Kat Martin

A good book that drew me in from the beginning and kept me hooked to the end. Dylan and Lane met in LA when he visited his cousin, and the sparks between them flew quickly. Dylan would like to get to know her better, but she is wary. Dylan thinks the best way to advance his cause is to hire Lane to do the interiors of the fishing lodge he is renovating. It takes some persuasion, but she finally agrees.

Though she's a Southern California city girl, the Alaskan wilderness has its appeal. I show more loved her enthusiasm as Dylan flew over the beautiful landscape on the way to the remote lodge. She's a little disturbed on arrival when she finds that Dylan has a young daughter he never mentioned who hasn't spoken since her mother deserted them three years earlier. Adding to her discomfort are the rumors that the lodge is haunted. Dylan downplays the rumors, determined to keep Lane around; he doesn't believe in ghosts anyway.

But someone is determined to stop Dylan from finishing the lodge. In researching the lodge's history, he and Lane uncover some disturbing information about the lodge's early years and first owner. When a ghost suddenly materializes in the upstairs hall, right in front of Lane, Dylan has had enough. I loved watching him and his friends, Caleb and Paddy, search the lodge from top to bottom. I wasn't surprised by what they found, and the story behind it was intriguing. I especially enjoyed what Lane did with the information. It feels like things should be smooth sailing from here, but that wasn't the case.

I liked watching the relationship develop between Dylan and Lane. Neither is interested in anything permanent (where have I heard that before?). Lane has her interior design business back in LA. She may be ready to indulge in a bit of hanky-panky, but that's all. Dylan wants Lane in his bed, but he won't go any further than that. He's been burned once by a city woman who couldn't take life in Alaska, and he won't put himself or Emily through that again. But the more time he and Lane spend together, the more they find they have in common. When they finally take the plunge into intimacy, their connection is far stronger than either expected. Lane quickly accepted her feelings for Dylan but kept them to herself, not wanting to risk rejection. Dylan fought hard against his feelings, almost leaving it too late, but came to his senses in time.

Vanquishing the "ghosts" of the lodge wasn't the end of the trouble for Dylan and Lane. They discovered that someone was prowling around the lodge and watching it. When a young woman was murdered and Caleb was accused of the crime, Dylan and Lane were determined to clear him. The deeper they got into their investigation, the more they suspected that the two things were connected. I figured out pretty quickly what was going on, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment. The person they were up against wasn't going to make it easy, and I was glued to the pages until it was over.

I liked getting to know Dylan's brothers, Nick and Rafe, a little bit. Nick played a significant role in solving the second mystery despite his issues. I'm looking forward to reading their stories too.

#netgalley show less

Kade Logan's wife Heather disappeared eight years ago. Her body was found in a shallow grave two years later and her car was just found in a nearby lake. He hires Ellie Bowman to give one more try to find out who murdered his wife.

It doesn't take Ellie long to discover that Heather and Kade's marriage wasn't in great shape. His determination to work the ranch he inherited from his parents didn't give him enough time with the emotionally needy Heather. She started looking elsewhere and, when show more Kade became aware of her second affair, he asked for a divorce. She disappeared shortly after leaving Kade feeling guilty and not very trusting of women.

Ellie also has trust issues and a fierce sense of independence. It doesn't matter how much she's attracted to Kade or to life on his ranch, she needs to protect herself from possible hurt. Their attraction is powerful, and they begin an affair but neither expects it to last. But as the bodies mount up Kade and Ellie need to trust each other and find a killer with a major grudge.

I liked the characters and the setting of this story. The suspense was well done, and the plot moved right along with a constant building of the dangers. Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy this story. show less

The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin
Blood Ties #1

Wanting to finally find out what happened to his murdered wife, Kade Logan hires a PI working for Nighthawk Security to come to his ranch and start an investigation. It is not the first investigation that has been made but eight years after she went missing her car has been found and it triggers a desire to put it all to rest once and for all. The investigator suggested is Eleanor Bowman who is great at undercover assignments and has a nose for show more unearthing information. Stepping in as the ranch cook…she is set to sleuth…and perhaps fall in love.

What I liked:
*Eleanor: bright, talented, knows her strengths, doesn’t like cheaters, grew up on a ranch, good at what she does, interesting back story, has chemistry with her new employer.
* Kade: wealthy, bright, determined, has trust issues, has the trust of his employees and sees many as his friends, jealous, uses his fists from time to time, loyal, workaholic, protector, has chemistry with Eleanor
* Kade’s employees on the ranch – good men with potential for romance in the future
* At first thought this would be a series about Nighthawk Security and its employees but then realized it is probably about Kade and his brothers. That said, I can see that there could be overlap and the potential for a great number of books using the characters from the security firm and the ranch as well as the community Kade lives in.
* The red herrings, twists, and turns
* That Kade was not perfect…and neither was Eleanor
* That the H/h both were able to express what they did/did not want
* The side romance between Maria and Alejandro
* Billy: would like to hear more about this youth
* Zoe: Ellie’s friend and computer expert recently employed by Nighthawk Security
* Gage and Edge: Kade’s brothers – great potential for them to have interesting books in the series
* That the bad guy was found and dealt with
* That there are more books to look forward in the series

What I didn’t like:
* The people and events I was meant not to like – easy to dislike this murderer
* Not a dislike but, would have preferred that Kade was a nicer person, less stuck in gender stereotypes, and a bit less edgy BUT it worked in the story so perhaps he is just not my ideal book boyfriend.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars show less

This book certainly started off with a bang. There were enough twists to keep you guessing, and the romance was fire. Reese is strong, with a commanding presence you can practically feel ooze off the page. Kenzie's strength is a little different, and her determination made me absolutely love her. Together, they practically made my Kindle steam. The story definitely delivers on the action scenes as well...think action movie meets romance. You don't have to read any of the other books in the show more series to enjoy this book, so if you're looking for a page turner with heat, then you'll want to grab this book. show less