To help a desperate woman's search,
he'll have to brave treacherous territory.
In the wilds of Alaska, grieving former Marine Colter
Hayes shuts out the world…until he and his combat tracker dog become Kensie
Morgan's last hope of finding her long-missing sister. The improbable mission
starts to rekindle Colter's desire to rejoin the world -- while saving Kensie
from a killer unsettles his heart. Can they find all they are searching for
before it's too late?
Good book about two people, haunted by tragedy, whose
chance encounter changes both their lives. Kensie came to Alaska following a
lead that is her last hope of finding the sister who was kidnapped fourteen
years earlier, at the age of five. Kensie blames herself as she was supposed to
be watching her sister at the time. The rest of her family has given up hope,
but Kensie continued the search. Both the police and the FBI told her the clue
was a hoax, but Kensie refuses to believe it. Something tells her that this one
is real. It seems that someone doesn't like the questions she's been asking
around town, because she has a close encounter with a fast-moving car. If it
weren't for Colter's dog, Rebel, Kensie could have been killed.
Colter is a former Marine who moved to Alaska with his
combat dog to escape his PTSD and his grief. He and Rebel were the only
survivors of an attack in Afghanistan that killed the rest of his team. He
considered those men his brothers and his guilt over his survival has taken
over his life. The last thing he wants is to get pulled into Kensie's problems,
but he can't stay away.
The first meeting between Kensie and Colter was kind of
rough. Rebel was the one who saved Kensie by pushing her out of the way of the
speeding car. When she found out about his work in the military, Kensie tried
to talk him into helping her, but he flat-out refused. However, when Kensie put
herself into a dangerous situation in her quest for assistance, Colter couldn't
walk away.
I loved the development of the relationship between
Kensie and Colter. Both are hurting and vulnerable, although they hide it well
from the outside world. Because they recognize each other's pain, they connect
almost immediately. Colter sees a woman who has put the pain of her loss to
constructive use while he has hidden from his. Kensie sees a man who is strong
yet vulnerable in his pain. I liked how the way they understood each other
brought them closer, even though they both fought their feelings. Colter
especially resisted because being around Kensie broke through the walls he had
put around his heart and made him start to feel again. There were some intensely
emotional scenes between them as they shared the events that made them who they
were. I ached for them both as they could see no way for them to be together. The
conclusion was fantastic with a solution I didn't see coming but made me love
Colter even more.
The suspense of the story was very good. From the moment
Kensie arrived in Alaska, her determination was clear, even though law
enforcement tried to discourage her. But each step they took led to a deeper
belief that Kensie was on the right track, especially as the attacks on her
escalated. There were many twists and turns to their investigation with some results
that I did not expect. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Kensie and Colter
faced resistance from an unexpected source. I liked the realism of what
happened at the conclusion, as reactions were not what they expected.
The dog, Rebel, was probably my favorite character. I
loved her loyalty to Colter and how she so quickly sensed his feelings, and when
he needed her. I also loved how quickly she bonded with Kensie and had the same
kind of reactions to her stress. There were some adorable scenes as Rebel comforted
both Colter and Kensie. There were also some exciting scenes, from Rebel's rescue
of Kensie at the beginning to her support of Colter in his big moment.
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