Janet Dailey was my first introduction to modern western romance, many years ago. The author has since passed away but I was delighted to see one of her seasonal books, CHRISTMAS IN COWBOY COUNTRY, which by the copyright is a new release.

Annie Bennett finds her rancher father ordering a surveyor off his land. The hired hands are let go over winter so the Colorado property is quiet, and neighbours should respect fence lines. But the nearby Pfeffers are always disputing the boundary. Annie's twenty-eight and she's worked as a ski instructor in Aspen. Town seems to creep closer to her home every year, as ranching pays less well and homes are built in subdivided lots. With a recovering broken leg, Annie's asked to help decorate the saloon with Christmas lights. That's where she meets the surveyor again.

Marshall Stone is the surveyor's name, and he seems polite enough. Nice, even. Now how does a girl ask for a date - if he's unattached? A town meeting is their next chance to see each other, and property is on the line. The Pfeffers have brought in an outside consultant, and Annie isn't sure she trusts that man.

I was surprised that Annie, having exchanged just a couple of words with Marshall, allows him to manhandle her in the doorway of the town hall as a meeting is in progress. But maybe that's the kind of manners people learn in a millionaires' ski resort. Marshall, as it turns out, has another vested interest and can't let a pretty ranch girl get in his way. The tension rises quickly amid normal preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Annie starts looking into land speculators, reverse mortgages and elderly people who might be manipulated.

What with ski girls in town catching all the male eyes, a stray dog who makes himself at home with Marshall and snowdrifts to hold up the action, there is life and colour in this wintry suspense tale. CHRISTMAS IN COWBOY COUNTRY has a horse on the cover but no horses in the story, just four-wheel-drive vehicles, and the mentions of recent technology seem to indicate that the tale may have been adapted by another writer after Janet Dailey's death. Still, it's an interesting and entertaining read as we second-guess all the different schemers. Wrap up well and have fun.