He could hold the keys to the past “You know you’re tempted.” Men are trouble. And Melanie Driscoll has already had more than her share of trouble. She has come to Bronco seeking only a fresh start; what she finds instead is Gabe Abernathy. The blond, blue-eyed cowboy is temptation enough. The secrets he could be guarding are a whole Ãnother level of irresistible. Peeling the covers back on … the covers back on both might be too much for sweet Mel to handle…
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Wow! What a great start to a new series! What happened to Beatrix? Christine always creates strong heroines and honorable heroes. Melanie has a plan for her life, she was done with men! She was moving to a new town & starting a new job. Catching the bouquet at a wedding began as an annoyance that set her on a journey to uncover the mystery in an old diary? Where were Beatrix & her parents? She met the hero in a field on his family’s property. She was trespassing & didn’t know it! Turns out the hero had the same last name as the the lost father of Beatrix. Although there was mutual attraction from the beginning, she keeps turning Gabe down for dates. He is persistent in staying in touch with her.. He comes to her place of business frequently. They eventually begin working together to solve the mystery in the diary. Is Beatrix the daughter of one of Gabe’s relatives and was her mother one of Mel’s dear friends from Rust Creek Falls? Great read to find out the answer and how they they reach their HEA.
In Search of the Long Lost Maverick by Christine Rimmer.
Melanie (Mel) Driscoll and Gabe Abernathy are the main characters. Mel moves to Bronco to take a job for a few months before moving on. She meets Gabe and at first things he is a poor cowboy and is upset to find out he was rich and that his family owned the property they were on when they met.
This book was so well written, and i enjoyed reading how they both overcome some of the issues that they had to deal with. She was given a diary and she set about trying to solve the riddle in it with Gable’s help. I recommend to anyone looking for a great book to read. It will keep your attention.
I loved the twist Christine Rimmer added to this story. In this story, she made the heroine more indecisive than the hero. It gave the story a different feel that was interesting. Adding the connection between Gabe and the Josiah/Winona diary was a wonderful way to add more details to the history of the diary. I can’t wait to see how that line runs to conclusion. Gabe’s determination to win Mel’s heart is fun. This was a great read.
“In Search of the Long Lost Maverick” by Christine Rimmer is the 1st book in the new series “what happened to Beatrix”. The story is about Melanie Driscoll & Gabe Abernathy. Melanie is fed up with men after she finds her
fiancee in bed with another woman. Fed up, hurt and feeling completely betrayed she leaves her home town to make a new life in Texas. On her way she makes a stop over in Bronco, Montana while she is waiting for her dream job to be ready for her. Gabe is a resident of Bronco and is looking for his someone special. They meet and sparks fly. Melanie tells him about the diary she was given and he is not happy about it. But with the diary comes a mystery. Can they solve the mystery, will she stay in Bronco or move to Texas? Will they get their happily ever after? Read “In Search of the Long Lost Maverick” and found out. You won’t be disappointed!
Terrific start to the new series, Montana Mavericks: What Happened to Beatrix? Melanie Driscoll had a plan for her life. She had a great job and a handsome fiancé that she loved. Everything turned upside down when she came home one day and found him in bed with another woman. Betrayed, hurt, and angry, she called off the engagement, packed her car and left. During a brief stopover in her hometown of Rust Creek Falls, Mel attends the wedding of a friend. She was blindsided by catching the bouquet, something that she doesn’t want, being done with men. Instead, she gives it to the flower girl, who insists that she take an old diary in exchange. That diary is the beginning of a puzzle, involving the Abernathy family.
Mel heads for Bronco and her new job managing one of DJ Traub’s restaurants. On the way she stops along the road for a picnic, not knowing that she is trespassing on the Abernathy ranch. There she meets Gabe Abernathy and the sparks fly between them. Gabe is immediately smitten and wants to get to know Mel better. Mel is resistant on two levels. One, she is done with men for the foreseeable future. Two, she will only be in Bronco until the first of the year, after which she is going to Austin for a new job and fresh start.
I loved Gabe. He is a nice guy. He has a loving relationship with his family, even though he and his dad butt heads frequently over their visions for the ranch’s future. He is also very close to his great-grandfather who has dementia and visits him frequently.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Mel and Gabe. He knows that he has his work cut out for him if he wants a relationship with Mel. I enjoyed his persistence as he showed up at the restaurant night after night, sitting at the bar until convincing Mel to stop and talk to him. He wasn’t creepy about it, he was just there until Mel finally gave him a chance. The more time they spent together, the closer they became, though Mel still insists she is leaving. There were times I wanted to shake Mel because she knew she was falling for Gabe but was too afraid to take a chance. Some good advice from her friends helps Mel face her fears and realize what she has to do. Her scene with Gabe at the creek was fantastic.
Mel also has that mysterious diary. Seventy years earlier, the writer of the diary, Josiah, and his girlfriend, “W”, were torn apart after she gave birth to his baby. She was told the baby died, while his parents took the child and gave her to another family to raise. The question is, what happened to the baby? The only person who might know is the author of the diary. Is that Josiah Abernathy Gabe’s great-grandfather? There are some heartwrenching scenes as Gabe has to face the idea that his beloved Gramps had a secret like that. It is also hard to watch his pain at Gramps’ mental decline. There are quite a few twists and turns as Mel and Gabe try to find the truth, culminating with a surprise on the last page.
