I've read a few books in the popular Ransom
Canyon series
and was delighted to start another one. A newcomer reading
the stories by Jodie Thomas will be pleased that the first
character we meet is another newcomer, Blade Hamilton, who
rides to INDIGO LAKE on his Harley to inspect a dilapidated
Texas homestead he has inherited. Unknown to him, two
families on opposite shores of the beautiful lake have not
spoken in generations, and the Hamiltons are one of those
families.
Blade has made his own way and is now an agent for the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, working out of
Denver. The local Texans are pretty self-reliant too.
Including Dakota and Maria Davis. Dakota, the local
realtor, can't keep a boyfriend long, maybe because of her
temper, and Maria her sister is visually impaired, making
and selling jams. When they realise there exists yet
another Hamilton to carry on the bad blood between their
families, it just seems like nothing ever changes. But
change is all around them, including ranch land being sold
from under the wranglers, and families leaving the town of
Crossroads. If the last Hamilton sells up too, who could
blame him?
Other problems include mysterious barn fires, murder and
ghost stories. The town sheriff Dan Brigman, whom we met
in book five, Wild Horse
Springs, has his hands full; while
his daughter Lauren Brigman the local journalist has more
stories than she can safely print without alienating half
the population of Crossroads. I found the suspense element
very well managed while previous series characters were
introduced one at a time instead of in a crowd. The natural
surroundings and somewhat haunted ranch atmosphere,
claustrophobic small town conversation and tight
friendships, show a vivid impression of life. We also get a
taste of standard local fare, with wild plum jam and seven-
layer orange cake among the cook's offerings.
I'm very much in admiration of the tautly wound story
blending suspense, forensic investigation and romance. Jodi
Thomas has honed her skill at writing character, and with
INDIGO LAKE we see her location is just as much a character
as her varied cast. This adult contemporary Western is a
must-read.
Two families long divided by an ancient feud. Can a
powerful love finally unite them?
Blade Hamilton is the last of his line. He's never even
heard of Crossroads, Texas, until he inherits land there.
Riding in on his vintage Harley-Davidson, Blade finds a
weathered ranch house, an empty prairie and a dark river
that cuts a decisive path between the Hamiltons' land and
that of their estranged neighbors.
When Dakota helps a stranger on the roadside, she isn't
prepared for the charisma of the man on the motorbike—or for
the last name he bears: Hamilton, of her family's sworn
enemies, representing all she's been raised to loathe. The
problem is, it looks like Blade is in town to stay, and
there's something about his wolf-gray eyes she just can't
ignore.
Lauren Brigman feels adrift. Unhappy in work and unlucky in
love, she knows she ought to be striving for more, but she's
never truly at peace unless she's at home in Crossroads. If
the wider world can't satisfy her, is home truly where her
heart is?
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