for treasure – what’s not to love?!
The three meet in college and form a friendship that pulls in different directions over the years. Liv wants to solve the mystery of what really happened to Theodosia Burr (see description above). Sam and Whit want to help her find answers while figuring out where each is headed in life. She has real-life responsibilities that limit her choices and possibly have her feeling drawn to the wrong person.
I loved how Erika Marks’ story played out for Liv as well as Theodosia. I thought the then and now narrative revealed complex characters at a good pace and gave depth to the plot. Recommended to fans of the author and contemporary fiction. It was a perfect weekend read.
Bookfan 