Dangerous Refuge

When Tanner Davis gets word that his Uncle Lorne has passed away, he's thrown into a tangled dispute over land ownership and an unexpected romance. Shaye works for the environmental conservancy Lorne had planned to deed his land to--until he changed his mind at the last minute. Suspecting foul play, Tanner and Shaye become caught up in a web of danger and attraction. Betsy Zajko's pleasant, deep voice fits the characters. She adds the right amount of tension to her narration, which reflects the conflict between the ranchers and the conservancy as well as the complicated feelings between Tanner and Shaye. Great pacing and dialogue make for a suspenseful listen with a pleasing balance of romance. S.B.T. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

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.