Trust

June 6, 2011
Bestseller Dailey (Santa in a Stetson) launches a new series with this well-paced but unremarkable love story between an injured cop and the intriguing artist who inspires him. Roped into unofficially reopening a cold missing persons case by a friend who knew the victims, RJ Bannon is delighted when artist Erin, who refuses to reveal her last name, offers to help him investigate. When the case turns dangerous just as a sweet romance blossoms, Bannon has to decide whether solving the mystery is worth putting the woman of his dreams at risk. Populated with stock stereotypes as secondary characters, only Erin, Bannon, and Bannon's brothers (who will star in the sequels) really emerge as individuals. Dailey's prose is lovely, with imagery that clearly evokes the setting, but the contrived plot never overcomes its formulaic pattern, and readers will figure out the solution long before Bannon does.

April 9, 2012
Bestseller Dailey’s second Bannon Brothers contemporary western (after Trust) attempts suspense but never reaches a satisfying conclusion. Middle brother Linc Bannon sees news footage of a horrible car accident and recognizes the license plate of his longtime crush, Kenzie. Linc rushes to find her, only to discover it was Kenzie’s friend Christine in the car. Kenzie, a former soldier who still works with the military, believes the crash was more than just an accident and enlists Linc, a federal intelligence agent, to help her find out what happened. They discover a conspiracy involving failed military armor and a psychopathic stalker. Kenzie and Linc’s romance progresses at a realistically slow speed, sweet rather than sexy, as they take time to get to know each other while facing crises, and Kenzie’s relationships with both Linc and Christine show satisfying depth, but readers are likely to identify the stalker and piece together the conspiracy far earlier than the heroes do. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates.