A cold case leads to present danger Charlie Farmington has been blaming herself for her stepsister Lindy’s unsolved murder for fifteen years. Then, through the twinkling lights and pine-scented air of a Montana Christmas, she glimpses Lindy–alive–standing on the street. Shocked and afraid, Charlie turns to the only person she can trust to help her: Westly “Shep” Shepherd, her first love, who … love, who knows all of Charlie’s secrets…except one.
The intriguing girl Shep fell hard for has become a breathtaking woman–and now that she’s back in his life, he’ll do whatever he can to help her uncover what really happened to her sister. But when Charlie finally reveals the secret that ripped them apart all those years ago, Shep realizes how much danger is still lurking. For the truth about that night isn’t just dark–it’s deadly. And their second chance together could end before it’s even begun…
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B.J. Daniels’ HEART OF GOLD is book 3 of the Montana Justice and an excellent romantic suspense that weaves readers into the plot of strong primary and secondary characters. Charlie Farmington was just fourteen when her stepsister, Lindy’s was murder. Fifteen years later, she glimpses Lindy—alive—standing on a street. She turns to the only person she can trust to help her; William “Shep” Shepherd, her first love. With dangers lurking around the corners, they cannot deny the love for each other, and if they want a second chance together, they must stop the killer from striking again. HEART OF GOLD is a nail-biting, page-turner suspense no reader wants to put down. B.J. Daniels draws readers into the complexity of the characters and how the past and present collides in a heart-pounding moment of truth. I received this complimentary copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Very good combination of second chance romance and intriguing suspense. Charlie has turned her life around since her years as a troubled teenager. She is a talented and successful graphic artist with a good job, friends, and a boyfriend. Life is good until she spots her dead stepsister across the street, bringing back all of the horrible memories of that time. After her mother’s death, Charlie’s father remarried a woman with her own daughter. Lindy was a vicious bully whose mother thought she could do no wrong. On the night of Lindy’s murder, Charlie had had enough and locked her out of the house. Her father died in a car accident that same night, leaving Charlie at the mercy of the foster system. Charlie’s guilty feelings about the night of the murder came out in destructive behavior that eventually landed her in front of a judge. Judge WT Landusky sent her to a boot camp for troubled teens rather than juvie.
William “Shep” Shepherd was another of the judge’s boot campers. He was drawn to Charlie and set out to help her make it through the camp. The two of them became fast friends, circumventing the judge’s no fraternization rules whenever possible. By the time they finished with the camp, Charlie and Shep were in love. Shep wanted them to get married, but Charlie thought they were too young. She left without a word to him about where she was going, breaking his heart. Both went on with their lives, never expecting to see each other again.
When Charlie saw Lindy that day, she called the judge for help, though she later tried to walk that back. By then, the judge had called on Shep to help Charlie find out what was going on. As a middle school math teacher, Shep was on holiday break, so he rushed right to her. He was eager to see her again. Charlie was stunned to find Shep on her doorstep when she came home from work. She’s ready to send him away until she sees Lindy again, and Shep insists on getting to the bottom of the mystery.
I loved watching the relationship develop between Shep and Charlie. Shep never forgot Charlie and discovers that his feelings for her are even stronger. Charlie has a boyfriend but quickly realizes that her feelings for Daniel don’t come anywhere close to those she still has for Shep. She fights those feelings hard, believing that she doesn’t deserve happiness after what she did. Shep has an uphill battle convincing Charlie that she isn’t responsible for Lindy’s death. Shep is determined to protect Charlie and uses his time to look into the circumstances surrounding the murder. As the sightings escalate, Shep’s protective instincts come out. There are some sweet scenes of him taking care of Charlie, showing her how he feels without pressuring her. Charlie isn’t sure what to do. Her feelings for Shep keep growing, but she’s sure that she’s bad for him. Slowly, his steadfast belief in her chips away at her fears. I loved the patience Shep had at the end, as he waited for Charlie to deal with everything that happened. The epilogue was fantastic.
The suspense of the story was terrific. The appearance of a person Charlie knows is dead throws her life into turmoil. Being stalked by a ghost is enough to put anyone on edge. Shep is just as confident that the stalker is no ghost. I loved his attention to detail as he performed his investigation. It seemed as if each person he talked to raised more questions than providing any answers. There were several twists to the story as Shep and Charlie got closer to the truth. I figured out one of them right before they did, but the last one I never saw coming. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Charlie ended up at the mercy of her tormentor. I loved seeing her take charge of her own rescue, aided by a perfectly timed arrival by Shep.
There were added complications thanks to some issues Charlie had at work. Her boss is a little too appreciative of her work, and his fiancée, who is also the office manager, doesn’t take it well. Amanda spends far too much time getting in Charlie’s face when it’s Greg she should take issue with. Things got even stranger the closer they came to the wedding day, while the wedding itself didn’t go as anyone expected.
Love all her books can’t wait for the next one.
BEST page turner yet from BJ!!! I am usually in the habit of figuring out who did it…by about 1/2 way in, I missed it this time around! This is a fabulous story line and definitely will keep you guessing till the end and wont you be surprised…the more you read this one, the harder it is to put the book down. I highly recommend this book
Heart of Gold is the third book in the Montana Justice series. It was another fast-paced suspenseful read. From the beginning until the end I couldn’t put this riveting read down. It had wonderful characters that drew me in and kept me pulling for them until the end. I can’t wait to read the next book in this amazing series and I would definitely recommend this one.
I have not read a Daniels book I have not liked. Keep em coming
The best part of a B.J. Daniels book is the points of view of so many characters! I love it! It’s more than 2 points of view which you get with most stories. I love to hear the thoughts of various characters and what is happening in their head! It really enhances the story and in this case, the suspense! However, it never gives away the plot or the “who done it”! You never know who the perpetrator is until the last chapter or the last page! In true Daniels fashion, the whole book is a series of twists and turns you never see coming! That’s why when I start a book, I know I can’t put it down! This was no different. Charlie “sees” her long-dead stepsister on a street corner one day and just about loses it! Who wouldn’t? She calls in a favor from a judge from when she was a teenager and he sends out her first love, Shep, to look into it. Charlie can’t believe it, she never thought she’s see him again. Together they try to get to the bottom of who this lookalike could be and it opens a nasty can of worms! Charlie’s workplace is another area that is causing issues in her life and that together with this “sighting” of her dead stepsister is making her life crazy! Shep is the only thing bringing some calm in her life but she doesn’t know how that’s going to turn out! I highly recommend this book!
You know the author has you right away when they throw at you that unsolved murder involving a sister. Charlie has us from the get go and we sit back right away in this one. What a shocker her sight gave her too. Talk about it got interesting is just putting it mild. Secrets are not good and when the ones in this come to light we can not look away. She and Shep have their hands full but we also can not look away as the clues are brought to the front and the answers come out. The romance is another element that helps fuel this and makes for the best in reading that satisfies the heart and the mind.
This was a an interesting and intriguing story that kept me guessing right up until the end. I love a good romantic suspense and this had all the qualities I look for in the trope except I think it could have used a little more romance. It is also a second chance romance of course. I did enjoy it very much though; the story flowed nicely and I really liked Shep and Charlie’s characters. I love that when the judge calls him, Shep drops everything to show up and be there for Charlie and little does she know doesn’t have any intentions on leaving her. And of course the judge. I am enjoying this series from B.J. Daniels.
I loved this story! Judge Landusky does it again!
Edge of your seat action, swoony romance, and surprising twists make this a book you’ll escape into right from the very first page. Charlie (Charlotte) sees a ghost from her past and calls her mentor, Judge WT Landusky, for help. He sends Shep, a cowboy she knew and loved as a teen who is now a middle-school math teacher, to help Charlie to figure out just what is going on.
