Against the Night - Kat Martin (Mira - Mar 2012)

Series: Raines of Wind Canyon (Book 5)

He knows what goes on in the dark.

She's got the face of an angel and the body of…well, isn't that what he'd expect from an exotic dancer? But there's something about this girl that Johnnie Riggs can't shake. The former army ranger is hot on the trail of an elusive drug lord -- and suddenly very hot under the collar, as well.

Amy's got her own agenda to pursue: her sister is missing and Amy seems to be the only one who cares. She'll enlist Johnnie's help and do her best to ignore her growing attraction to finally get some answers. But when the two trails begin to converge and reveal something even more sinister than they imagined, their mutual desire is the least of their problems. They'll bring the truth to light…or die trying.

Good story. Amy is a kindergarten teacher masquerading as an exotic dancer in an attempt to find her missing sister. Johnnie is a PI who has come to the club to catch a bail jumper. He notices her right away and can't get her out of his mind. When he meets her he quickly realizes that she is not what she appears to be and is further fascinated. Amy has noticed him also, and when she finds out what he does is determined to ask him to help her find her sister.

I loved the two of them together. Johnnie is an ex-Ranger who is very good at what he does. He takes on Amy's case because of his fascination with her, but quickly gets invested in truly finding out what happened. He is very much the protective, alpha kind of guy who ends up at a loss at how to deal with Amy. He can't get her out of his mind, even though he avoids getting emotionally close to any woman. He has lost people he cared for, and done things that haunt him, so feels that he is better off alone. He tries very hard to keep Amy's involvement in the case to a minimum, but can't deny her when she insists on being involved every step of the way.

Amy feels pretty overwhelmed by what she is doing, but she is determined to find her sister. Exotic dancing is something that is way out of her experience, but the longer she does it the more comfortable she is. When she first sees Johnnie she is attracted to him, but is very wary because of who and what he is. She really wants his help in finding her sister and asks him anyway. I loved the way that she refused to be sidelined in the investigation and made sure that Johnnie kept her involved. There were times she took some risks that could have turned out badly, but her own strengths saved her. Her attraction to Johnnie quickly turns to stronger feelings, but she sees no future in it. She knows he won't/can't commit and she'll be going back to teaching at the end of the summer anyway. 

The romance between Johnnie and Amy is hard fought. Johnnie sees both the sweet and innocent Amy and the sexy Angel. He really wants her and finds that his feelings for her are more than he's ever felt for anyone before. He's convinced he's not good enough for her and resists thinking about a future with her. He doesn't see how well suited she is for him, with her ability to stand up for herself. I loved seeing the way that he was frequently confused by the fact that she so easily got her way.  Amy falls hard for Johnnie, but doesn't see how her life can mesh with his. She spends a lot of time thinking about what it will be like to have to go back home when this is done. I loved seeing her insist on taking an active part in the investigation, not just sitting back and waiting for Johnnie to do the work. I really loved the scene where she showed him she could defend herself. I loved how she blew away some of his preconceived ideas. I liked the way that she had the courage to tell Johnnie how she felt. There was awhile when I wondered just how long it would take for them to realize that they could be together.

The suspense part of the story kept me intrigued. There were so many threads that had to come together before the whole picture was revealed. There were some villains that were clear from the beginning, but there were a couple that I never saw coming. I really enjoyed the appearances of characters from previous books and their involvement in helping Johnnie. The resolution of Rachael's disappearance didn't wait until the end, but there was more to the story after she was found which made a nice change.  

Against the Odds - Kat Martin (Mira - Dec 2012)

Series: Raines of Wind Canyon (Book 7)

This case may prove to be too hot to handle.

There's silver out there: Sabrina Eckhart is sure of it. And when she finds the hidden mine on that big piece of West Texas desert, all of her financial problems are solved. That is, if she can find it. The man with the skills she needs is private investigator Alex Justice -- a former navy fighter pilot and a current pain in the neck.

When mysterious "accidents" start to plague their search, it seems Rina's multi-acre inheritance might be more a curse than a blessing. And yet, there's still something sensual about the heat…his arrogance…her stubbornness…being thrust into each other's arms by danger… But the vultures are circling, and if they don't watch their backs, the relentless desert sun could be the last thing Rina and Alex ever see.

Good book. Rina's life as a stockbroker has taken a bit of a downturn, but she feels that she can turn it around if she can find the silver mine on the property her uncle left her. She needs a pilot who can fly her over the land to look for it, and the best man for the job is Alex. She hires him to do the job, and ends up grateful for his skills, as the helicopter they use is sabotaged and they end up stranded in the desert for a couple days.

