Renegade's Pride

February 13, 2017
This complex introduction to Daniels’s Cahill Ranch contemporary romantic suspense series is heavy on the thrills and light on the love. Fugitive Trask Beaumont returns to Gilt Edge, Mont., to clear his name and reclaim his first and only love, Lillian Cahill, whom he left without a goodbye in order to protect her from the mess his life had always been. Trask’s parents all but abandoned him when he was growing up, and he became a hot-headed troublemaker, but he has matured during his nine years away. Lillian’s reluctant to trust him with her heart again, but she can’t deny her attraction to him. She’s always loved Trask, despite her brothers’ objections. Unfortunately, one of those brothers happens to be the sheriff. While keeping Trask’s return a secret, the lovers embark on their own investigation of the murder that he’s charged with, ultimately putting both their lives in danger. Meanwhile, a missing woman and a conniving ex-wife keep the sheriff busy and gossipy locals talking. Daniels (the Montana Hamiltons series) includes an array of interesting characters with questionable behavior. Readers expecting a romance will be disappointed that the suspense plot overshadows it.