Book Reviews

Book Blurb

A man without memories, and the cop who never gave up hope.

When he wakes up in hospital, the victim of a brutal beating, John Doe, has no memories of who he is or who hurt him. The cops can find nothing to identify him and he can't remember anything to help... except the name Ethan and one recurring place from his dreams. Three words, and they're not much, but it's a start. Crooked Tree Ranch.

Cop, Ethan Allens has never stopped searching for his brother and his brother's best friend who vanished. When a report lands on Ethan's desk that may give new leads he jumps at the chance to follow them up. The man he finds isn't his brother, but it's someone who could maybe help him discover what happened ten years ago.

What neither man can know is that facing the very real demons of the past could very well destroy any kind of future they may think they have together.

Book Review

The Crooked Tree Ranch and the three families who own it are back, and this second book dives deeply into the secrets of their past that were mostly hinted at in book one. Since the Todd family, or rather the three sons who are left after their parents died, is the one who runs the ranch, their story was an excellent introduction to the series, and I do suggest you read that book before this one or you’ll miss too much of the background. Nate as the oldest brother and his newfound partner Jay are still around, and I loved that. The Allens family, with widower Marcus and his two sons Ethan and Justin is a little less involved in ranch business, and the Strachans are pretty much absent – Cole is in the Navy and Adam, like Justin, hasn’t been seen for twelve years.

Ethan never got over the loss of his younger brother, and essentially became a cop so he could keep looking. This is the story of what happens when he finally finds one of the two men he’s desperate to find – in Chicago. At first it’s not easy for him to deal with the fact that the John Doe who triggered law enforcement’s flags is not Justin. But as it turns out, finding Adam has its benefits. Dealing with Adam’s loss of memory is hard for both men, and their struggle to make sense of who they are now and if they still mean to each other what they were beginning to figure out when they were teenagers was heartbreaking. Ethan’s stubborn determination is incredibly impressive, and he has Adam’s back all the way, no matter all the scary and strange discoveries they make.

Adam has been severely beaten and suffers from amnesia as a result of brain trauma. He struggles to remember who he is, and the names (Ethan and Crooked Tree Ranch) he mentioned when police questioned him make no sense to Adam. But when he sees Ethan and they begin to talk, things begin to pop up in his brain. Flashes of memories first, and as they make their way back to Montana, Adam starts to make sense of what happens in his nightmares, and the feelings he sometimes gets when Ethan tells him something. But the more he remembers, the clearer it becomes that whatever happened twelve years ago drove him away for good reasons, and the slow reveal of the horrific events had me glued to the pages.

If you like family drama, mystery, and the gradual discovery of the truth, if two men reunited after a long separation and loss of memory sound exciting, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read with complicated characters, stressful family relationships, and plenty of twists and turns, then you will probably like this novel. I can’t wait for the next volume – that was a clever twist right there at the end, RJ. Way to maintain the suspense!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Love Lane Books for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 200 pages/66200 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	24-March-2016
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://www.amazon.com/Ranchers-Son-Montana-Book-ebook/dp/B01DCM6Q0A