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The Sunset Witness
When Rachel Douglas moves to Sunset, Oregon at the invitation of her estranged childhood friend, Sarah, she discovers Sarah was not truthful about her reasons for abandoning her beach house. Rachel is determined to stay even after someone tries to scare her away.
Then Rachel meets Michael Archer and says that only a serious character flaw would prevent her from falling in love with him. Wouldn’t you know it—he has more than one, but she falls in love with him anyway.
Michael’s complicated past threatens their hopes for the future. After a double homicide, Rachel must choose either to run with Michael or to live without him.
Then Rachel meets Michael Archer and says that only a serious character flaw would prevent her from falling in love with him. Wouldn’t you know it—he has more than one, but she falls in love with him anyway.
Michael’s complicated past threatens their hopes for the future. After a double homicide, Rachel must choose either to run with Michael or to live without him.
- GenresMystery
118 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2012
2 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 20, 2012
An Exciting Mystery Told In Shining Prose
There is something cleansing about The Sunset Witness. I think it’s the prose of its author,Gayle Hayes. Except for a few breathtakingly speedy scenes where the pace is fevered and the style is clipped, the story is told in short, simple sentences, subject followed by predicate. Its style is transparent, shining. Conflict, sense of place, the emotions of Rachel, the main character, and the telling details of her life are conveyed as if by magic, almost in between the words. The story unfolds bit by bit; the mystery deepens; the tension rises.
I was hooked from the opening line. I cared what happened to Rachel and her friends and found the book hard to put down. It’s a damn good mystery, one that leaves room in the end for reader interpretation. On another level, the book is about dislocation, deception, dysfunction.
The second novel by Ms. Hayes, THE SUNSET WITNESS, concerns the disappearance of Rachel Douglas who has left behind a document chronicling the recent events of her life in Sunset, Oregon. It includes just enough of her past to breathe life into her character. All events in the story occur between May 31 and June 16, 2011, the day Rachel went missing.
At the start of the story, Rachel has quit her law practice in order to fulfill her dream of writing. She sublets the beach house of her friend, Sarah, taking over Sarah’s waitressing job. There are scenes with fellow workers, improbable friends, handsome lovers, strange-looking beachy-type characters, fearful occurrences that go bump in the night, and underworld connections.
The author uses Rachel’s choice of friends and her waitressing job to flesh out her character. The reader learns that Rachel must be on time for her job, that her appearance is important, as is her organization. Above all, the customers are important to her and her description of them I found endearing. My favorite was the middle-aged woman who
"wore a long, red gingham dress with puff sleeves and a flared skirt, western boots, and a wide-brimmed straw hat. Unlike so many single diners, she did not read a book while she ate. She did not even seem to notice the ocean. When I looked her way, her eyes would be closed as she held each morsel in her mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed. Watching her eat was like watching someone pray before a shrine."
Before the story ends, events take a more sinister turn, behavior become macabre, and part of the story’s resolution is left to the reader’s imagination. In short, THE SUNSET WITNESS is a gem of a story, an exciting mystery not to be missed, and I highly recommend it. On the strength of the book, I purchased the author’s earlier work.
There is something cleansing about The Sunset Witness. I think it’s the prose of its author,Gayle Hayes. Except for a few breathtakingly speedy scenes where the pace is fevered and the style is clipped, the story is told in short, simple sentences, subject followed by predicate. Its style is transparent, shining. Conflict, sense of place, the emotions of Rachel, the main character, and the telling details of her life are conveyed as if by magic, almost in between the words. The story unfolds bit by bit; the mystery deepens; the tension rises.
I was hooked from the opening line. I cared what happened to Rachel and her friends and found the book hard to put down. It’s a damn good mystery, one that leaves room in the end for reader interpretation. On another level, the book is about dislocation, deception, dysfunction.
The second novel by Ms. Hayes, THE SUNSET WITNESS, concerns the disappearance of Rachel Douglas who has left behind a document chronicling the recent events of her life in Sunset, Oregon. It includes just enough of her past to breathe life into her character. All events in the story occur between May 31 and June 16, 2011, the day Rachel went missing.
At the start of the story, Rachel has quit her law practice in order to fulfill her dream of writing. She sublets the beach house of her friend, Sarah, taking over Sarah’s waitressing job. There are scenes with fellow workers, improbable friends, handsome lovers, strange-looking beachy-type characters, fearful occurrences that go bump in the night, and underworld connections.