Rina thinks Alex is pretty sexy, but that he's also an arrogant, egotistical jerk. Alex doesn't have a very high opinion of Rina either, though he's certainly attracted to her. Those two days in the desert make them see each other very differently. After their rescue and some recovery time, Rina is ready to resume her investigation when she's involved in a suspicious car accident. Alex suspects that someone wants her dead, and that it has to do with the mine. He is determined to keep her safe and if that gives him a chance to get her into his bed, so much the better.

The chemistry between Alex and Rina is hot and they can't keep their hands off each other. Neither one is looking for a relationship and agree to just enjoy each other. But Rina worries that it will be far too easy to fall in love with Alex and she doesn't want that. She sees Alex's past, with his playboy ways and avoidance of any kind of commitment and knows there's no future with him. Alex avoids commitment like the plague. He feels that his life is too unsettled to be able to add a wife to it, so he sticks with the light and fluffy affairs. He is a bit of a control freak and feels that he has to be able to be sure of all parts of his future before committing. But his time with Rina is changing him. He feels things for her he hasn't felt for anyone else and it confuses him. I wanted to smack him for his reaction when Rina told him she loved him.  It took one of his coworkers to point out that some things just can't be controlled for him to realize what an idiot he had been.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book. I loved Rina's confidence in her uncle's claim about the mine. She is determined to follow up on it and find the silver. The attacks on her get more intense as the culprit gets more desperate to obtain the mine. I really liked the way all the guys work together to figure out what is going on. I also enjoyed seeing Rina insist on being involved every step of the way. She wasn't going to allow herself to be left out of the loop. I did understand Alex's frustration sometimes when she would interfere with what he wanted to do. There were a couple interesting twists to the final reveal that I didn't see coming. 

I also enjoyed the secondary story involving Alex's sister. I loved seeing the relationship the two had, as it showed a different side to Alex. I got very frustrated with Becca when she was trying to force her daughter into the same kind of mold her mother had forced on her. She also had kind of a snobby attitude toward Joe until she finally saw that she was still trying to please her mother. Once she saw her mistakes, things really improved for her. The addition of the murderer/molester to the mix gave Joe an extra chance to show his love for Becca and her daughter. The rescue operation was really intense with some question as to how it would all turn out.

Against the Storm - Kat Martin (Mira - Oct 2011)

Series:  Raines of Wind Canyon (Book 4)

Some women find trouble wherever they go. And some men are their only protection against it.

Redheads like Maggie O'Connell are nothing but trouble. But Trace Rawlins, a former army ranger turned private investigator, takes the case anyway. After all, he knows a thing or two about women.

Trace can sense that something is wrong -- Maggie isn't telling him everything. If these menacing calls and messages are real, why won't the police help her? And if they aren't real, what is she hiding?

As Trace digs deeper to find the source of Maggie's threats, he discovers a secret that no one was meant to uncover. And the only puzzle left to be solved is whether the danger comes from an unknown stalker...or from the woman he's trying his hardest not to fall for.

Good book that kept me intrigued from the beginning. Maggie has been getting creepy notes and calls, but the police are no help at all. When a friend suggests she hire a private investigator, she calls on Trace. He takes the case against his better judgment. He has a weakness for redheads and he senses that this one isn't being completely honest with him.

Both Maggie and Trace had their issues. Trace has a bad marriage, to a redhead, in his past. In spite of that, he still has a weakness for a redheaded woman, he's just made the decision to avoid anything that looks like commitment. Maggie has commitment problems of her own, thanks to a mother that never stuck with a marriage once things stopped being easy. 

Maggie is a successful photographer who is having problems with a stalker. She goes to Trace for help because she gets no satisfaction from the cops. She had made a false accusation while she was in high school and as a result they don't take her seriously. Trace is willing to take her case (that redhead thing, y'know) as long as she listens to him and is honest with him. Right there is where they start running into problems, because when he asks her about certain people in her past, she leaves things out because she doesn't think they're important. Trace is rightfully angry when he finds out because some of that information could be important. She also has a tendency to go off on her own, even though he's told her not to, because she feels she has to be free to do her work. It takes several times of these idiotic moves for her to get it into her head just how dumb she's being. Another thing contributing to her issues is that she is really attracted to him. She doesn't want to be because she can see herself falling for him, which would be bad all around. Even once she gives into the attraction she really doesn't expect it to last past the solving of the mystery.