I loved seeing characters from earlier books. Winona plays an important part in this book, and I suspect will continue to do so in the rest of the series. I liked seeing Homer again and hearing Mel tell the story of Homer’s moonshine in the wedding punch (Montana Mavericks: What Happened at the Wedding). I had to laugh at Mel naming her new kitten after him. Mel’s job with DJ Traub was a great throwback to the Thunder Canyon books. I also liked that DJ knew Mel well enough to see that something was bothering her and give her some advice. He also provided a little extra incentive for sticking around!
A wonderful beginning to the new Montana Mavericks (What Happened to Beatrix? Book 1) mini-series. Setting the scene as always, Ms. Rimmer’s descriptions lead us to a romance between two people who’ve been unlucky in true love, and a mystery that took place more than a half century before.
Melanie Driscoll is leaving Rust Creek Falls, Montana to make a new life in Texas. She’s taking a few months for a stopover in Bronco, Montana to wait for her dream job to be ready for her. She’s fed up with men and is taking a hiatus on them until she gets to Texas.
Gabe Abernathy, a life long resident of Bronco, is looking for that special someone. His great-grandfather told him once that when he met ‘the one’ he’d know. He’s done his best dating locally but the sparks never flew. Something about Mel speaks to him.
Gabe and Mel have more than a romantic connection, but they don’t realize it. When they deduce that Gabe’s great-grandfather and Mel’s elderly friend in Rust Creek Falls might have a history, they begin to probe the past. Gabe wonders why all of a sudden facts he’s known about his family since he was young might not be absolutely true. Mel wonders if her elderly friend might be hiding a heartbreak from the past, and hesitates to bother her with evidence of a possible alternate reality. Of course, Gabe and Mel are both looking for the truth and both are wondering…What happened to Beatrix?
The twists and turns keep you guessing about the relationship between Gabe and Mel, and of course the mystery that is Beatrix!
What a great book…but what a cliff hanger ending! I love the Montana Mavericks franchise. I’ve read most of them. While reading, I kept forgetting that this is part of a mini-series and there will be other books following, adding to the over-arching story…but I’m going to whine anyway.
Absolutely a FIVE STAR read by Ms. Rimmer, but I’m always left wanting the next book in these mini-series immediately! I guess that’s the point! Not to worry…the rest of the books in the series have all been pre-ordered!
In Search of the Long-Lost Maverick is the first book in Montana Mavericks: What Happened to Beatrix? Series. What can I say- another wonderful book by Christine Rimmer. Melanie Driscoll is attempting to recover from her cheating fiancée. She’s picks up and moves to Bronco and a temporary job and then plans to relocate for her ultimate job. Before moving to Bronco, she returns to Rust Creek Falls and is given a mysterious diary written by Josiah Abernathy.
Upon reaching Bronco she meets Gabe Abernathy who immediately falls for Melanie. Gabe is tied to the diary and that doesn’t sit well with Melanie. This book is filled with twists and turns that kept me reading well into the morning hours. Will Melanie get the answers she’s looking for? Will she learn to love Gabe? Will Gabe convince Melanie that they are meant to be together?
I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read the next in the series. I received and advance copy of In Search of the Long-Lost Maverick which I chose to read and review.
I liked this one. Really good reading.
“In Search of the Long-Lost Maverick” by Christine Rimmer was so good that I couldn’t put the book down. It had just enough romance, and just enough suspense to keep me wanting to know more. Even though this is part of a series of books this is the first book in this series (Montana Mavericks: What Happened to Beatrix?). After Melanie Driscoll left her cheating ex-fiance she attended a friends wedding in Rust Creek Falls. There she is given a Diary written by Josiah Abernathy which tells of a lost love W and their child whom she thinks died. Inside is a letter that tells how the baby was alive but Josiah’s parents put the child up for adoption. Looks like the town seer Winona is the W, and Josiah is alive but locked in a world because of dementia. Melanie, Mel, takes a job in Bronco and meets Gabriel, Gabe, Abernathy. This is their story, and we learn a little more about Josiah and Wynona.
OMG I just finished this book and loved it. Another awesome book by Christine Rimmer. I read this book and could hardly put it down.
Melanie (Mel) had been engaged to Todd who also was her bosses son til she found out that her Fiance had been cheating on her. So she left him, her job and the town and went home to her parents house. Her parents were killed in a car accident years ago and she usually rents out their house but it was empty when she needed it.
She took a new job in Bronco and decided to stop at a beautiful spot by the creek to have a pity party picnic. We all have been in her spot at one time or another in our life so we can relate to this. From this point on the twists and turns in the book will keep you engrossed and ready to see what else happens.
The way the book ended I was pleased but now I can’t wait for the next one. I think you will enjoy this book. I know I did.
I loved the characters and story. The diary was a big part of story and actually connected Mel and Gabe. Can’t wait for the next book in series.
Fate as a way of showing up when you least expect it to. Mel isn’t looking for love after being cheated on my her ex-fiancée. She has a plan for a new life and on her way to that she is given a mysterious diary. Little does she know that on her way to what she thinks is her new life she comes across someone connected to the diary. She wasn’t expecting nor wanting to find true love but again fate has a funny way of interfering even when you don’t want it to. This is a great story and I am looking forward to what happens next with the mysterious diary.
This was another wonderful read by Christine Rimmer, in another installment in the Montana Maverick series, which I absolutely love. I have been reading this series for many years now. This is Melanie and Gabe’s story. Melanie has pretty much had it with men, she doesn’t trust them after what happened with her fiancé. When she meets Gabe she doesn’t want anything permanent, but Gabe has true feelings for her and senses that she does too. Then there’s the mysterious old diary? Gabe knows he has walls to break down and with patience and true love on his side, he does just that. Never doubt a cowboy when he really wants something. This is an awesome story! What does the diary reveal? You’ll have to read this wonderful book to find out.