I loved the easy rapport that Charlie and Shep still had, and the way he stepped right up to protect her was so perfectly written. Their romance has a bit of a rocky start due to her complicated situation, but when it all shakes out it’s clear that these two are made for each other.
The plot can’t really be commented on without spoiling the many secrets, but suffice it to say that there are surprises around every corner and connections that will shock even the most observant reader. This author knows how to drop hints that are easily overlooked as hints, using delicate foreshadowing that still doesn’t give away any secrets. This book is a perfect blend of romance, mystery, and thriller, and I loved every bit of it.
As the third book in this series, this is the third “case” we’ve seen Judge Landusky employ his connections to solve and in doing so he also matches up his protégés with their once-in-a-lifetime loves. It is fitting, then, that the Judge also has his own romance as a delightful side story here. The HEA is all-encompassing, bringing together several couples whose romances were developed throughout the story and providing closure on all the mysteries and loose ends. I highly recommend this wonderful story. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Heart of Gold is the third novel in B.J. Daniels’ Montana Justice series, and it’s a series I’ve been following since its inception. While I’m far more used to reading her traditional contemporary western romances, I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series, and this one, which combines a second chance at romance with quite a suspenseful mystery that certainly kept me guessing. It gets 4 stars from this reader.
What kept me from giving Heart of Gold a 5-star rating was the very slow moving first half of the novel. It was interesting, it did give us a chance to get to know the heroine, Charlie Farmington, and introduced her boss, his girlfriend, and Charlie’s work situation, as well as her current boyfriend, Daniel, but it took quite some time for the story to develop and for the hero, Shep, to be introduced.
What I did like was the backstory of both the hero and heroine, who met as young teenagers at a court-ordered boot camp for difficult teens. Charlie didn’t have an easy childhood, and her father’s marriage to her stepmother and her new stepsister, Lindy, was dreadful. Her father and stepmother only had time for each other, and her stepsister, Lindy, hated Charlie on sight, bullied and tormented her relentlessly, and only months into this situation, her father is killed in an auto accident, her stepmother is in a coma, Lindy is brutally murdered, and after recovering from the accident, her stepmother deserts her, so at age 14, Charlie enters the foster care system. It’s certainly no mystery that she ended up in that boot camp, where she met and fell in love with Shep, but they were both too young, and Charlie left boot camp without letting Shep know what her plans were or where she was going. Both Charlie and Shep eventually attended college, Shep becoming a middle school math teacher and Charlie a talented graphic designer.
The judge who sent them to boot camp has kept track of these two over the past 15 years, and when he calls Shep right before Christmas break and tells him that Charlie needs his help, although Charlie left young Shep brokenhearted, he’s eager to see her again and see if any of the love they shared is still there. When Shep shows up at Charlie’s apartment, she’s surprised and delighted to see him, but there’s a lot he doesn’t know about Charlie’s past, and it only takes seeing her dead stepsister, Lindy, standing across the street and staring at her to start this mystery off and running, and it’s time for Charlie to confess to Shep why she’s always blamed herself for Lindy’s murder, and for Shep to do everything he possibly can to help her figure out what’s going on and why. What follows that sighting is as suspenseful and surprising a whodunit as I’ve read in some time, with plenty of suspects and motives to investigate, so hang onto your hats, because there are secrets and surprises galore in this novel, and a number of plot twists I certainly didn’t see coming.
While I did find this romantic suspense novel slow at the start, Ms. Daniels is an excellent writer, and certainly knows her way around both the suspense and second chance romance aspects of this novel. It turned out to be quite a good read overall, and I’m happy to recommend it.
I voluntarily read and advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.
Charlie’s stepsister Lindy was murdered fifteen years ago. So how was she standing just across the street?
