Joanna Sutton can cope with the fierce winter storm bearing down on the small rural community of Centennial Valley, Montana; the popular romance writer has survived much worse in life. Haunted by the loss of her husband and child, Jo has found refuge at her family’s secluded lodge, but her haven soon becomes a hell. During the ferocious blizzard, a local Boy Scout troop is stranded in the wilderness, compelling Jo to spearhead a desperate rescue mission, aided by a newly arrived stranger with an unknown agenda.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Tyler McBride hears that three escaped convicts are fast approaching Big Sky Country. Hoping to warn Jo, he faxes over the men’s mug shots. But they never reach their intended recipient. Then Tyler makes a shocking discovery: Two people are dead, and a killer is among the group, along with the woman Tyler loves, searching for his lost son.
More than one innocent life is at stake. For the sake of those Jo cares about most, and for her own survival, she’ll need all the cunning, courage, and passion she can muster to survive the mounting terror.
This is the 2nd book in Brennan’s Prison Break trilogy.
Aaron Doherty was on Death Row at San Quentin when the earthquake hit thus allowing him to escape. For Aaron, it was like God has spoken and told him to go to the woman he loved. Heading to the mountains in Montana, Aaron can hardly wait to start his life w/ Joanna.
Psycho much?
When Jo Sutton’s husband and son were killed by her sister’s boyfriend, Jo left California for her family’s lodge in Montana. Having licked her wounds for four years, Jo has finally started to come back to life. Resuming her writing of romance novels, Jo has found a measure of happiness, if not peace. When her former lover, Tyler McBride, calls her and tells her that he has reason to believe that three of the escaped San Quentin inmates might be headed to her, Jo has a hard time believing it.
Sheriff Tyler McBride is racing against the clock. With the FBI believing that three of the escapees are headed toward Jo, he not only has to get to the woman he loves, he also has to get to his son. On a Boy Scout trip when the blizzard hit, his son Jason along with eleven other boys are stuck until help can get to them. With the weather thwarting his every move, Tyler races to the lodge as quickly as possible.
Brennan sure knows how to write a villain. What made it even better was that Aaron wasn’t flagrantly evil, unlike the escapee that he was traveling with. I think that made it all the more powerful. He had convinced himself that Joanna had written all her romance novels with him in the role of hero.
I did like this book, but not as much as the first. I really didn’t feel a connection to the characters. As a suspense novel, this book was amazing. I felt like I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next. As a romance, it was lacking. Jo spent most of the book trying to come to terms with the fact that she could love a man that was not her husband. Tyler had to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t going to compete with a dead man. It just felt forced.
3.75 out of 5.
This book is available from Ballantine. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Other books in the series:
Read my review of Killing Fear here.
