On the surface beautiful, quiet Shaye has little in common with dark, dangerous Tanner. He’s a suspicious big city cop come home to the historic Davis family ranch to settle his uncle’s estate. She’s working for an environmental conservancy that acquires and protects old ranches-and she wants to preserve the Davis homestead.
When the suspicious death of Tanner’s uncle at his ranch throws the two opposites together, tempers flare and sparks fly. While they have trouble seeing eye to eye, Shaye and Tanner agree on one thing: they need to uncover the truth.
Combining their unique skills-Shaye’s low-key approach and local connections and Tanner’s experience as a homicide detective-the unlikely pair share long nights in the pursuit of justice. Before they know it, the friction they generate turns to heat, igniting a burning love neither ever expected to find.
They believe passion this intense cannot last. But when Shaye becomes a killer’s target, Tanner realizes he’d give up anything to protect her-including his life.
Tanner’s upset and extremely tired when he first pulls into his late uncle Lorne’s ranch. He looks around the house and though things are in their place he knows that there’s something not quite right. He’s extra observant after being a homicide detective for years. When Shaye shows up on his doorstep he’s rude and basically kicks her off the ranch. Not quite a great start to any relationship.
The next night Tanner attends an event held by the Conservancy that was trying to acquire his uncle’s land, he sees Shaye in a whole new light. They are like moths to a flame when they see each other and practically glued at the hip the entire night. Despite the sparks that are flying they each are holding themselves a bit in reserve. Tanner because he doesn’t want Shaye to realize how much he wants her and Shaye because she knows that she will probably get her heart broken when Tanner heads back to Los Angeles after the estate is settled. On top of that they both agree that Lorne’s death is suspicious enough to investigate but the local Sheriff isn’t helpful at all and is already writing it off as natural causes.
Tanner discovers that some rare gold coins that have been in the Davis family for years are missing. He and Shaye start to investigate thinking that the robbery might be connected to Lorne’s death. What they find is circumstantial but it’s enough to make the bad guys nervous and they decide that it’s time to take Shaye and Tanner out.
This was my first experience with an Elizabeth Lowell book and I have to say it was a good one. The writing was clear and concise and very enjoyable. The characters were written very well and I liked almost all of them.
Tanner Davis was the epitome of the hardened cop. He’d seen so very much in his career and while it had made him cool about some things they affected him more than he let on. He started off with a churlish personality but when he was with Shaye he was definitely more likable. I don’t want to say he was soft because he wasn’t but maybe soft-er. lol
Shaye was wonderful as well. She was raised to be a society girl but she loved the casual ranch life to the glitter of the party circuit. Yes, she knew how to charm but she only turned it on when she had to. She was really perfect for Tanner as she didn’t take any of his shit and never backed down when he tried to boss her around. I loved that.
The story was a good one – maybe a bit predictable in the events that happened toward the end but I truly hadn’t figured out “whodunit” until I was told. An entertaining read and one I’d recommend.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
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