Charlie Farmington was shocked when she saw her “dead” stepsister Lindy across the street from her apartment. So shocked that she fainted. When she came to she decided it was just her imagination. Then Charlie saw her “dead” stepsister again. Charlie was the beneficiary of a special boot camp that Judge W.T. Landusky set up for teens as a means to avoid jail. She knew the judge could help her with whatever this was happening to her so she called. Then she tried to cancel. Sorting this all out is something she should be able to handle on her own. Too late. The judge sent “Shep” Shepard to help solve the mystery. Charlie and Shep fell in love with each other back in that boot camp even though fraternizing with the opposite sex was not allowed. Shep helped Charlie get through that boot camp. But Charlie didn’t feel that she had much to offer Shep back then so she never returned his calls. Here it is years later and wow Shep is one hot stud and still as nice as ever. Shep starts investigating her stepsister’s murder fifteen years ago hoping to figure out what is going on with this stalker. Charlie is grateful for his help. She also realizes that she still loves this guy.
When Shep received the call from the judge he knew he wanted to take on the job of solving Charlie’s mystery. All the graduates of the judge’s boot camp know that one day they could be called upon to do a job as payback for the judge saving them from going to jail. Shep is anxious to see Charlie again. He has never gotten over his feelings for her. After talking to Charlie when they are reunited he tries to make her see she is not responsible for Lindy’s death. Charlie feels guilty because the constant bullying from her stepsister finally got to her one evening when their parents were out and she locked Lindy out of the house. This was when Lindy was murdered. Shep needs to find answers for Charlie.
Heart of Gold by B.J. Daniels is the third book in her Montana Justice series. This story is another excellent example of Ms. Daniel’s super ability to write romantic suspense. She always seems to have convoluted plots to keep readers guessing, interesting characters and just the right pace in the story. This book is no exception. Charlie and Shep are both very interesting characters who have made great strides in life following their troubled youths. I liked how I was kept guessing and enjoyed the twists and turns as the story progressed.
Heart of Gold was the first book I’ve read in the Montana Justice series, but it was a wonderful second chance romance with a suspense plot to please.
Charlie Farmington has had a tough go of it in life. Orphaned at fourteen, she was sent to foster care when her father was killed in a car accident the same night as her step-sister. She was trouble back then and found her way to a boot camp for troubled teens. That was also where she met Shep for the first time, another rough and tumble kid who needed direction in his life. Always the rulebreakers, they didn’t what they weren’t supposed to do and that was be involved with each other. Knowing they were too young to find purpose in life if they stayed together, Charlie made the painful decision to leave Shep, even though it broke her heart.
William Shepard had found his way after Charlie deserted him. Now a middle school math teacher, he was surprised to be called back to service by the judge who saved him all those years ago. He was more surprised to find out that the person who needed help was his old flame, Charlie. He had never forgotten about his first love because he still loved her, even though he knew he would never see her again. When the judge tells him she needs help and protection from someone stalking her, Shep is on her doorstep before he takes the time to think about the consequences.
Charlie is surprised to see Shep, but she’s more surprised and petrified to see her dead step-sister standing on the street corner across from her apartment. She knows one thing, it’s not LIndy, because she’s been dead for years. Shep will stop at nothing to figure out who is after Charlie and why, all while convincing Charlie that her love for him never died. His experience as military police comes in handy as he’s hunting down Lindy’s old flames while being suspicious of, and investigating, everyone in Charlie’s life including her ex-step-mother, off-again boyfriend, his roommate, her boss, and her boss’s fiancee. There’s a lot to keep straight for Shep, but one thing he knows for sure, someone is out to get Charlie and he will protect her at the expense of his own life.
I liked this second chance romance a lot. While it was slow to start, once it was going, the characters were enjoyable with great backstories. The twisting mystery carried them along as Shep and Charlie explored who they are now and if they can have a life together again. If you love second chance stories with mystery, suspense, and a great HEA then you’ll love Heart of Gold!