2,374 books
—
2,633 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Without a Trace (Rock Harbor Series #1)” as Want to Read:
Without a Trace
(Rock Harbor #1)
by
A plane crash claimed the lives of her husband and son, but Bree Nichols and Samson, her search and rescue dog, won't rest until they've recovered the lost bodies-or combed every inch of the wilderness trying.
Meanwhile, the quiet town of Rock Harbor is disturbed by a violent crime. Bree soon discovers a personal stake in the solving of the murder, and in the course of her
...moreGet A Copy
Paperback, 289 pages
Published
May 30th 2006
by WestBow Press
(first published 2003)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Without a Trace,
please sign up.
Recent Questions
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Without a Trace (Rock Harbor Series #1)
There were numerous facets of this book that made it great to read - characters with longings and friendships that I could relate to, losses to overcome, and a mystery to solve. Plus, the analogy of the great "Hound of Heaven" really spoke to my heart. The author made that analogy come alive for me in a way it never had before. Oh - and then there's the whole "mom" thing, about how deep and strong that bond is. Plus, I enjoyed the setting in Michigan's U.P.
The only difficulty I had with the book ...more
The only difficulty I had with the book ...more
Without a Trace was a fun enough suspense novel, but not quite as engrossing as I'd like. I think that sometimes Coble's writing style just comes across a bit lack-luster for me, which is totally a matter of personal taste as I know she has many fans. The mystery itself actually did take me by surprise, as I was not expecting the culprit one bit. Bree is a bit of a weak character at the beginning, and I really didn't like how she let some of the other characters jerk her around. However, as the
...more
Ah, a very satisfying and twisty mystery in this one. I’d say this is one of Coble’s best efforts. I had a hard time getting into it, but past around the 40% mark I was fully absorbed in the story and I liked the Christian message as well. I have plenty of interest in the side characters and some ongoing questions about some incidents in the book that I’ll definitely be reading more in this series.
Oct 21, 2016
Andrea Cox
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
challenges-2016,
cover-love
by Andrea Renee Cox
Without a Trace is a good mystery that featured search-and-rescue dogs, which is a neat thing I haven't seen much in fiction. I was disappointed that there was heavy emphasis on affairs, which is why I can't give this book five stars. A solid mystery with interesting characters. No expletives that I noticed, which was nice. I had noticed one in a previous Colleen Coble book, so I was hesitant about reading this one, but I'm glad it was chosen for me by a friend on Goodreads. I ...more
Without a Trace is a good mystery that featured search-and-rescue dogs, which is a neat thing I haven't seen much in fiction. I was disappointed that there was heavy emphasis on affairs, which is why I can't give this book five stars. A solid mystery with interesting characters. No expletives that I noticed, which was nice. I had noticed one in a previous Colleen Coble book, so I was hesitant about reading this one, but I'm glad it was chosen for me by a friend on Goodreads. I ...more
Solid suspense novel to begin the Rock Harbor Series. I especially enjoyed the aspects of the one year old cold case.
Sep 02, 2020
Christine Indorf
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
religion,
christian-mystery
In an hour I'll be done with the book. The reason I gave this novel was because the amount of characters this novel has in it. I am still lost who what character is which. The other books I read of her doesn't have this much characters in it. I like the who done it. The love interest in the book could be the man who done it. Also there is a lost boy and will he ever be found. The mystery in the book is great as usual but the amount of characters needed to be cut in half for less confusion!!
...more
Do you like reading about women who run away to the bathroom to cry over something silly? Do you like being introduced to a dizzying array of characters with no development that are impossible to keep track of? How about gender-bending names or dog names that could be people's names just to make it more complicated? You must love an interesting intro only to have to wade through chapters and chapters of nothing happening for any sort of follow up. Then, this is the book for you! The book has str
...more
I enjoyed this so much I bought the book set from Amazon.
This book was soooooo good!!! I loved the mystery and suspense! Bree, Samson, Charley, and Naomi are so cool. I loved learning about search and rescue dogs.:)
Without a Trace is book one in the Rock Harbor Series by Colleen Coble. Bree was still grieving for the loss of her son and husband in a plane crash when mysterious her sister-law Fay died. At first Sheriff Mason Kaleva and ranger Kade Matthews through it was a hiking accident until Samson and Charlie found more of Fay's blood elsewhere. The readers of Without a Trace will follow the investigation into Fay's death and would be surprised with the conclusion of this book.
Without a Trace is the se ...more
Without a Trace is the se ...more
Book one in Colleen Coble's Rock Harbor Series sets up the town of Rock Harbor Michigan on Lake Superior and features Bree Nichols, a widow, whose young son and husband disappeared in a supposed plane crash. Bree is a member of Rock Harbor's Search and Rescue team along with her dog Samson.
The small town of Rock Harbor is full of all sorts of interesting, loveable, and sometimes evil people. Bree is obsessed with finding the wreck of her husband's plane to bring closure to her life so she can m ...more
The small town of Rock Harbor is full of all sorts of interesting, loveable, and sometimes evil people. Bree is obsessed with finding the wreck of her husband's plane to bring closure to her life so she can m ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A lifetime resident of Michigan, The Rock Harbor series caught my eye. I've enjoyed other books by Colleen Coble, and enjoyed this first book in the series very much! Winning characters and a picturesque backdrop make this a great combination. The story moves along at a good pace, and although a bit predictable, the story was no disappointment. The term "nor'easter" was used a few times when describing a brutal winter weather phenomenon. This term is not pertinent to the Great Lakes region. An "
...more
I really wanted to like this book. The characters were underdeveloped and God kept getting randomly dropped into the story. I kept picturing am episode of Scooby Doo with the stereotypical small town and characters that start bad and turn good and vice versa. At times there was a little suspense which is the only reason I didn't put it down before finishing.
