Love in a Black Lagoon (Critter Getter #3)

PARANORMAL:  Things are looking up for Caleb and Kalista as they settle down into their relationship. Their friend Owen, however, is still smarting from his breakup with Morgan. So, after their adventures at home with bigfoot, Owen and Caleb hear about a mud monster down near Caddo Lake and the gang decides that maybe this could be a great chance to track down another supernatural creature and help Owen take his mind off things. However, there’s more to this mud monster than meets the eye. Apparently the monster follows an unfortunate young woman, Pearl, who catches Owen’s attention unlike any girl before. As strange things continue to happen around Pearl, the gang must hurry to figure out where the mud monster comes from and how to stop it before someone gets hurt.

A darker continuation to the “Critter Getter” series, in this story Caleb and Kalista have found love and Owen discovers the beginnings of it in the friendship he builds with Pearl. Both Owen and Pearl had bad things happen to them in the past, and both have been ostracized by their communities for the actions of others. Their romance builds on this similarity. The problem is that their conversations seem to repeat a lot over the course of the book, and the mystery of the mud monster is left wide open for the fourth book. The arrival of Owen’s ex stirs the conflict but it leaves more questions. Overall, the story has potential but is on the slower side.

Sarah E. Bradley