Miracle at Seaside

    Kristie Marlowe moves to Seaside, San Francisco after inheriting her grandfather's old houseboat. Despite the waterfront area being know to collect derelicts and hippies Kristie is excited to make the move and start an independent life. 

    Kristie's boyfriend Tom also lives on the waterfront in a houseboat and she soon makes friends with others in the floating neighborhood. 

    Kristie has signed up to take acting classes from a old silent film star to work towards her dream of an acting career but to earn money in the meantime she becomes a nanny for the problem child of a handsome but standoffish relator named Mark. 

    From her first night at Seaside Kristie experiences some frightening moments due to a mysterious someone prowling around at night, even breaking in and ransacking the place. 

    Kristie is also having to deal with Mark's real estate agency trying to have the houseboat inhabitants kicked out and their homes destroyed to make room for a yacht club. Forced to bring their homes up to code, including installing expensive knew waste management units Kristie and her friends organize a play to raise money which succeeds. 

    Due to the prowler Kristie moves in with her friend but Heather, the child she nannys, is unaware of this when she goes to Kristie's houseboat looking for her. Kristie and Mark rush to retrieve her but come face to face with the prowler who has the child captive. Soon the police, along with help of Kristie's cat, apprehend the prowler and learn he was looking for a secret stash of pearls Kristie's grandfather had hidden away in his home. 

    Kristie finds them, Tom gets a scholarship to study art in Paris, and Mark and Kristie decide to marry.

- It was a little dull. I felt like the acting classes and putting on a play were just distractions from the mystery and I didn't enjoy reading those parts as much. 

- At first I thought Tom was going to be the culprit. Once it was clear it was not him I knew it was going to be a minor character mentioned a few times, there was no one else.  

    It wasn't the worst book I've ever read but I wasn't super thrilled with it. I don't think I'll read it again. 

    I had my own copy of this book but it is available for free from Archive's Lending Library.