...more
Aug 18, 2014
Joanie Bruce
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2015-reading-challenge
Yesterday, I reviewed the book, “The Butterfly Palace” by Colleen Coble. I gave it only three stars, mostly because of personal preference. However, since that time, I’ve read another book by the same author, “Without a Trace,” which is the first book of the Rock Harbor Series. Honestly, I have to tell you that I LOVED this book by Ms. Coble.
What I liked: A Question is raised at the beginning of the book: whether Bree Nichols will find the place where the plane containing her husband and son ha ...more
What I liked: A Question is raised at the beginning of the book: whether Bree Nichols will find the place where the plane containing her husband and son ha ...more
The story was interesting, but I found it fairly predictable. This was Christian fiction, which was not identified anywhere in the description that I bought it from; it was represented as a mystery. While this did not necessarily bother me, it came off as a little preachy. The main character's sudden transformation from a non-believer to a believer was a little over the top and unbelievable.
...more
Wow, what a great christian story that keeps your wondering through out the whole book. It was a great mystery finding out what happened to Bree's husband and her son. The book kept your interest by giving you ideas of several options of what could of happened to her family with all the twist and turns - starting out with knowing that her husband and son were in a plane crash but didn't know where the crash site was. With the help of her search and resue dog "Sam" and the help of her family and
...more
I kept checking to make sure this really wasn't the second book in the series. The description leads one to believe that the plane crash occurs in this book. How am I, the reader, supposed to relate to Bree when I know nothing of her relationship with her son and husband? There was no character development, and the plot was so obviously predictible. Bree's overly calm encounter with Rachel at the end of the book would never have happened in real life. This is the first one of Colleen Coble's boo
...more
This was a good story. Nice plot. Not overly predictable. The characters were pretty well-developed. It kept my interest, but it was not un-put-down-able.
I picked up Colleen Coble's book A Cry in the Night and was so drawn into the storyline I had to go looking for the rest of the series. Without a Trace is the beginning of this multi book series and it is quite a story. The main character Bri is struggling through life after loosing both her husband and young son in a plane crash in which the wreckage and remains are still unrecovered. Bri continues to make a life for herself in the small community of Rock Harbor using her search and rescue skil
...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I read this book along with my book club - it was a decent book. Though the plot was interesting, there was a lot of stilted conversation and unnatural development of relationships between characters. I was wondering if this was one of the firs series that Colleen Coble wrote, because on other books I've read by her, the plot and character development seems a little better. All in all, it was an entertaining read and I am planning on reading the other two books in the series now that I've read t
...more
I happened across this book by fluke at a local book store that was clearing a bunch of paperback novels out. I enjoy novels set in more remote locations like this one is, set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan which is what drew me into this book.
Although I don't consider myself religious is anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've currently read two of the Rock Harbor Mysteries. ...more
Although I don't consider myself religious is anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've currently read two of the Rock Harbor Mysteries. ...more
A good mystery that kept my interest yet the characters weren't developed enough for me to remember who was who and who was related to whom. And there were some elements of the story that were a bit unbelievable, thus only 3 stars. Not interested enough to read the rest in the series.
...more
Way too predictable. Coming off an amazing book by Tana French so maybe I'm being too hard on Coble. The sophistication of the plot, character dev and writing is just too simple. Lots of great reviews for this book but doesn't seem worth the time. Probably a good series for early teen girls?
...more
3.5 stars
Such a good mystery/thriller (without being creepy/gory! Read in 2 days because I couldn’t put it down. Excited for the next two in the series! Definitely recommend.
3 + not quite a 4 but I rounded up
This is the first book in the Rock Harbor series. I read Beneath the Copper Falls which is much later in the Rock Harbor series. I enjoyed it and decided to go back and read the first. I don’t recommended reading out of order. I do love these characters but having read a later story, I knew a lot about the characters. Some actually show up in other stories ~ Bree and Samson were in Tidewater Inn
I enjoyed the author’s note in the beginning about her grandmothe ...more
This is the first book in the Rock Harbor series. I read Beneath the Copper Falls which is much later in the Rock Harbor series. I enjoyed it and decided to go back and read the first. I don’t recommended reading out of order. I do love these characters but having read a later story, I knew a lot about the characters. Some actually show up in other stories ~ Bree and Samson were in Tidewater Inn
I enjoyed the author’s note in the beginning about her grandmothe ...more
I really enjoyed this book. While it had kind of a slow start without much on-the-edge-of-your-seat adventure, I enjoyed the easy start in this book because I was able to get to know these characters. I quickly grew to love Anu, Bree, Naomi, and Kade. Don't let the easy start fool you, though, this was a great, suspenseful book, especially as you reached 3/4 of the way through the book.
What I Liked: Colleen Coble did a fantastic job weaving this story. The end shocked me because the culprit who ...more
What I Liked: Colleen Coble did a fantastic job weaving this story. The end shocked me because the culprit who ...more
This book is the first of a series. I will be reading the others. Murder and mayhem does happen with religious undertones. Also some Finnish words that I learned and can now use in conversations with my husband. Fun, enjoyable read.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Book Gi...: Without a Trace by Coleen Coble | 6 | 16 | Nov 28, 2014 07:42AM |
Readers also enjoyed
USAToday bestselling author Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of dozens of novels including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Mercy Falls Series, the Hope Beach Series, the Lonestar Series and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea. She has more than 2 million books in print.
Other books in the series
Rock Harbor
(6 books)
News & Interviews
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King...
47 likes · 18 comments
3 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Men were as plentiful as salmon, but a best friend was a freshwater pearl.”
—
1 likes
“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears. —“The Hound of Heaven” (FRANCIS THOMPSON, 1859–1907)”
—
0 likes
More quotes…
