Anne Marie Duquette

Grand Canyon rafting guide Max Hunter is looking forward to his fiancée (Phoenix-based sports photographer Karinne Cavanaugh) joining him for a vacation at the Grand Canyon...they are planning to go rafting for a week and spend some time together. They are to be married soon. But Karinne has put the wedding off in the past and canceled a few times, which is beginning to frustrate Max. Something is always getting in the way of their long-distance relationship, which Max isn't satisfied with. This time it's Karinne's mother (Margot) who is long thought to be dead for twenty years and now, suddenly makes an appearance in the canyon. (Twenty years ago Margot's car was found by a river with a suicide note. Her body was never found.) Max is skeptical and believes Margot wants something, but Karinne is trusting and is eager to spend time with her mother. But is her mother on the level, or does she want something else?

This was a very interesting and captivating read. I loved the location of the Grand Canyon, the author really seems to know the area and gave terrific descriptions of their trip through the canyon. This book had more mystery and suspense than romance, but I didn't mind. There were other things in the story that I really enjoyed. I liked the hero Max. I felt sorry for him sometimes since Karinne kept canceling the wedding and seemed happy with a long-distance relationship. The romance was lacking in this book but I found the other storylines very engrossing. I liked a lot of the extra characters... Karinne's friend Anita and her sarcastic husband Cory, who was Max's brother. And young Jon, Karinne's half-brother. The story really got exciting when a monsoon hit the canyon. And I was curious to see what Margot was up to and how everything was going to work out.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very entertaining read.… (meer)

Interesting and exciting adventure-suspense-romance story that focuses on four rangers during a winter in Yosemite National Park with a kidnapper on the loose in the park. The romance in the story didn't really do much for me but the adventure and suspense were top-notch including the hunt and rescue of a kidnapped child from her escaped prisoner father amidst freezing conditions, snowstorms, and avalanches. A sense of isolation was well portrayed throughout in the snowbound mountains of Yosemite. My favorite character in the story was without a doubt, search-and-rescue dog Ginger.… (meer)