Series: Sterling's Montana (Book 2)
He may get a second chance at his one true love -- if
someone doesn't kill her first
When Garrett Sterling leaves for a horseback ride through
his family's sprawling Montana property, he's expecting a relaxing break from
the construction at the Sterling guest ranch. What he gets is something far
more sinister. It all happens so fast that it's hard for Garrett -- and the
authorities -- to sort out the facts. Two things are certain, though: someone
is dead and the killer knows there was a witness.
But when the one woman he could never forget emerges as a
key suspect in the investigation, Garrett will do anything he can to help clear
her name. She's still keeping secrets from him -- that much is clear. But
Garrett won't rest until he uncovers what really happened that day, how she's
involved -- and why everything she's ever told him is a lie.
Excellent action-filled suspense story mixed with a
second chance romance. It started with a bang and kept me hooked from beginning
to end. While Will and Poppy (Stroke of Luck) are on their honeymoon, Garrett
is tasked with supervising the repairs to the guest ranch. While out riding, he
witnesses what appears to be an abduction turned to murder. Too far away to
stop it or see the details, he's shocked when he and the sheriff discover that
the dead body turns out to be the gun-wielding abductor, not his female
captive. In the meantime, the fleeing female ends up in the hospital after
crashing the car. When the sheriff asks Garrett to identify the woman as the
one he saw, Garrett is stunned to recognize her as the woman he'd loved and
lost two years earlier when she disappeared from his life without a trace.
Joslyn is terrified to realize that, for the second time
in her life, she has no memory of the events leading up to a murder. Unsure of
who she can trust, she pretends complete amnesia to the sheriff who came to
question her. She did not expect to have Garrett show up in her hospital room
too.
Garrett is filled with questions and determined to get
answers. He saw enough of the confrontation to be sure that Joslyn killed the
man in self-defense. Even though she claims she has amnesia, he can see that
she remembers him. He also senses that her fears are real and feels the need to
protect her while he gets his answers. Joslyn knows she owes him the truth and
has to hope that he will believe her.
I liked the rekindling of their relationship. It was
clear that the feelings from two years earlier had never gone away, but Garrett
is torn between his desire to believe her and wondering if anything she says
can be believed. But his gut and his heart win out as the threats against her
escalate, and he learns more about what drove her actions two years earlier. I
ached for Joslyn who seems to have been running for her life for as long as she
can remember. The happiest time of her life had been those months when she was
with Garrett, and it had broken her heart to leave him. But more important than
her happiness was keeping Garrett safe, and that was what brought her out of
hiding. I liked how Garrett's confidence in her innocence grew, even as he had
to fight off the well-intentioned advice of family and friends. His protectiveness
was sweet, as was the support he gave her as she tried to wrench back control
of her life. I loved seeing them come together at the end, ready for the future
that had been denied to them two years earlier.
The suspense of the story was fantastic. From the moment
that Joslyn reappeared in Garrett's life, it seemed like there was one thing
after another trying to rip them apart. Joslyn's past was revealed slowly as
though on a need-to-know basis. There seemed to be two competing threats to her
health and well-being. First was the murder of her father and step-mother
twenty-five years earlier, an event she witnessed but can't remember. Are the
attempts on her life because the real murderer believes that she remembers what
happened? Second is the large amount of money she is due to inherit in just a
few days. There are plenty of suspects who have the motivation to see that she
doesn't. I was on the edge of my seat as Garrett foiled one attempt, risking so
much by trusting his instincts instead of trusting what he was told. I loved
how Joslyn was determined to put an end to the threat and the plan that she and
Garrett devised. The final confrontation was intense, and I wondered how Joslyn
would survive long enough for her plan to work. I was glued to the pages until
it was all over. There was a twist at the very end provided an unexpected
surprise.
I had two favorite secondary characters in this book.
First was the sheriff, Sid Anderson. I liked him in the first book, as a solid
small-town law enforcement officer. His blossoming romance with the Sterlings'
housekeeper, Dorothea, is a sweet addition. In this book, he had to tread a
fine line between obeying the law and keeping Garrett out of trouble. It was a
difficult edge to walk and I thought he handled it well. He's looking forward
to his upcoming retirement but is also worried about who will replace him. There
are a few hints as to how that will go, and I'm looking forward to the next
book to see what happens. My other favorite was Garrett's friend and childhood
playmate, PI Billy Mitchell. Billy's support, as he aided and abetted Garrett
in his rescue of Joslyn, was crucial to that part of the story. He also had me
laughing out loud a few times.
No comments:
Post a Comment