Copper Moon

by Roxanne Conrad, Rachel Caine (Writing as)

A novel of romance, suspense, and supernatural terror in a small Texas town by the New York Times–bestselling author of the Stillhouse Lake series.

Abby Rhodes is a music teacher in small-town Texas, but she’s about to journey to places she never imagined before. When a gorgeous man appears at her door and touches her hand, Abby’s world is changed forever. Her heart is overwhelmed by him, but her mind is being taken over by a dark supernatural force she can’t understand—a force that makes her question the true nature of the man who has so enchanted her. As she fights to regain control of her own soul, Abby may be forced to choose between love and survival . . .

Genres: Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Paranormal, Fiction, Fantasy

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

A pseudonym of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

She has also published as:
Rachel Caine
Roxanne Longstreet
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell

Reviews

[Krystal]

Roxanne Conrad/Rachel Caine knew how to write a novel that provided an escape to creative worlds and unique characters across genres. Copper Moon is an older selection, but it was true to her style and unpredictable. I’d categorize this novel as a thriller with a paranormal edge.

The novel is set in Texas complete with desolate stretches of highway, diners where everyone knows everyone’s business, small town judgements, and enough secrets to keep a mystery fan guessing.

Abby is a professional musician/music teacher, who starts to have odd visions or are they actual flashbacks of some sort, upon meeting artist John Lee. The two pursue a romance, but the road is a bumpy one with danger and mistrust lurking all around.

There’s a few great twists that keep the plot rolling at a clip. It’s hard to put this book down because there’s a lot to unravel. If there’s anything lacking here it’s strong editing.

I miss being able to grab the latest Rachel Caine book on publication day. It was nice to experience one I hadn’t read before.

[Faye]

Read: October 2022
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the earliest Rachel Caine novel I have read, from the mid-1990s and it is very dated in a lot of ways (characters smoking in a restaurant!) The main plot concerns a music teacher named Abbey, who begins getting intense flashbacks or hallucinations, after she meets an artist named John Lee. They start a relationship together fairly quickly. At first the plot seemed a bit all over the place and I struggled to fully connect to the story or the characters. About the mid-way point, things start coming together and the plot moves in an unexpected direction which makes things very interesting. I probably wouldn't have picked this one up if it wasn't for Rachel Caine's name on the cover, but it was a decent read that got really good towards the end and raised the star rating from 3 to 4 stars.

[Tez]

Where to start?
WOW!!!!!!!!!
It's unpredictable, romantic, with more than a twist and a kiss and a visit from death.

Once again, Roxanne Conrad has had me gripped from the very first chapter. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book, as it seemed far from my usual reading zone until the plot twist was made clear from the very FIRST PAGE, but what an awesome surprise i had.
Intriguing just doesn't cut it!!!
Though fast paced in places, I couldn't help but feel the need to rush through it to see how it was all going to end. I should not read at bedtimes, as i did not want to put this book down!!! SERIOUSLY!!!
I gave it five stars as it hit all my needs to love a book.
I say it is a must read if you are a fan of Roxanne Conrad/Rachel Caine.
And the twist is better then a seance at Halloween with the fact she/Abby - the main lead - had to live it and survive it and trust her sanity and gut instinct through-out the book.
Thankfully John Lee Jordon tones the book down or should i say, heat's it up that much, i almost dropped the book. The words, "burn baby burn", is what comes to mind!!! Damn, those pages were hot to read!!! RC, i knew you had it in you, but that stunned me and slowed my reading downnnnnn!!!

Copper Moon

[Louisa]

Oh, this was such a great read, loved the mystery and these characters and this adventure!

[Kelley Hazen]

Wow. This story was a blast to record. Absolutely terrific female characters, ghosts, devious killers. And a tragic mystery that is completely unpredictable right up to the end. My fourth audiobook set in TX, beautiful musician Abby falls in love and at the same time becomes possessed by a ghost - or is it a demon - fighting to right the wrong of her perilous demise. Is the ghost her lover's mother? This is an edge-of-your-seat mystery and a haunting love story that has you pulling for the lovers to survive. And I haven't even mentioned the insidious brother or the recently-released felon father! Roxanne Conrad takes this winding thriller and infuses it with images of music and art, light and desolation so specific and true in their description, you can't help but find yourself in the center of this world. It's a great listen! Don't be surprised if you can't stop and want to hear it all in one sitting!

