The Waves Break Gray is Sibella Giorello's sixth novel in the Raleigh Harmon Mysteries.
Raleigh Harmon's emotional pain bleeds from the page like a severed artery.
How can it be that a young woman so eager but afraid to give love, who empathizes with the grief-stricken, who searches out the truth no matter the personal cost, who wants so desperately to find what it takes to be loved, can't find the key to that elusive and most basic of needs?
The Waves Break Gray is the kind of book you don't want to end, but you want to put a tourniquet on the pain, you want to keep reading but you have to set it down because it hurts too much to continue, and you're almost praying for a good ending but fear it won't happen.
Raleigh Harmon resigned from the FBI but still does consulting work for them in forensic geology. Jack still works for the FBI and insists he and Raleigh are "two of a kind". Captivated by Jack, Raleigh fights falling hard, but it's too late, and she knows it.
Raleigh and her mother's dog "Madame" live with a grand old woman (Eleanor) who used to do theater and met Raleigh when she worked a case at the racetrack involving Eleanor's race horses. The unique relationship affords Raleigh the use of Eleanor's classic sports car which she uses to get to her new case in Leavenworth and up to the asylum where her paranoid schizophrenic mom now lives. The excruciating and demanding visits with Madame to see her mother produce the intense pain she's endured since her childhood. That singular rejection haunts Raleigh every day of her life and influences her thoughts and actions bringing both vulnerability and cynicism to her approaches in nearly every circumstance. A scene at the asylum after yet another rejection will bring tears to your eyes and point to the novel's title.
I would love to tell you more and quote some of the superb writing in this novel, but there's just too much. With an unusual plot twist I never saw coming, The Waves Break Gray goes from frustrating to bizarre. Fascinating and rewarding, the ending is perfect, and now it will be very difficult to wait for the next Raleigh Harmon Mystery. If you love these books, this one will both break your heart and make you cheer.
Thank you, Sibella, for another Raleigh Harmon story that exceeds the norm for today's mysteries and re-establishes Raleigh as the best female character in contemporary literature.
Lord, I don't believe anyone can write this kind of pain without having known it at some point, so my prayer is that any residual pain in Sibella's life will be fully healed by your amazing grace. Please continue to bless her life, her family, her creativity and outstanding talent with your divine touch. Keep her safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.