Sunday, April 10, 2022

Against the Wild - Kat Martin (Zebra - June 2014)

Series: Brodies of Alaska (Book 1)

It's been three years since Lane Bishop tragically lost her fiancé, and she's finally ready to risk her heart on someone else. The hot look in Dylan Brodie's eyes says he's going to be that man.
 
But when Lane flies to the remote 1930's fishing lodge to help him renovate, she discovers a little girl who won't speak, eerie legends and strange sounds in the night. And when she investigates the history of the lodge, she uncovers a legacy of injustice and murder.
 
As danger stalks his daughter and the woman he is coming to love, Dylan must risk everything to uncover the shocking truth.

 
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 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.


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