[Mary]

Editing issues

[Lisa Carp]

I love a thriller with romance thrown in. The mystery is very intriguing, and kept my interest. But the “why” isn’t clear, unless I missed it. I would have questions for the author.

[Jo]

Brilliant read

Rachel has such an incredible talent for keeping you guessing right to the end. I have loved her work for a long time, and this did not disappoint. I had no idea what was going to happen to our MC, every time I thought I’d guessed, something happened and I was left wondering again.
Rachel Caine was an incredible writer, and will always be missed, I’m just grateful she was able to share her stories with us.

[Nicole Luiken]

I'm not sure whether to classify this as a thriller or as romantic suspense with a supernatural element. I really liked Abby and John Lee and invested in their romance. I actually had to put this down for a few days in the middle because the bad decisions a character was making made it hard to read, but I'm glad I came back to it. A satisfying end to a tangled knot of past and present lives.

[Erin King]

Decent story

I like the concept but it is very dated. I think if she had the chance to rewrite it, she would have modernized it. Maybe its just books from the 90's that have stranger meeting and having the worlds collide in a matter of 2 weeks. And then add in a bit of ghostly memories that over take her mind and actions.... It just seems a bit of a stretch.

[Judy A. Antoniszyn]

I must admit I was truly disappointed by all of the typographical errors in the text. Missing letters on a copious number of words throughout the book. Doesn’t anyone check these before it’s released?

[Barbara S. Sturdivant]

Very Creepy but in a good way!

Abby is always afraid and she is just realizing why. Who is in her, in her mind, and her memories are not hers. She will find the answer but the journey will be terrifying!

[Mary Matroni]

Not what expected

Not really sure how it all fits together or who is who. Confused by who survives and how they survived. Despite all that, liked the book. How did everyone get on the same page.

[Pamela(AllHoney)]

I have read a few of Rachel Caine's books and enjoyed them. But I didn't like this one. I couldn't seem to connect with any of the characters and honestly, I disliked most of them. Well, I did like John Lee.
I saw this was originally published in 1997 under Roxanne Conrad.

[Lisa A. Siegmann]

Nowhere near as good as her others

I have loved all of her books but this one wasn’t good at all. Tons of typos and just not up to the caliber I’m used to.

[Coralee Hicks]

I will miss Rachel Caine. She was a master.

[Dobby [on hiatus]]

Begins on page 9. DNF on page 12 when *tw* the dog was beaten to death for no reason other than to prove meanness on the part of the character. Book returned.

[Grace Berte]

Enjoyed the story and writing. I love Rachel Caine and this was a great stand alone novel.

[Monica]

The book is well written and vivid, its just a bit bleaker than I usually like my fare.

[Maureen Smith]

A "Good Read"

Great story, usual Rachel Caine.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
A good read
Shame she's no longer with us
Would highly recommend

[Erth]

Boring

[Beautiful Cheese (Celine)]

Not terrible, not exceptional. Twisted mystery, amusing spelling and grammer mistakes, if there was an editor for this book, they failed.

[Kevin Middaugh]

Good story but a bit disjointed. Interesting to know that this was an early release by Rachel Caine who I love her

[Susan]

Stage fright

I really enjoyed this book.. A little confusing at first, but then things started coming together. And the ending for me was a surprise.

[Kim Stewart]

Hard to follow

I love this author but found this story hard to follow at times. However it kept my attention and read it through once I got started

[Lauren]

DNF - Just couldn’t get into it.

[Kelly]

Good

This was good but not as good as others I've taedfrom Rachel Caine. I liked the concept of the book ans it was entertaining nonetheless less.

[Tamara Witika]

Excellent UF/PNR set in Texas by Rachel Caine/ Roxanne Conrad.

[Connie T.]

I remember enjoying this book quite a bit but it's been so long (17 years) since I've read it that I don't remember the details.

[Sherryle]

DNF It doesn't sound like a Rachel Caine book in my eyes. Sorry Rachel (rip) & team :((