Witness to a brutal murder, Jenna is looking for a place to hide. The last thing Dan needs is trouble, after his time spent in jail. Can they let go of their pasts to defeat a killer in the harsh outback desert?Jenna Montrose is on the run from the man who killed her father. Alone and always moving from town to town, Jenna trusts no one, not even the police. She arrives in remote Smokey Creek, … remote Smokey Creek, outback West Australia, where she takes a job on a cattle station. It’s here she hopes to keep her identity, as well as her mysterious connection with animals, hidden.
Dan Simmonds has demons of his own to conquer, having spent two years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. He needs this work as a stockman to re-build his reputation. But he can’t seem to shake the protective instinct Jenna awakens, when he sees through her lies to her desperate vulnerability. She’s so full of contradictions and secrets, he’s not sure she’s worth fighting for.
When they become trapped together in the desert, Dan admits she provokes emotions he thought buried deep. Jenna is drawn to Dan’s courageous heart and welcoming smile, but desperate not to reveal her secret, will she revert to her habit of running away when the murderer reappears? Or will she let him help her, and turn the hunter into the hunted?
Suzanne Cass’s rural suspense abounds with peril, passion and murder, set in the magical outback desert of Western Australia.
Get Shadows in the Dust today if you love an intriguing thriller with romance at its core.
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This book has everything a really good book needs. The main characters are realistic and believable and the peripheral characters all have their own personalities. The scenes are described in enough detail that you can imagine yourself there without them being overwhelming or going too far. The story is great and well told. The way each of the main character’s history and secrets are slowly revealed is perfectly paced. The emotions come through as well as the action.
I bought this book so I could slowly read it over a week or so as I bathed. (I have a waterproof cover for my kindle – best present ever!) Well that didn’t happen. I couldn’t put it down. I’m now off to see what else this author has written.
An action-packed adventure set in the awe-inspiring outback desert of Western Australia
Jenna is a special young woman, graced with beauty, brains, and courage who has suffered more than her share of hardships and pain. Stalked by a psycho who murdered the man who raised her and loved her like a father, she has to deprive herself of precious things in life like love, friendship, and a place to call home.
Her quest brings her to the remote town of Smokey Creek, outback West Australia, where she meets Dan Simmonds—a handsome, brave, and enigmatic cowboy.
Jenna has to fight her demons while trying to keep people around her out of harm’s way. But this is not easy when the psycho and his thugs are sworn to bring her back dead or alive. However, Jenna is not just a vulnerable woman, prey to their deadly mission. The daring young woman has a special gift that could turn the tables should she decide to use it against her enemies…
Shadows in the Dust is an adventure overflowing with danger, mystery, and passion.
A fantastic story. Loved Jenna and Dan, also the story line. I couldn’t put the book down until I had finished it.
I loved Shadows in the Dust – it’s set against the backdrop of an Australian ranch which introduced one of the major conflicts (main character Jenna is a vegetarian and lover of / communicator with animals.) I loved the way she used her gift and the inclusion of kangaroos, dingos and wild horses. The plot was gripping, the characters were great and held my attention with compelling, real life issues. I read it on a long airplane flight coming home from Europe and it made the miles and hours speed by! Highly recommended if you like a romance with awesome characters, good friends, just the right amount of steamy scenes, and believable drama with a vivid Australian setting. Already looking forward to book 2!
I was so glad when I got to the end of this book and realized the author had more books out I could read. I really enjoyed this story, it felt like two worlds/stories slowly colliding into each other.
Lovely easy to read writing, read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down, nice pace and really great, lovable characters. Also really enjoyed the descriptions of Australia, was just drawn in completely to this story. Look forward to the next one!
Jenna has had a hard life. After an unpleasant experience with a gang of thugs who murdered her father, she has been on the run, desperate to escape from the leader named Liam. Her journeys take her to a farm in Australia, a place that’s so isolated she believes she’ll be safe from her abductor, for a little while at least. She takes a job as a ranch hand and that’s where she meets Dan.
This book does a great job of blending thriller and romance. While Jenna is on the run, the suspense is real yet when she settles down at the farm, it was just as easy to get lost in the romance elements of the story until Liam reappeared and the genre shifted back to thriller. There’s never a dull moment.
If you love a book that’ll keep you on its toes and warm your heart, this is the read for you.
Outback Love
Not enough books are set in Australia! A nice story with an amazing author who had the talent to describe the landscape. The compelling characters, especially Jenna, are a delight in this story. A tough woman and a mysterious man who are anything but conventional. Jump into this world to discover an unconventional story.
I really loved the suspense-driven plot and realistic characters.
A very well written romance adventure, I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book. I must admit that I don’t often like romance books on account of them being very predictable and slightly soppy, but this book felt more like an adventure story with a bonus dollop of truly well-defined characters and a plot to really help the pages turn themselves. The Australien setting was great too. Unusual but also original. As for Jenna’s surprise power, at first, I wasn’t sure what to feel about this. It just didn’t seem like the kind of story where I was going to discover a ‘fantasy’ slant, however, due to the nature of the plot as it develops, Jenna’s little secret clearly turns out to be essential for the story, and I enjoyed the extra layer of unexpected events that happened as a result of this. Whether you’re into straight romance or something a little meatier, read this and you will not be disappointed.