Rescue at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels

Rescue at Cardwell Ranch & Wanted Woman by B.J. DanielsI don’t read thriller romances much anymore because so few offer the emotional depth I look for beyond the tension from terror and a physical release. Daniels is one author I keep picking up because she can lace the real people stuff in with the murderer out to get them so that it feels like the developing relationship has a chance once the crisis is over.

Rescue at Cardwell Ranch is no different.

Would they have broken their routines long enough to recognize their attraction without her becoming a serial killer’s target right in front of his eyes? Unlikely. But once McKenzie crosses paths with Hayes, everything changed.

Sure, it might still have pulled them together when they met the next day as part of a pre-arranged business deal, but the difficulty of her recognizing him without knowing him adds an edge of complexity that wouldn’t be possible without his initial rescue. And this is what I mean about her characters. They feel full and complete with more going on than just survival. Yes, they were already destined to meet, though neither of them was aware of that fact. However, the people that they are in the beginning, him with strong ties to Texas that make him suspicious of his brother’s sudden decision to move to Montana and her as a single-minded businesswoman, could have been too wrapped up in their own lives to recognize just what was happening between them without the push. And those lives serve to complicate by offering viable red herrings to finding her attacker as well so it doesn’t feel like a simple, straightforward plot.

One warning though: we spend some time in the killer’s head. It’s well written, uncomfortably so, as we learn about his history and why he can’t just walk away. Beautifully done, which might make it hard to read for some.

Ultimately, Daniels offered characters that felt real, a tense situation with enough detail to be plausible, and a resolution to both the serial killer and the romance that didn’t feel too easy. I enjoyed it.

P.S. I received this book from the publisher as part of a duology with Wanted Woman (which I will review later) through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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