Dangerous Refuge

March 25, 2013
Early in this romance-heavy stand-alone from bestseller Lowell (Beautiful Sacrifice), L.A. homicide detective Tanner Davis returns to the rugged Nevada ranch country of his youth to settle the estate of his late uncle, Lorne Davis. Tanner isn’t exactly looking for love—or murder—but both are very much in the cards. In fact, just a bit of digging in Refuge, Nev., raises Tanner’s suspicions about his uncle’s demise, while just a few minutes with smoking hot Shaye Townsend—one of those with potentially the most to gain from Lorne’s death—arouses, well, let’s say other areas. Predictably, much sexual tension ensues between the love-scarred duo as they warily join forces for an increasingly dangerous investigation. Despite Lowell’s limited descriptive vocabulary, Tanner, Shaye, Lorne, and many of the other characters ring true, and the action concludes with an exciting chase through a desolate Sierra Nevada terrain of abandoned mine shafts and aborted dreams. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.

April 15, 2013

Los Angeles homicide detective Tanner Davis returns to rustic Refuge, NV, on the eastern slopes of the Sierras, when his 86-year-old uncle Lorne is found dead on his ranch. Tanner assumes Lorne died of natural causes, but when complications regarding Lorne's will arise and his bequest to the National Ranch Conservancy is called into question, the situation changes. Soon Tanner and conservancy rep Shaye Townsend are thrown together as they try to sort things out--and Lorne's suspicious death is foremost on their minds. VERDICT Smart, realistic characters, a beautifully described setting, a cultural/economic issue that deserves to be highlighted, and an intriguing puzzle meld into a riveting mystery that won't disappoint. Lowell (Death Echo) lives in the Sierra Nevadas.

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