Dangerous Refuge, by Elizabeth Lowell

I’m ending the week with a contemporary romantic suspense by bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell.  Lowell delivers a fast-paced plot with lots to enjoy in addition to the inevitable attraction between the main characters.

In Dangerous Refuge, she puts tough homicide cop Tanner Davis with ranch  conservancy advocate Shaye Townsend. Tanner has returned to his uncle’s ranch near the Sierra Nevada Mountains after the older man’s untimely death. There’s nothing to indicate foul play, but Tanner isn’t convinced the sheriff of the small town asked the right questions before writing this one off as “natural causes.”

Shaye plays a part in Tanner’s unofficial investigation because she’s the one who found his uncle’s body. She had befriended the curmudgeon and worked out a deal with him to deed the land to the conservancy when he died. Tanner finds out that his uncle changed his mind at the last minute, but hadn’t had time to sign the paperwork before his death. Could that have been motive for murder?

Lots of pieces don’t add up, and Shaye offers Tanner her help in finding answers.  But asking questions eventually puts Shaye in danger, and Tanner is her best hope for survival.

Shaye is spunky and able to hold her own with the investigation and the fight for her life. Tanner is cynical, but not without a sense of humor. I can believe they find each other appealing. That added romance makes the investigation and the unraveling of clues more satisfying.

Check the WRL catalog for Dangerous Refuge