The author uses Rachel’s choice of friends and her waitressing job to flesh out her character. The reader learns that Rachel must be on time for her job, that her appearance is important, as is her organization. Above all, the customers are important to her and her description of them I found endearing. My favorite was the middle-aged woman who
"wore a long, red gingham dress with puff sleeves and a flared skirt, western boots, and a wide-brimmed straw hat. Unlike so many single diners, she did not read a book while she ate. She did not even seem to notice the ocean. When I looked her way, her eyes would be closed as she held each morsel in her mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed. Watching her eat was like watching someone pray before a shrine."
Before the story ends, events take a more sinister turn, behavior become macabre, and part of the story’s resolution is left to the reader’s imagination. In short, THE SUNSET WITNESS is a gem of a story, an exciting mystery not to be missed, and I highly recommend it. On the strength of the book, I purchased the author’s earlier work.
December 11, 2014
Gayle Hayes relates a fascinating story in The Sunset Witness. It begins with a detective's Final Report of Investigation into the disappearance of Rachel Douglas. The report contains a verbatim account written by the missing woman, recorded on a flash drive and posted on the day of her disappearance. Information in this account pertains to murders that occurred in Sunset, Oregon.
Nothing is as it first appears. Everyone has secrets that influence their behaviour throughout the story. Hayes writes in a very detailed, descriptive style. The reader can visualize what Rachel sees, experience her most intimate thoughts and memories from her past. I loved basking in her viewpoint, meeting her new friends and hurtling on the roller coaster ride of unexpected twists and turns that form the plot. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Nothing is as it first appears. Everyone has secrets that influence their behaviour throughout the story. Hayes writes in a very detailed, descriptive style. The reader can visualize what Rachel sees, experience her most intimate thoughts and memories from her past. I loved basking in her viewpoint, meeting her new friends and hurtling on the roller coaster ride of unexpected twists and turns that form the plot. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
February 12, 2012
I was at first intrigued by the form of the story: a report of investigation by a detective about the disappearance of a witness. I didn’t know what to expect but the result is excellent; we have the story from Rachel’s point of view thanks to a flash drive given to the detective Josie Gannon whose report fills the gaps and gives the conclusion of the investigations.
The characters are interesting and their past is as important for the plot as their present. I was immediately hooked, I wanted to guess the culprit and it wasn’t evident at all. All the characters are keeping something secret and it’s often not what we could expect. The story is short but very complete and the writing style is good. We can see how the events took place and the interactions between the characters give us a lot to think about. I appreciated the reflection about love and passion and their results positive or not, it’s well thought and well written.
The romance is there but in a way it’s secondary in the story, I was more concerned about the plot, the murder and the threats than the love part. As for the end, it gives you matter to think about and it’s quite fun.
I would recommend it to people who want to spend a good time with a suspense book of quality.
The characters are interesting and their past is as important for the plot as their present. I was immediately hooked, I wanted to guess the culprit and it wasn’t evident at all. All the characters are keeping something secret and it’s often not what we could expect. The story is short but very complete and the writing style is good. We can see how the events took place and the interactions between the characters give us a lot to think about. I appreciated the reflection about love and passion and their results positive or not, it’s well thought and well written.
The romance is there but in a way it’s secondary in the story, I was more concerned about the plot, the murder and the threats than the love part. As for the end, it gives you matter to think about and it’s quite fun.
I would recommend it to people who want to spend a good time with a suspense book of quality.
November 17, 2014
Interesting story of murder and mystery, but this story is a lot more as the reader delves into the life of Rachel Douglas in the form of a record left on a flash drive. Rachel's life is interesting and the author does a great job in capturing the reader's interest as the story unfolds. The mystery deepens and twists and turns until the end of this amazing novel. I loved the author's writing style and the characters in this novel that is highly recommended.
June 6, 2013
The relationships that come to light in this little town are a bit of a stretch as well as the protagonist's acceptance of her treatment by an old-time friend. But overall it kept my attention and was a nice little suspense book.
February 1, 2015
Started reading this book at sunset and couldn't put it down until I finished! Reawakened my love for mysteries. Don't want to give anything away but have to say good characters and an intricate story full of loops and weaves... I loved the ending!!! A truly enjoyable, very good read!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews