I always enjoy Colleen Coble's books. I love that you can trust that the story will be clean of sexual content, graphic violence and language, and still deliver a good story.

Fragile Designs opens with Carly Harris whose rocky marriage ends when she finds her husband dead. She was not able to tell him that she was pregnant with their first child. Consequently she is forced to move in with her grandmother to care for her baby while she helps to renovate the home to turn into a bed and breakfast.

While working on the renovations Carly finds a treasure that no one know about, unveiling family secrets, and a possible link to Carly's husbands murderer.

This review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Huge thanks to netgalley and Thomas Nelson for my digital review copy.

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble. Exciting romantic suspense story with a subtle Christian message. The plot was incredibly complex with multiple twists and turns. Fascinating history and background of the Faberge eggs were included in the narrative. Reliable characters, especially enjoyed the chemistry between Lucas and Carly and Noah. Fast paced, gripping and entertaining read.
Thank you to Colleen Coble, Thomas Nelson-Fiction and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Wow, that was a great read ! At first I was horrified how Carly was being treated by her sisters and thought the book would be about them. Boy, I was wrong. I am very happy with how everything ended for everyone involved. It was quite a ride.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A good Christian mystery with a touch of romance. Carly’s quest to find a the truth about her grandmother and a secret treasure brings her to her younger years when she lived right next door with Lucas, her ex boyfriend’s big brother. But the dangers, secrets, family dynamics that surround them can bring together or break them until they find the truth.

Fragile Designs by Coleen Coble Is a captivating, suspenseful, page turner of a book. Carly Harris discovers the body of her police officer husband, Eric, brutally murdered in her home workshop. She is devastated, and cannot imagine how this happened in the quiet community of Pawleys Island, SC. Adding to her pain is the fact that she did not get to tell Eric that she is pregnant, and that they will not get to see their child grow up together. The police investigation seems at a standstill so Carly decides to visit her grandmother, Mary Tucker in Beaufort Bay. Mary welcomes Carly and tells her that she wants to turn her home into a Bed & Breakfast, and for Carly to manage it. While cleaning a chest of her great grandmother Helen, Carly finds an egg wrapped in a beautiful shawl. It is painted red, and appears to be very old. Upon cleaning it and further inspection, Carly thinks it may be one of the legendary missing Faberge eggs.
Hold onto your seats from there as the action never stops. So many questions to be answered, stressed family relationships, murders, romance, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Fragile Designs is a fast paced, well developed, intriguingbook; I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC; their kindness in no way influenced my review. 4 stars.

This is a Romantic Suspense. I got pulled into this story right away, and this book has really great characters. This book takes you on a crazy ride with a ton of action, suspense, and family drama. There was so much going on in this book, but it was done really well. This book was a great read. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

This is just one of those feel good books that you can't put down. Colleen Coble knows how to grab your attention and keep it from beginning to end. I loved everything about this book, well maybe not the murders, but they made the story very interesting!! I fell in love with the main characters.

Carly and her husband are going along and if you asked Carly, everything was going ok. Carly comes home to find her husband murdered one day and not only does she have to deal with that, but she soon finds out that she is pregnant and will be a single mom because her husband never even knew she was pregnant before he was killed. Carly is a trooper though and does well being a single mom. Carly moved in with her grandmother and has not yet decided what she is going to do for a job when she gets to where she can go back to work. She had been helping with her husband's grandmother's flea market sales, but she can't hardley do that now with a baby.

Carly's grandmother suddenly decides that she is going to renovate the house that they are living in and make it into a bed and breakfast and has asked Carly to run it so that she can stay home with her son, Noah. Carly has always known that her grandma has had her best interest at heart and is thrilled at the idea. They have asked Carly's other sisters to come help with the remodel of the house. Things begin to get chaotic when everyone is in the house and the remodel starts.

Carly had been tasked with getting some of her great-grandmother's items ready for auction or to sell and while she is cleaning out one day, she stumbles upon a letter that was written by her great-grandmother and it throws so many loops into what the family has always knows. Carly end up finding a Faberge egg. The history behind the egg is one that Carly has only heard about and thought that she would never be able to actually hold one of the eggs.

The story that unfolds with the egg and with Carly trying to figure everything out is one that you will want to go on with her. There are revelations that take place that will leave you with your mouth open. I loved this book and can't wait for more from Colleen Coble. Her books are always a great read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. Such a great read!

Wow! Wow! Wow!! I absolutely loved this book!! So many twists and turns and excitement!! This will be award winning for sure for 2024!! A must read for Christian thrillers!!

Carly is a widow with a baby, living with her grandmother, and with the mystery of her husband’s murder. Sorting through a trunk her great-grandmother left her, Carly discovers a letter stating her grandmother was adopted and has a twin. With the letter are a Russian shawl and, under red paint, a priceless antique. Could this be why her husband was killed? Is her family in danger? Why is the logical person to ask for help the next-door neighbor and homicide cop Lucas, who has disliked her since she broke his brother’s many years ago?

Weaving multiple threads - the grandmother’s mysterious birth mother, fraught relationship with the sisters she practically raised, unknown but dangerous people after the antique - Coble kept my interest from the start. Plot twists kept me reading and several surprises caught me along the way to the satisfying conclusion. This is a winner; highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book Title: Fragile Design
Author: Colleen Coble
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction
Pub Date: January 2, 2023
My Rating: 4.5 rounded up!
Pages 352

Whenever I see a new book by Colleen Coble it automatically goes on my TBR list! This is # 21 for me!
In fact, when I saw it was also available in audiobook I requested it as well. I was shocked that I got both. Trust me - I read the book and also enjoyed the audiobook.

I went into this story knowing nothing about it as I love this author.
However when Carly, a new mom and a struggling to make ends meet- antique dealer finds an egg painted with chipped red paint ~ I immediately asked out loud “A Fabergé egg???

Story had me from the beginning with the unexplained home invasion and murder of Carly’s husband Police Office Eric Harris
Carly takes their infant son Noah and moves in with her grandmother in the hopes of starting over. Her grandmother has been thinking about restoring the family’s waterfront Beaufort home into a bed-and-breakfast—and wants Carly to run it as gram knows she is not going to be able to provide for herself and child in her current job.
.
Carly starts cleaning out unused boxes and comes across some items in one of the old boxes and believes Eric may have known about the contents and it is what caused his death.
Hmmm

Homicide Detective Lucas Bennett lives next door and has never liked Carly since she broke his brother Ryan’s heart when she married Eric.
. However Lucas soon finds that Carly as well as baby Noah are special. When strange things are occurring around Carly, Lucas fears she is in danger and knows he has to look out for her.

The historical information regarding the Faberge egg was interesting as well as the mystery that goes back to the Russian mafia.

I read a lot of thrillers and know to suspect everyone so have to admit whodunit wasn’t a shock but I loved this story!

In Colleen Coble’s "A Note from the Author"- She tells readers that she is thrilled that she finally wrote about her obsession with Fabergé eggs. She thought about it for twenty-five years and this story was a true labor of love.

There are also great discussion questions e.g.
It is easy to make snap judgments about other people; in this story Lucas didn’t like Carly although he
really didn’t know her. Have you been wrong about someone? If so how did you handle it?

Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for granting me the pleasure of reading this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 2, 2024

Wow! What a fantastic book! It's non-stop action from beginning to end! The story is amazing! I read it in one day! I've always been fascinated with Faberge eggs and their history.

The characters are wonderful! Carly is a nurturer. She gives of herself, asking nothing in return. Lucas is a protector. He's also generous and considerate.

There's so much going on besides the mystery involving the egg. Family members are reunited, sisters bonds are strengthened, and there's even a sweet love story!

This is a definite must-read! It's everything you expect from Colleen Coble- superb writing!

I was provided a copy of the book from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have not found a book by this author that I have liked as much as the Rock Harbor series. This one sounded interesting and grabbed my interest at the beginning but then when the reason for the crimes was uncovered I found it much too far fetched and my interest waned.
I ended up caring more about the subplot involving the grandmother than anything else

I did not connect well with the audiobook which may have been a factor in my not enjoying it as much.

This a mystery that is truly a "can't put-down" one. Family secrets can lead to murder and there's a lot of twists and turns that include a Faberge egg and the Russian Mafia. Highly recommended.

Someone murdered Carly Harris’ police officer husband before she could share the good news of her pregnancy with him. Although she loves her current occupation of buying and selling antiques at flea markets and she has a teaching degree, Carly can’t see making ends meet and fulfilling her dream of staying home with their son while he is young.

When her grandmother invites Carly and her baby to move into her large home in Beaufort, SC, Carly jumps at the opportunity. And when her grandmother suggests turning the historic house into a bed and breakfast, Carly sees it as a perfect answer to prayer.

