Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Pajaro Bay #5

Dashing Through the Surf

Rate this book
Roxy Drew arrives back in her Pajaro Bay hometown after spending ten years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. But she soon discovers she has to solve the mystery that put her behind bars before her own daughter ends up the next victim in Dashing Through the Surf.

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 29, 2017

495 people are currently reading
875 people want to read

About the author

Barbara Cool Lee

43 books198 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
246 (57%)
4 stars
121 (28%)
3 stars
54 (12%)
2 stars
7 (1%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Kat.
Author 14 books610 followers
July 17, 2024
I love the characters in this series because they’ve often done wrong but find second chances in this small coastal California town. Roxy made a huge mistake her senior year of high school and got sent to prison for ten years. She’s served her time, is out and has come to live in her grandmother’s cottage. She also wants to reconnect with her daughter—but her ex, Alexander, the good guy she took for granted during her wild bad girl days, is having none of it. Then there’s also the matter of the two million dollars she had a hand in stealing from an armored car that night when she was seventeen—money that has never been found. What happened to it?

Lovely detailed descriptions. You can see the lovely California coast and feel the surf. I loved the examination of Roxy’s past and the difficulties of reentering life after time in prison. This mystery had a little of everything. Blackmail. Betrayal. Secrets. Redemption and forgiveness. I was surprised by some of the twists that came up as we neared the end… I thought I had predicted which way it was going to go and then the author took me by surprise!
Profile Image for Chanele.
461 reviews9 followers
December 1, 2025
This was a free book discovery from a newsletter for weekly free books, but since I have my annual tradition of Christmas books in November and December, and this book was short, I added it to the collection. And it was different than I expected, but in a good way. It was a murder/crime mystery, which is a bit different from a lot of the romance Christmas novels out there.

The story centers on Roxy Drew, who returns to her hometown after spending 10 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit - murder in association with an armored truck robbery, which happened all when she was just a teenager. Back in her hometown is her ex-boyfriend and their daughter that she was forced to leave as a baby. Roxy's mission is to find out what really happened the night she was alleged to have been involved in the robbery, as well as to protect her daughter, now a precocious 10-year-old, all while rekindling a romance that they both thought would be long dead. Roxy finds out a lot about herself and her family history along the way.

It was a quick read, and it really isn't a Christmas book other than taking place during the season, but it was still a worthwhile read.
Profile Image for Polly.
1,550 reviews7 followers
July 31, 2020
Very nice fast mystery. Great to get to know another of the cottages and the people who love them.
Profile Image for Linda.
90 reviews6 followers
October 12, 2017
All that glitters is not gold...

It might just be .....oh, wait. Don’t want to spoil it for you. If you enjoy good writing, real and engaging characters, combined with imaginative and well spun tales, don’t overlook the Pajaro Bay Mystery Books.
You come to know the terrain, the town and the characters who bring the threads of their lives together in a rich tapestry of love.
Profile Image for Pamela A..
739 reviews12 followers
November 5, 2025
𝑰𝒎 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒆!!! 🤯🤯😘😘

𝑾𝒐𝒘! 𝑾𝒐𝒘. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕!! 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉!!! 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅!!! 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 🥰🥰🥰
Profile Image for Avalon.
618 reviews3 followers
Read
January 12, 2021
Pajaro Bay murder mystery

Roxi has just spent 10 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit just to protect her unborn child from her Grandmother. Her partner and his mother raise her daughter and Roxi can't wait to meet her but someone is threatening her and trying to kidnap her daughter. Why did her Mother leave her all those years ago?? Is the threats connected to the old crime? Enjoyable edge of your seat read. Couldn't put it down.
50 reviews
March 20, 2023
Rum Cake Cottage

Another great read!!! This is about a mother named Roxy who spent 10 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. But did it to save her Unborn daughter so history didn't repeat! She was determined to so!be this crime to prove she was innocent and found out who the real criminal are. The mystery is intriguing. What really happened that night that changed Roxy life. Enjoy the read and all the twist and turn.
Profile Image for Julian White.
1,718 reviews8 followers
June 26, 2025
On kobo (EPub 3 DRM-Free) 1230008152862; 189 pages. Yet another cover variant...
Original title Dashing Through the Surf

Ten years on, after serving a sentence for a crime she didn't commit, Lori returns to Pajaro Bay to try and put things right... Not, perhaps, the most believable storyline but compellig enough - and touches on several of the earlier books so thee's an element of familiarity.
Profile Image for Dee Cash.
567 reviews2 followers
December 16, 2025
No Rom Coms

