“A thrilling romantic western suspense, full of action, drama and of course, love!” Reader ViewsA remote mountain. A secret conspiracy. A race to save a terrified teen!2018 Winner Write Touch Readers’ Award Contest, Best Romantic SuspenseKate Miller has worked hard to carve out a secure job at the Mustang River Ranch. The horrors she faced leading a failed rescue attempt have been firmly buried … to carve out a secure job at the Mustang River Ranch. The horrors she faced leading a failed rescue attempt have been firmly buried and she’s content guiding sedate trail rides. There’s no room in her life for anything that could threaten her newly found peace.
Former SEAL Jack Becker is hot enough to melt any woman’s cool exterior, including Kate’s. But his arrival coincides with the presence of a horse-loving teenager and her well-armed bodyguards. And when a simple trail ride to see the wild mustangs takes a deadly twist, reserved Kate and suspicious Jack must team up in order to save innocent lives.
Can they survive long enough to have a chance at love or will either of them leave the mountain alive?
Mustang River Ranch Series:
Shadows of the Mountain (Book 1)
Along Came A Cowboy (Book 2)
more
Bev Pettersen takes her horse-themed romantic suspense writing to a new level with this exciting story! Shadows of the Mountain is a taut yet romantic tale of a trail ride with the President’s daughter gone badly wrong. As always with Pettersen’s work, her authentic experience with horses is evident in the narrative, and the romantic tension between a strong female trail guide and one of the First Daughter’s guardians builds along with the plot to a satisfying conclusion in this modern Western. Already reading the next one in the series, Along Came A Cowboy (Mustang River Ranch, #2) . Love this new series!
Kate Miller is working at the Mustang River
Ranch. She conducts classes on survival
skills and leads laid back trail rides. A bad
experience haunts her about doing high
mountain trails.
Description is deftly woven into the story. You
experience a horse ranch resort, activities for
guest, a trail ride, overnight camping, woods,
search for wild mustangs, mountains, caves
and creeks.
There is intrigue, tension, drama, plenty of
thrills, chills, twists and turns.
I volunteered to read Shadows of the Mountain.
I appreciate the opportunity. My opinion is
my own.
Breathtaking suspense wrapped in a delicious, slow burn romance! FIVE ENTHUSIASTIC STARS!
WOW! If you love romance and a suspenseful western adventure, grab this thrilling story! But don’t plan on doing anything else once you start reading, because you won’t put the book down. Really. IT’S THAT GOOD!
Here’s a bit of the plot, but no big spoilers. Our heroine (Kate Miller) is a former Montana Park Ranger who resigned after she experienced a horrifying accident. Needing a less stressful job, she now teaches outdoor survival classes at an exclusive guest ranch. When the President’s teenage daughter and a friend arrive for a trail ride to see wild mustangs, Kate and the guide (Monty) are joined by two Secret Service agents and our hero (Jack Becker), a former Navy SEAL. The three bodyguards have only one mission: protecting the President’s daughter at all costs.
I know very little about horses and even less about trail riding in mountainous terrain, but the author clearly knows her subject. Her vivid descriptions carried me along every mile of that beautiful ride through the wilderness. But the trail also has its dangers. A horse nearly drowns while crossing the Mustang River, but Kate and Jack manage to save him. Jack is forced to shoot a grizzly when the bear invades their camp that night.
Humans pose the greatest threat, however, because someone in their group is secretly blazing trees along their trail, marking a clear path to the President’s daughter. Are foreign extremists planning to abduct her? If so, which member of the tour group is an accomplice? One of the Secret Service agents? Jack Becker, the handsome ex SEAL? Kate can’t believe it’s Jack, especially as romantic feelings strengthen between them. But when she discovers a group of armed men following their trail, she realizes that “someone in her camp was a traitor, conspiring to rob, rape, and kill alongside this vicious group of men. And it was a horrifying gamble trying to guess which one.”
Kate doesn’t have to guess for long. When she witnesses the brutal murder of one of the Secret Service agents, she poses as the President’s daughter and rides with Jack into the mountains in a desperate effort to draw the band of killers away from their real target. But Kate and Jack are just two against nine skilled and heavily armed men: six on horseback and three on four-wheelers. To make things worse, Jack has only eleven bullets, and Kate is terrified of heights. How can she possibly climb a mountain to summon help? She can’t. But Kate is a trained survivalist. Despite her damaged self-confidence, she’ll need to use her skills–and every remaining ounce of courage–if she hopes to save the life of the man she loves. And her own.
Breathtaking action and suspense mingle with a delicious, slow burn romance in this exciting introduction to the Mustang River Ranch series. With engaging characters (except for the bad guys), realistic dialogue, immersive scenery and a gripping plot, this book easily rates five stars and my enthusiastic recommendation!
This is a FANTASTIC book! The story is well developed but not overly complicated. The characters are strong men and women, there are just the right number of them, and all the characters contributed to the story. The development of the romantic relationship between Jack and Kate was perfectly paced and had me turning pages and rooting for these two from the start. The suspense was AWESOME, I went from being skeptical of real danger one minute, to jaw dropping “oh wow” moment the next, then turning pages as fast as I could. And thank you for the epilogue and happily ever after. This book has it all.
This author is new to me, so this is the first of her books I’ve read but I would definitely read more!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this modern-day romantic suspense western more than I thought I would. It was an entry in a reader’s choice awards that I volunteered to help judge. I enjoyed the western details that the author included (as her bio indicates she knows thereof she speaks), and the heroine’s backstory was unusual and well-done. I found it entertaining, and the love story sweet. Would definitely read this author again.
I thought this book was very good. I could not sleep until I read the whole book.
I really enjoy this author. Have read nearly all her books, Keep them coming