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The Ranger and the Widow
Secrets and lies...
Jim Mitchell, chief park ranger of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, has his hands full. Not only is his rebellious teenage daughter giving him grief about living in the isolated park, but he's got a gruesome murder in his jurisdiction that needs solving.
The sudden appearance of National Park Service budget lady Anne Winslow is not about to make his life any easier. Especially once she starts nosing around in affairs that have nothing to do with budgets, as far as he can tell.
Mitch is pretty certain the murder is connected to moki poaching -- the looting of Anasazi ruins for their valuable artifacts -- and careful sleuthing will reveal the murderer.
He's less certain about the beautiful, enigmatic Anne Winslow. She attracts him deeply, and he begins to want something real with her, something real and lasting. But he can't shake off the sense that she's lying to him....
Jim Mitchell, chief park ranger of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, has his hands full. Not only is his rebellious teenage daughter giving him grief about living in the isolated park, but he's got a gruesome murder in his jurisdiction that needs solving.
The sudden appearance of National Park Service budget lady Anne Winslow is not about to make his life any easier. Especially once she starts nosing around in affairs that have nothing to do with budgets, as far as he can tell.
Mitch is pretty certain the murder is connected to moki poaching -- the looting of Anasazi ruins for their valuable artifacts -- and careful sleuthing will reveal the murderer.
He's less certain about the beautiful, enigmatic Anne Winslow. She attracts him deeply, and he begins to want something real with her, something real and lasting. But he can't shake off the sense that she's lying to him....
- GenresHarlequin
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Lynn Erickson
65 books30 followersAbout Lynn Erickson
Molly Swanton and Carla Peltonen were born in in Aspen, Colorado, U.S.A. on January 22 and September 12. In the late 60s, both newly returned from bumming around the world, they met in Aspen in the Red Onion, an Old West saloon. They were both new brides, wet behind the ears. It was several years later that they dreamed up Lynn Erickson, the pseudonym a combination of their husbands' names. They had read every romance put out in the early 70s and started saying, "We can do better than this." Well, they couldn't, but what the heck? The wrote two fat novels before we chanced onto an agent and made a sale. His first words to them: "The manuscript is flawed, but..."
They published their first novel as Lynn Erickson in 1980. Their early books were historical romances, full of blood and guts and murder, then they turned to contemporary women's suspense. "We've set almost all of our books in Colorado, especially in Aspen, a town where the truth is usually stranger than fiction. Aspen is a character in our books, not just a setting. We love to drop inside jokes about the quirks and fancies of our hometown. The scenery truly is glorious, the mountains magnificent, the skiing and hiking and fishing and horseback riding legendary. We cover the arts, too - the world-renowned music festival, the shops full of museum-quality paintings and sculptures. Southwestern art is big, of course: paintings and pottery and Navajo rugs."
Molly Swanton and Carla Peltonen were born in in Aspen, Colorado, U.S.A. on January 22 and September 12. In the late 60s, both newly returned from bumming around the world, they met in Aspen in the Red Onion, an Old West saloon. They were both new brides, wet behind the ears. It was several years later that they dreamed up Lynn Erickson, the pseudonym a combination of their husbands' names. They had read every romance put out in the early 70s and started saying, "We can do better than this." Well, they couldn't, but what the heck? The wrote two fat novels before we chanced onto an agent and made a sale. His first words to them: "The manuscript is flawed, but..."
They published their first novel as Lynn Erickson in 1980. Their early books were historical romances, full of blood and guts and murder, then they turned to contemporary women's suspense. "We've set almost all of our books in Colorado, especially in Aspen, a town where the truth is usually stranger than fiction. Aspen is a character in our books, not just a setting. We love to drop inside jokes about the quirks and fancies of our hometown. The scenery truly is glorious, the mountains magnificent, the skiing and hiking and fishing and horseback riding legendary. We cover the arts, too - the world-renowned music festival, the shops full of museum-quality paintings and sculptures. Southwestern art is big, of course: paintings and pottery and Navajo rugs."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 21, 2014
I almost wanted to give this book two stars, on account of the beginning being decent enough until the heroine shows up. But she gets on the scene on page 31 of a 300-page book, so thirty pages of a relatively likeable but dim-witted park ranger enjoying the scenery does not make up for the menace of Anne Winslow.
Anne Winslow is terrible.
And judging by Mitch's reaction to her for the first 3/4 of the book, he agrees with me.
What a coincidence, Mitch! I too did not care at all about Anne Winslow and how she was trying to find the courage to live again by lying her socks off at every opportunity; I understood that was her job, the lying, it's just that she did it so badly. She should have been fired from undercover work and also from the book.
And speaking of being terrible at your job, Mitch, what kind of ex-Secret Service agent / cop gives a major piece of evidence to one of the main suspects in a case? You know, to look it over? Nevermind you stole it from a murder scene, nevermind maybe it could've been fingerprinted, after you gave it to Mr Suspicious Suspect and he oh-so-conveniently FORGETS WHAT HE DID WITH IT, maybe you could arrest his ass for obstruction of justice. Just a thought.
Also, you were both terrible at undercover work, detecting, and general law enforcement procedures. You are both fired.
Another thought? The angsty daughter subplot sucked. Now, I am in no way opposed to complications to a romance brought about by bringing children to it, but the way the book handled the angsty daughter -- by interjecting her parts out of nowhere and making them as uncomfortable as possible -- was matched only by how terribly the heroine handled her. Yes indeedy. I'm totally thinking that rewarding a "brush" with the law, to put it nicely, with a makeover and shopping trip is some stellar parenting all round.
And don't get me started on the climbing bit.
Anne Winslow is terrible.
And judging by Mitch's reaction to her for the first 3/4 of the book, he agrees with me.
"Sometimes I wish..." She trailed off, and again he saw her retreat inward, to her safe harbor. He would have asked what the hell was with her, but it wasn't his place. And besides, he thought, packing up their litter, he didn't really care.
What a coincidence, Mitch! I too did not care at all about Anne Winslow and how she was trying to find the courage to live again by lying her socks off at every opportunity; I understood that was her job, the lying, it's just that she did it so badly. She should have been fired from undercover work and also from the book.
And speaking of being terrible at your job, Mitch, what kind of ex-Secret Service agent / cop gives a major piece of evidence to one of the main suspects in a case? You know, to look it over? Nevermind you stole it from a murder scene, nevermind maybe it could've been fingerprinted, after you gave it to Mr Suspicious Suspect and he oh-so-conveniently FORGETS WHAT HE DID WITH IT, maybe you could arrest his ass for obstruction of justice. Just a thought.
Also, you were both terrible at undercover work, detecting, and general law enforcement procedures. You are both fired.
"I'm fine. Perfectly fine," she said quickly. But she wasn't. Something was happening to her in this primitive, windswept land of rock and color and strange beauty. Something.
"Huh," was his answer.
Another thought? The angsty daughter subplot sucked. Now, I am in no way opposed to complications to a romance brought about by bringing children to it, but the way the book handled the angsty daughter -- by interjecting her parts out of nowhere and making them as uncomfortable as possible -- was matched only by how terribly the heroine handled her. Yes indeedy. I'm totally thinking that rewarding a "brush" with the law, to put it nicely, with a makeover and shopping trip is some stellar parenting all round.
And don't get me started on the climbing bit.
March 31, 2011
I really enjoyed this one.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews