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Conard County: The Next Generation #41
Missing in Conard County
A Wyoming snowstorm races in
Bringing buried secrets to the surface
A stray dog just dropped a bone at animal control officer Allan Carstairs’s feet—a human bone. K-9 cop Kelly Noveno is certain it’s connected to a recent disappearance, but with a snowstorm bearing down on Conard County, the two must hunker down in Allan’s cabin to continue the search. But their long-held feelings are rushing to the surface, making this search more complicated than ever.
Bringing buried secrets to the surface
A stray dog just dropped a bone at animal control officer Allan Carstairs’s feet—a human bone. K-9 cop Kelly Noveno is certain it’s connected to a recent disappearance, but with a snowstorm bearing down on Conard County, the two must hunker down in Allan’s cabin to continue the search. But their long-held feelings are rushing to the surface, making this search more complicated than ever.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2018
61 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Lee
373 books141 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 12, 2020
Romantic suspense story involving three kidnapped teenage girls. This enjoyable read kept my interest and had two likable lead characters. Allan was an animal control officer who really cared about the animals he watched out for. I liked how he went out of his way searching for stray or missing animals who might get caught up in bad weather conditions. Kelly’s a K-9 officer who’s really letting this case get to her, and she’s got a wonderful canine partner in her dog, Bugle. There was good suspense concerning the search for the missing teens, especially as weather conditions continued to get more brutally cold with an impending snowstorm on the way. An entertaining read.
August 5, 2019
Enjoyed this romantic suspense story. Loved the dogs, and the pet squirrel!
January 21, 2020
Three teenage girls go missing in Conard County. Heroine Kelly Noveno is a K-9 cop who finds the car they were in abandoned. Hero Allan Carstairs is an animal control officer, and becomes involved in the case because he's the one who comes up with the idea that maybe the girls were drugged while they were at a local bar. The book consists of them musing about how awful and terrible this kidnapping is while drinking coffee and eating food at Kelly's house, while never needing to use the bathroom.
Holy mackerel, this one was dull! The book's blurb mentions that a stray dog finds a human bone, and this also happens in the book's first chapter - at which point the plot jumps back 20 days in time! We quickly learn the girls were indeed kidnapped, and we're also given the identity of the kidnapper. Other than that, it's just Kelly and Allan (and I'm sorry, but "Al" just isn't the name that comes to mind for a romance novel H name) hanging out at Kelly's house, agreeing that this kidnapping is just the worst thing ever, but hey, isn't all this food we're eating delicious?
It just continues along on this pattern, interspersed with the point of view of the kidnapper and why he kidnapped the girls, and the girls themselves as they make feeble attempts at escape. The scenes of the girls should be suspenseful because of the awful situation they're in, but they're barely developed as characters, so the care factor just wasn't there.
There's no suspense or mystery. The kidnapper doesn't provide any threat whatsoever to our h or H. They'd be too busy eating to notice, really. After a bizarre, out of place sex scene in which Kelly and Allan bring Kelly's dog into the bedroom with them while they have sex (!!!), they come up with a random idea that conveniently leads them to the girls, and the kidnapper is caught off page. I just slogged through more than 200 pages and I didn't even get an exciting climax. The H and h at least being in danger or evading a threat is, you know, THE WHOLE POINT of this freaking genre, and it's completely absent here. If there's no tangible threat to them or their relationship, why am I reading about them?
And don't get me started on how Kelly and her dog Bugle psychically knew someone was dead, or Allan's cutesy relationship with a squirrel he rescued. Yes, really.
As for the romance, I didn't find it satisfying. Kelly and Allan chat about their jobs and how awful and horrible the kidnapping is, and how it's the worst thing ever, and about the food they're always eating, but I couldn't feel any connection between them. By the end, there's no declarations of love (despite having sex in front of Kelly's dog, which surely would connect two people forever, you might think ;p), just that they'll start dating, with a strange final sentence of, "It was a happy time for people."
Not a happy time for readers, that's for sure!
Holy mackerel, this one was dull! The book's blurb mentions that a stray dog finds a human bone, and this also happens in the book's first chapter - at which point the plot jumps back 20 days in time! We quickly learn the girls were indeed kidnapped, and we're also given the identity of the kidnapper. Other than that, it's just Kelly and Allan (and I'm sorry, but "Al" just isn't the name that comes to mind for a romance novel H name) hanging out at Kelly's house, agreeing that this kidnapping is just the worst thing ever, but hey, isn't all this food we're eating delicious?
