Series:
Conard County (Book 67)
When a lonely ranch owner is threatened
A man from her past reappears
After several terrifying incidents at her isolated ranch,
widow Grace Hall turns to her late husband's best friend, Mitch, for help. When
an unknown enemy threatens them both, the tough-as-nails rancher vows to track
down the culprit. And as sparks fly between them and Grace is confronted by
Mitch's long-hidden feelings, she must risk not only her life, but also her
heart…
Good slow-burn romance mixed with suspense. Her husband
John and Grace bought a ranch and started sheep farming. Then John died, and
Grace was left trying to do it alone. Mired in grief, Grace pulled in on
herself, refusing help from anyone and determined to do it all. She quickly
discovered that it was too much for one person to do and sold her flock to the neighboring
rancher, Mitch, and leased him her land. When strange things started happening
on her ranch, she turned to Mitch for help.
Mitch had been friends with Grace and John since they
bought their ranch and frequently visited them. He was a successful rancher and
always available for help or advice. He never let on that his feelings for
Grace were far from neighborly, burying them deep because of her obvious love
for her husband. When John died, Mitch worried about her but gave her the space
she needed to grieve. When the trouble started, Mitch's protectiveness ramped up
too.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Grace and Mitch. His understanding of her grief and patience as she worked
through it was stellar. I felt for Grace and her unhappiness and was happy to
see that some people didn't give up on her. After two years, there were signs
that she might be ready to rejoin the living. The horseback riding around the
ranch together was great, and I laughed a little to see Grace's shock when she
started noticing Mitch as a man. Just as that happened, the trouble on her
ranch started. I loved Mitch's determination to protect Grace. He didn't have
an easy time convincing her to let him help. Grace's independent streak ran
deep, and it took some blunt speech from Mitch to realize that accepting help
wasn't always about her.
It became a moot point when she was injured during the
fire at her ranch, and Mitch took her home with him. I loved watching them get
to know each other. Mitch's happiness at having her there was evident. Grace
had a slower time letting go of her grief, but the closer she got to Mitch, the
more she realized she was ready to move on. But both were hesitant to declare
their feelings, unsure of how the other one felt. It took nearly losing each
other to break through their fears and admit their love. I loved the last scene
in the book, which was very true to their personalities, and looked promising
for their future. I would have liked an epilogue to catch up with them later.
Maybe they'll appear in a later book.
The suspense was good and kept me turning the pages. The
two stooges doing the dirty work weren't the brightest crayons in the box, but
their methods were effective in causing trouble. We learn early on that the
perp wants Grace off her property and is determined to chase her off. Mitch and
Grace suspect an industrial ranching conglomerate of trying to force the sale.
I liked the instincts that had Mitch, Grace, and the others suspecting that
there was something off about the ewe's shooting. The tension ramped up when
the barn burned, and everyone was on edge, waiting to see what would happen
next. The final confrontation was intense, and I was glued to the pages until
it was all over. Though I figured out the perp long before the reveal, it
didn't reduce my enjoyment of the story. However, I thought the perp's
motivation was pretty lame, and their actions were as poorly thought out as
those of the flunkies.
There were a couple of editing/continuity errors that
irritated me, but I've seen enough authors comment that typos happen no matter
how many people read it through that I try to ignore them.
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