The project will provide a way for her to reconnect with her two younger sisters and offer a modest income for Carly while she works on her dream of writing novels. When she starts organizing the attic in preparation for the renovations, Carly discovers two mysteries. A priceless Fabergé egg from the Russian royal collection and evidence her grandmother has a twin sister.

Carly knows what will happen if the world discovers the treasure in her attic, so she puts it in a safe place and concentrates on finding her grandmother’s missing sister. Only someone seems to already know about the egg—someone willing to kill to get their hands on it.

When Mary Tucker’s granddaughter and great-grandson move in next door, police detective Lucas Bennett does everything he can to avoid them. According to Eric Harris, a childhood friend, and Ryan, Lucas’s brother, the beautiful Carly is bad news.

When Carly tells him about finding a priceless egg and a possible connection to Eric’s murder, Lucas begrudgingly agrees to help her. The more involved he gets in the investigation, the more Lucas realizes Carly is nothing like he imagined. He also realizes someone or someones will do anything to get their hands on the Fabergé egg.

What I Loved About This Book

If you love second-chance romance with an enemies-to-lovers twist combined with edge-of-your-seat suspense, you’ll love Coble’s latest book, Fragile Designs. Readers who struggle with healthy family boundaries will relate to Carly and her need to find healing in her relationships with her sisters. Carly and Lucas carry the baggage of betrayal and must learn to forgive and extend grace.

The plot twists and turns and the historical mysteries keep the reader engaged from cover to cover. Carrie Stuart Parks, Cara Putman, and Lynette Eason fans will love this book.

This book was amazing in every way! It’s a propulsive thriller along with a twisted mystery and a family drama that is expertly woven into the story of a missing Faberge egg. Carly’s husband was killed in a home invasion and she is left to raise their son Noah alone. Her grandmother has a plan to turn her large mansion into a bed and breakfast, something that will support Carly and Noah long after she is gone. In perusing the contents of the attic, Carly makes a remarkable discovery that will change the entire family’s life, if they can survive it, that is. I really enjoyed the characterization; all of the characters were well-rounded and dynamic. Even the bad guys were so well portrayed that I really hated them and their nefarious and deadly deeds. The plot is complicated with family issues, a missing twin and treasures that need to be discovered and protected. The complicated plot was written brilliantly with a sense of intense and edgy suspense that kept me totally engrossed in the story. I really enjoyed getting to know Carly and how giving and loving she was, in spite of how people took advantage of her. I also liked Lucas, the swoonworthy neighbor who doesn’t want to have any kind of relationship outside of protecting Carly and her family. Add to all of this the Russian mob, a swindling family member and so much more! This is a fast-moving book that is captivating, multi-layered and insightful into personalities of the characters and their motivations. I loved this book so much that I was sad when it ended…I just wanted more of the remarkable Tucker family and their head-spinning history.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson-FICTION for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own I really enjoyed this mystery. When Carly Harris is cleaning out her Grandma's house, she finds a Faberge Egg. With Homicide Detective Lucas's help, she finds the answers to several family secrets. This mystery was easy to read with several twists and turns. Highly recommend!

Fragile Designs reminded me why I get excited at a book by Colleen Coble comes out! Once again, she does not fail to add excietment to my evening read. With every corner turned, the unexpected happens. It was a delight that I received a complimentary copy of this book,. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Netgalley.

Woooooow.

What a FUN book. This is exactly the kind of thriller I want to read. A great historical component, a bit of a treasure hunt, a dash of romance, an exciting family drama. I gobbled this up and was sad when it was over.

I’d like to add: I am from Georgia, and I thought Coble did a great job of capturing the state and its people. The sweet doses of Christianity were both accurate and refreshing. To be clear: This isn’t Christian fiction. But it was genuinely cool to see characters in a normal book pray in situations in which Christians (especially in the South) absolutely would stop to pray. Really just well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an inspirational romantic drama. Carly becomes a young widow who finds herself in danger. The author centers the story around her and how she handles all the things that she experiences. The plot is very interesting and entertaining. The characters are engaging and help with keeping the readers turning the pages. Readers will come away from the end of the story feeling just wonderful.

There's a reason Colleen Coble is a best-selling romantic suspense author!! I loved it! Fragile designs has it all, family drama, an awesome Grandma, a sweet baby, wonderful neighbors, police officers, betrayal, murder, Russian mafia and even a possible Faberge egg!

I loved all the lessons learned along the way to solving the mystery. Fragile Designs has authenticity and depth to it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend this excellent Romantic Suspense story.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.