This book was disappointing. B J Daniels was a new author for me, but I'd read for months what a great book this was, so I purchased it with high hopes. It was a pretty good book, but nothing stood out for me as being outstanding. It was a little light on the romance, as the two main characters didn't seem to consider each other romantically until the book was about 2/3 complete. The mystery was good, but fairly predictable. ( )

This book was disappointing. B J Daniels was a new author for me, but I'd read for months what a great book this was, so I purchased it with high hopes. It was a pretty good book, but nothing stood out for me as being outstanding. It was a little light on the romance, as the two main characters didn't seem to consider each other romantically until the book was about 2/3 complete. The mystery was good, but fairly predictable. ( )

My Booklist review:

Daniels’ third Beartooth Mountains book entwines two concurrent stories set in Montana outside the boundary of Yellowstone Park. In one, former New York City homicide detective Bentley Jamison, now a sheriff’s deputy, is called to the sheep ranch of Maddie Conner when her sheepherder’s teenage assistant returns to the ranch covered with blood and babbling about aliens in the mountains. When Maddie and Bentley ask where the sheepherder is and if the older man is hurt, the teen doesn’t answer, so Maddie and Bentley saddle up to look for him. While they make their way to the upper pasture, Sheriff Frank Curry is surprised when his former wife, Pam, attacks him with a baseball bat. Then, when he files charges against her, a judge swears Pam was at home that night. Daniels delves into drug running and vendettas that will keep readers on the edge of their chairs from beginning to end, adding only a little romance to lighten the grim tales.
— Pat Henshaw ( )

Good book with three storylines. There is the developing romance between Jamison and Maddie, the drug runners trying to recover their drugs, and the sheriff's ongoing problems with his ex-wife. The romance was at times intense, but also believable as Jamison and Maddie have to let go of their pasts and learn to trust each other. The drug runners are determined to recover their loot but, not knowing the Montana wilderness, need to get some help without giving away their reasons. And Sheriff Frank Curry has to figure out how to stop his apparently unbalanced ex-wife from attacking him and going after the woman he cares for. There is enough going on that I couldn't put it down until I had finished it.

I liked Jamison and Maddie. Jamison is a former homicide detective from New York City who has come to Montana to get away from his memories back home. He is recently divorced from a wife who ended up not respecting what he chose to do with his career. She left him feeling like he hadn't been good enough for her. Montana is a whole different world and when he is called on to investigate the disappearance of Maddie's sheepherder he is somewhat out of his element. Maddie herself is unlike any woman he had ever known before. He is attracted to her but tries to fight it because of the circumstances. Though he knows nothing of sheep ranching, he has to go with Maddie to the high pastures to investigate. I loved the way that he constantly surprises her with his ability to adapt to his surroundings. Even though he is a "greenhorn" thanks to things in his own past (thank you Boy Scout camp!) he is able to keep up with her and be of real help. Jamison starts to think less about what is back in New York and to appreciate and enjoy the Montana wilderness. By the end he has to decide whether to return to his old life or embrace the possibilities of a new one.

Maddie is very independent and doesn't want to rely on anyone. She lost her husband and son in an avalanche four years earlier and has buried herself in her ranch work ever since, not letting anyone get close. With the disappearance of her sheepherder, she has to accept Jamison's presence as they look for him. She looks down on him quite a bit at first, thinking that there is no way he will be able to do what needs to be done to get to the high pastures where the sheep are and Branch disappeared. She is surprised at how capable he turns out to be. She is also attracted to him, which really surprises her. As they work together she discovers that there is more to him that she thought and the attraction grows stronger. I loved seeing her let go of some of her iron grip on her feelings and lean a little bit on Jamison's strength. By the end she had to decide if she was going to hold on to her grief or move on to a happier future.

The suspense portion of the story, with the disappearance of the sheepherder and its connection to the drug runners kept me turning the pages until the end. As we see more and more of them through the book the danger grows more intense to everyone who comes in contact with them. Their connection to a Beartooth native creates danger for him also as he is pulled unknowlingly into their problems. It was interesting to see the interactions among them, giving new meaning to the phrase "no honor among thieves". There were a couple interesting twists at the end. I'll be interested to see if there is any continuation of the storyline in the next book.

Sheriff Frank Curry is still trying to help his daughter, continuing his story from Redemption. When his ex-wife shows up in Beartooth and attacks him he worries about what she might do to his friend Lynette. Pam is able to avoid any charges and makes it look like she is a victim instead. Frank tries to pull away from Lynette to protect her, but doesn't tell her that's what he's doing. This creates mixed signals to her, creating tension between them. I'll be interested to see how this story progresses. ( )

4 STARS

Forsaken basically has three different plot lines going. The main one is good. That has the new Deputy Bentley Jamison from New York answers a call about something is wrong at Maddie Conner's Sheep camp up in the high County.

Maddie's tender a young man has come down from the sheep camp in terror. He is covered with blood, in shock saying that her Long time Shepard is missing. No one is watching her sheep.
So Bentley and Maddie head up the mountain on horseback to find what is going on. Bentley is going up as a cop.

The theme that runs through Beartooth, Montana series is the Sheriff ex-wife Pam has decided that she is going make life terrible for him. She has not seen him in decades. She has hidden the knowledge that he has a daughter and raised her to hate him and the women he loved as a teenager.
The daughter has been arrested for trying to kill him is in a mental hospital. Now he finds her at his house with a baseball bat smashing his belongings and some attacks him from behind and beats him up. Pam has a Judge that is a witness that she never left his ranch and has got a restraining order against the Sheriff.

The third plot line runs into the first and could ruin story if I say anything about it.

Most of the story takes place high in the Montana mountains not to far from Yellowstone. It is a beautiful setting for the story.

The characters are likeable and you find yourself rooting for the good characters and the bad guys to be caught. Some of the characters you are not sure if they are good or bad guys till the story unfolds.

Good suspense in the story kept me from guessing a lot of the mystery in the story. I was able to guess a little bit of what has happened. The story kept moving at a good pace. I stayed up late to finish the book. Did not want to put it down.

There were a couple of love scenes that I skipped over. lots of action, drama, romance and some violence in the book.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of the book from NetGalley and Harlequin.

Publisher: Harlequin HQN (September 24, 2013) 384 pages ISBN-10: 0373777809 ( )