It just continues along on this pattern, interspersed with the point of view of the kidnapper and why he kidnapped the girls, and the girls themselves as they make feeble attempts at escape. The scenes of the girls should be suspenseful because of the awful situation they're in, but they're barely developed as characters, so the care factor just wasn't there.
There's no suspense or mystery. The kidnapper doesn't provide any threat whatsoever to our h or H. They'd be too busy eating to notice, really. After a bizarre, out of place sex scene in which Kelly and Allan bring Kelly's dog into the bedroom with them while they have sex (!!!), they come up with a random idea that conveniently leads them to the girls, and the kidnapper is caught off page. I just slogged through more than 200 pages and I didn't even get an exciting climax. The H and h at least being in danger or evading a threat is, you know, THE WHOLE POINT of this freaking genre, and it's completely absent here. If there's no tangible threat to them or their relationship, why am I reading about them?
And don't get me started on how Kelly and her dog Bugle psychically knew someone was dead, or Allan's cutesy relationship with a squirrel he rescued. Yes, really.
As for the romance, I didn't find it satisfying. Kelly and Allan chat about their jobs and how awful and horrible the kidnapping is, and how it's the worst thing ever, and about the food they're always eating, but I couldn't feel any connection between them. By the end, there's no declarations of love (despite having sex in front of Kelly's dog, which surely would connect two people forever, you might think ;p), just that they'll start dating, with a strange final sentence of, "It was a happy time for people."
Not a happy time for readers, that's for sure!
November 15, 2018
This is a well written story. Meeting Kelly Noveno gave me insight into what a police officer faces when deciding to date. Because of the danger they face each day its not that easy and the author helps you see it. The same with Allan Carstairs coming back from war leaves vets with different issues and because of it the person seperates themselves to find peace. What I liked about the story was the different perspectives you get from the victims in the case. To the way the author draws you into the story by showing you the sides of Kelly and Allan that she does. But she does something just a little different she also brings in the felling of the victims and the person committing the crime. I found myself curious to see how this story was going to end. So I was turning the pages to see what was happening to the victims plus what was going to happen next with Kelly and Allan. I love the use of the animals Allan loved. My favourite was the Mane coon in the tree. But the story is fun to read in the end.
July 1, 2019
This is a very well written suspense story. Three young women go missing from a crashed car during winter with a snowstorm approaching. The police realise after a few hours of searching, that the ladies must be indoors somewhere or could not have survived. But where, and why has someone stopped them from going home?
We follow a female K9 Officer and her dog, also an animal control officer trying to overcome his army-based distrust of people. They get to know each other for the first time and start to relate to each other but the case is too urgent to allow much romance.
The only part I found a bit awkward is that an excerpt from later in the book is shoe-horned in at the start - a dog drags up a human bone to the animal control officer. This is confusing as it does not occur until midway. The editor seems to have put this in to add early dread but I feel it would be better omitted. Otherwise, the writing and pacing are excellent with good procedural detail, and I would be keen to read more by this author.
I read an e-ARC from Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
We follow a female K9 Officer and her dog, also an animal control officer trying to overcome his army-based distrust of people. They get to know each other for the first time and start to relate to each other but the case is too urgent to allow much romance.
The only part I found a bit awkward is that an excerpt from later in the book is shoe-horned in at the start - a dog drags up a human bone to the animal control officer. This is confusing as it does not occur until midway. The editor seems to have put this in to add early dread but I feel it would be better omitted. Otherwise, the writing and pacing are excellent with good procedural detail, and I would be keen to read more by this author.
I read an e-ARC from Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
February 8, 2020
Amazing
Action,suspense,mystery,thrills all included in a really enjoyable read.This one had me sitting on the edge of my seat from the very beginning to the end.Thanks for the entertainment.
Action,suspense,mystery,thrills all included in a really enjoyable read.This one had me sitting on the edge of my seat from the very beginning to the end.Thanks for the entertainment.
January 13, 2019
4.5 stars
February 15, 2019
A great story, and great storytelling. I like how it shows that some people think differently about certain things. It read like it could have been a true story.
April 2, 2019
Exceptional Story
I really enjoyed this story, it was really exceptional, the deputy and the animal control officer were wonderful and I loved the dog and squirrels.
I really enjoyed this story, it was really exceptional, the deputy and the animal control officer were wonderful and I loved the dog and squirrels.
January 17, 2019
I liked the romance. The part about the missing girls was very difficult to get through. I’m a parent myself, and this situation was just terrible to read about.
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January 25, 2019My first Harlequin Intrigue. Enjoyable read. Light, fast, some sex and violence, but nothing too graphic.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews