Nathan's Run

June 6, 2011
Bestseller Dailey (Santa in a Stetson) launches a new series with this well-paced but unremarkable love story between an injured cop and the intriguing artist who inspires him. Roped into unofficially reopening a cold missing persons case by a friend who knew the victims, RJ Bannon is delighted when artist Erin, who refuses to reveal her last name, offers to help him investigate. When the case turns dangerous just as a sweet romance blossoms, Bannon has to decide whether solving the mystery is worth putting the woman of his dreams at risk. Populated with stock stereotypes as secondary characters, only Erin, Bannon, and Bannon's brothers (who will star in the sequels) really emerge as individuals. Dailey's prose is lovely, with imagery that clearly evokes the setting, but the contrived plot never overcomes its formulaic pattern, and readers will figure out the solution long before Bannon does.

August 1, 2011

Still on leave after stopping a drug dealer's bullet, veteran police officer RJ Bannon is intrigued with a 25-year-old cold case: the abduction of three-year-old Ann Montgomery, which has attached to it a hefty award that is about to expire. Bannon's interest unexpectedly rattles a few cages, and when he meets lovely Erin Randall, an artist who has been hired by Ann's father to paint his prize stallion and who seems to be targeted by a stalker, the pieces of this twisted puzzle begin to drift into place. Old tragedies, money, and blackmail are at the heart of this multifaceted story that takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride from the chilling violence of a deranged killer to a heart-tugging conclusion. VERDICT Dailey launches her "Bannon Brothers" trilogy with this fast-paced, compelling romantic mystery peopled with an abundance of well-developed characters, including a resourceful, take-charge hero. Dailey (Santa in Montana) lives in Branson, MO.

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