I'm not a reader of ROM Coms, at least not often. I'm more interested in thrillers and mysteries. With Rum Cake Cottage
I got a twofer. It had a lot of mystery as well as romance and
comedy. I really enjoyed reading Rum Cake Cottage. If you're anything like me you will too. Oh, by the way, I only found two typos. Some writer should hire me to read their books before publication. I never miss an error.
Gfvgg
Profile Image for BP34.
6,314 reviews47 followers
July 16, 2017
This was a fun mystery to read. After spending ten years in prison for a crime she didn't commit, Roxy is determined she must solve the crime to protect her daughter. A fast paced book that is #5 in the Pajaro Bay Mystery Series. The book was well written with a strong storyline and great characters. I received an advance copy and voluntarily chose to review it.
Profile Image for Nancy.
119 reviews10 followers
December 28, 2021
went too fast

I read this book in no time at all. Very good read. Different plot.
Roxy goes to prison for 10 years for a crime she really did not commit. Then she comes home to try to figure out what really happened so she can somewhat clear her name. Lots of action. Story moves fast
65 reviews1 follower
October 18, 2023
I love these stories.

Easy reading. If you have a busy life, like we all do, this is a great read for you. You can put the story down and pick up where you left off and know right where you left off. All the stories I have read by this author have kept me wanting to read more. Love the way she tells the stories.
Profile Image for Donna Seger kilroy.
62 reviews3 followers
September 8, 2020
Love this series..

I can not get enough of this series.. I am absolutely in love with each and every one of these books. I really hope and pray that the author does even more books about Pajaro Bay... They are awesome.. Not a disappointment at all.
Profile Image for Glenda.
744 reviews2 followers
November 12, 2020
I read this as Rum Cake Cottage. This was a good mystery. I didn't think I was going to enjoy it. I started to read it, but couldn't get in to it. I picked it up later and truly enjoyed it. I didn't figure out about the money.
45 reviews
September 7, 2021
Another great book!

I love the Pajaro Bay series! This is my 5th book in the series and enjoyed it immensely.The characters are believable, the mystery is intriguing And the romance Is always light and wonderful.
Profile Image for Gerry.
1,818 reviews
April 30, 2022
Rum Cake Cottage

Really enjoyed reading this book. Just as much as the first one. Loved all the drama and suspense. Loved the ending and highly recommend reading. On to the next book.
Profile Image for Debbie Odachowski.
491 reviews
July 5, 2023
I almost have up on this! What a mistake.

This book started out slow for me but picked up speed very fast. I really liked how she kept me tied to my kindle to find out the truth about Pajaro Bay. I can't wait to see where she takes the series next.Enjoy!
Profile Image for Maureen.
Author 67 books64 followers
July 16, 2017
A Treaure

Caught me from the first paragraph! The ideal Pajaro Bay, a missing fortune and a mystery to solve. Great read!
456 reviews2 followers
November 7, 2020
Buried treasure always excites us

This is a for real five star rating. It has all the exciting of a mystery looking for buried treasures.
1,906 reviews18 followers
October 9, 2021
Great!

Finally, we have the story of Alex , newspaper editor and lifelong Pajaro Bay resident! It is very different, emotional, tragic, and uplifting! Enjoy!
7 reviews
October 16, 2021
More adventure in Pajaro Bay

Another mystery solved by the family of Pajaro Bay residents. The little ocean front Ca. town with a big heart and a nose for solving a good mystery.
1,004 reviews5 followers
January 29, 2023
Rum Cake

Presumptions without proof can create emotional turmoil for families. Choices are made to protect love ones and a very convoluted trail gets exposed.
Profile Image for Becky Knowles.
20 reviews
June 8, 2024
I read this book quickly, I got hooked on to it. Really enjoyed this read.
22 reviews
November 15, 2025
new beginnings

A troubled teenager amongst criminals and how it all turns out. What time and investigation actually happens and the answers afterwards. A good book to read.
Profile Image for Nikki.
1,428 reviews12 followers
February 6, 2018
I read this book, the 5th in the series, as Rum Cake Cottage, but it is the same book.

We revisit Pajaro Bay as Roxy Drew is released from prison, after serving 10 years for a murder she admitted to, but did she really do it? She has been left her Grandmothers cottage, the one she grew up in after her Mother ran off and left her.

Alexander, the local newspaper owner and editor, and now elected Mayor, has known Roxy all her life, he looked after their daughter, Ria, whilst she was in prison.

Roxy and Ria are alike in many ways, all Roxy wants to do is get to know her daughter, but Alexander thinks this will be a bad idea, but he can't get past the fact he loved Roxy.

Then there's the missing 2.2 million dollars missing from the murder of the security guard, does Roxy know where it is. Someone thinks she does, and threatens the person she holds most dear to her heart, her daughter. Roxy is on a mission to find out who is behind the threats once and for all.

A love story with a mystery thrown in, completely readable and standalone like the other books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.