Susan F. (scoutmomskf) -
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.
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.
