Fourth in the suspenseful Northern Border Patrol series, this tale introduces us to Liz Cantrell who is abruptly ordered to provide a necklace as RANSOM for her terrified sister Jillian. Not only has Liz been chased around her antique store by a prowler, who used the name of her sister's dodgy husband, but Liz has taken a phone call in which Jillian was threatened. Heading north by plane, Liz is picked up by the Canada Border Services.

Nat Longhorn is an agent with the Service, and he works with the FBI to counter serious crime such as smuggling. He only has a rumour about the kidnapping, but obviously the kidnapper ordered Liz not to tell police. This lady is clearly afraid and her bag contains a valuable necklace of unpolished stones, seeming to confirm his suspicions. Agent Blake Fallon of Customs and Immigration concurs that their priority is to free the hostage, but he also wants to take down the crime lord behind the reprehensible activity. The only way he can do that is if Liz co-operates.

With beautiful settings such as the frozen Horseshoe Falls at Niagara, this adventure grips from the start. Liz is an ordinary citizen, not in the habit of dealing with police, and suddenly she is being followed and threatened by vicious men. She has to depend on her own wits and two agents to keep her unharmed. But now that the criminals know she is in the hands of law enforcement, what will happen to Jillian? RANSOM really is a nail-biting series of escapes and tensions. I like that a female agent called Sami is brought in to accompany Liz and there are some references to characters from earlier books.

A few times the complex story stops for conversations and while this does slow down the action, it serves to remind us the decisions are now out of Liz's hands. Indeed the agencies would rather not have her around, so only by persuading the agents that she is determined and reliable can she attempt to be allowed to stay in Canada. In this way we get to know Liz and the people she deals with, who come across as hard working and hardened.

Terri Reed is a top-class author of romantic suspense and RANSOM is every bit as good as we'd expect. The understated, inspirational romance is suitable for adults and young adults.