Trace runs a successful security company. He is at heart a true Texas gentleman who is very protective of women who find themselves in trouble. His weakness for redheads has gotten him in trouble before, especially when he married one of them. She is a plague to him that he still hasn't quite managed to shake loose. He feels that getting involved with Maggie is a bad idea from the beginning, but he does feel that she is telling the truth about the notes and calls she is receiving. He is intent on finding out who is terrorizing her, but is continually frustrated by her lack of cooperation. He's glad when she finally starts taking him seriously, and then their attraction adds a new layer to their relationship. 

Neither Trace nor Maggie was looking for any kind of long term relationship. As a matter of fact, they fought the idea of it every step of the way, thanks to their individual issues with trust. But the more time they spent together, the more their hearts started to over rule their heads. Even so, their fears still managed to nearly drive them permanently apart, except for the danger that had them looking at what was really important.

The suspense part of the book was well done. The stalker's actions show a steady escalation that emphasizes the danger that Maggie is in. I enjoyed seeing the way that Trace and Maggie worked together to try to uncover the culprit. I have to say that the stalker was not who I thought it was, which was kind of nice because I don't like it when I figure things out too soon. There was a secondary problem that we knew the who, but not the why. That also was brought out at the end and made a satisfying finish to that puzzle. 

I also enjoyed the secondary storyline that involved Maggie's sister and another client of Trace's. It was great to see Maggie connect with her sister, giving her a healthy relationship with a member of her family. Her sister was pretty sweet, and as independent as Maggie. I loved seeing her get involved with a nice guy like Jason. I liked the respect that Jason had for her, and the way he actually listened to what she really wanted.

Against the Wind - Kat Martin (Mira - Jan 2011)

Series: Raines of Wind Canyon (Book 1)

Secrets don't stay buried long in cattle country. Sarah Allen, the beautiful girl who humiliated Jackson Raines in high school, is back in town. Not so long ago, she couldn't wait to leave Wind Canyon, Wyoming, in her dust. But, recently widowed, she has nowhere else to go and finds herself on Jackson's ranch. And despite everything, Jackson's finding himself reluctant to get rid of her.

Sarah brings her own kind of trouble, and he can't resist trouble. Enemies of her dead husband show up making threats, thinking she has something they're owed. They're not taking no for an answer, but what they will take is the one thing she has left -- her daughter. Jackson's the only one who might be able to save little Holly and bring her home.

Good book that kept me interested to the end.  Sarah has returned to Wind Canyon after the murder of her husband.  She had left town in search of a better life and thought she found it, only to find that her husband was abusive and a crook.  She has sold everything to pay his debts but is still being harassed by people who are looking for something he had.  She has gotten a job with the local paper and rented a cottage for herself and her daughter on one of the local ranches.  Then she discovers that the ranch belongs to Jackson Raines, the guy she treated so badly back in high school.  

Jackson and his brothers were the local bad boys.  Their parents were drunks and the boys were constantly in trouble.  Jackson had left town after high school and ended up making a boatload of money.  He then came home and bought a ranch.  He's not at all happy to find Sarah on his ranch, as he still remembers his humiliation at her hands.  She appears to have changed, but he's not inclined to trust her.  However, when trouble follows her to Wyoming he steps in to help her.

I liked Jackson.  He is the type of man that can't walk away from someone in trouble.  Though he isn't sure whether he can fully trust her, he can see that Sarah is in bad trouble.  I liked the way that he wants to help her find out who is after her and why.  He is also still attracted to her which adds to his desire to help her.  As he learns more about what her marriage was like he's impressed by the strength she showed to survive it.  Though he hasn't had any plans to marry the more time he spends with Sarah and her daughter the more the idea appeals.  I really liked the close relationship he has with his brothers.

Sarah was a little harder to like, at least at the beginning.  Her treatment of Jackson in the past had been needlessly cruel which didn't set a good tone.  I was a bit more sympathetic to her as more details of her marriage were revealed.  It was a little hard to believe in her quick relationship with Jackson as I expected her marriage to have had more of an impact on her feelings about men.  She comes to love him very much, but fears what her troubles could do to him so she tries to end things.  She also has more issues from her marriage than she has told him about.

The mystery itself was pretty well done.  Each time that Jackson and Sarah think that they have made progress something else is uncovered that leads them on another chase.  There were a few things that went on that stretched believability a bit, but overall kept me involved.  The final confrontation at the end was definitely intense and kept me wondering if everyone was going to come through it okay.  There was a very interesting twist involving the identity of her husband's murderer that I really didn't see coming.