This is book one of a series about the McGraw Kidnapping that happened almost 25 years ago.
Nikki St James (who is a true-crime write and the daugher to one of the accused) is trying to find out what really happened and try to solve the kidnapping.

This book does not end at the end of this book which is extremely frustrating. It is ok, very slow and couldn't really care about any of the characters. I am hoping that they are more developed in the rest of the story.

BJ Daniels starts her new Whitehorse Montana miniseries off with a bang in Dark Horse. The overarching story of trying to find out what happened to the McGraw twins, kidnapped twenty-five years ago drives the action and brings true crime writer Nikki St. James to Whitehorse. The oldest McGraw son Cull distrusts her onsite, but reluctantly agrees to help when he realizes it is the only way to figure out what happened. The kidnapping is the focus of the storyline, the romance between Nikki and Cull somewhat secondary. The who kidnapped the twins portion of the mystery is resolved by the end. However, in true miniseries fashion we are going to have to tune in for the next installments to figure out what happened to the twins. I know I will be tuning in.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

Good mystery with very little romance. The brother of the twins who were kidnapped 25 years before and a true crime writer who wants to unravel its mystery and write about it find love. A small cliff hanger at the end

Nikki St. James is a true crime writer who is invited to The Mcgraw Ranch to help solve the mystery of their missing twins. It is now the twenty fifth anniversary of them missing. She will uncover things that the family never thought would be true. While she is also uncovering love.
This is a edge of your seat suspense, you will not believe what happens around every corner.

** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

All in all, a fair romantic suspense novel. The plot had promise but most of the bad people were obvious from he beginnng. The romantic aspect was also pretty weak. Good protagonist, good love Interest but the development of the romance was weak and the heat was nonexistent. I can't really recommend this book.

Dark Horse was my first B.J. Daniels book and I have to admit that the blurb was what pulled me in, with it talking about a woman trying to find answers to a long-ago kidnapping of twin children, and how there were three brothers left (plus other family members) who may know something they never told. It went well for the first chapter, but then I started struggling with getting into the story. I began to see a pattern of the sentences being structured similarly, with about the same amount of words in each, which made the reading seem almost monotone (in the written form). I could never get past that rhythm, of a set amount of words to then another set amount, and it felt like I could never delve past the surface of the writing. Then characters started being repetitive with their thoughts and feelings, and I couldn't push any further into the manuscript. I'm disappointed because I was very much enjoying the plot portion of the story -- I just wanted to be able to jump into the story and explore the depth of it, but the characters and the writing structure never allowed me to do so. Unfortunately, this is a DNF at 29%.

Nikki St. James is a crime story writer. Her newest book is about a kidnapping of the McGraw twins that had occurred 25 years ago. Her interest in the kidnapping is also personal, as her father was one of the people accused of the crime. Arriving at the McGraw Ranch, she begins her investigation. What she soon discovers opens up many wounds but also provides some closure. This suspense has many twists and turns. Just when you think you might have figured out who had a hand in the kidnapping, a different clue is thrown your way and you must begin again. This is not a cliffhanger, but the story continues in the next two books. Luckily we don't have to wait long as each book will be released at the beginning of the month. I look forward to the next few books in this series.

Dark Horse by B. J. Daniels

More mystery / crime solving than romance in this book.
Not a complicated plot but the process of asking questions stirs the memories which was a very intriguing way to approach the crime-writing job of the heroine.

The sheriff and her family must be from prior books by the author. While I wasn't lost because of the dialog with and about the sheriff, it was obvious that there should have been familiarity with them in the storyline.

Overall, I enjoyed this Harlequin Intrigue. Good mystery solving, bad guys caught, and romance satisfaction in the end.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

This is a suspenseful and intriguing story that is full of twists and turns and lies and secrets. Cull is a tough, loner cowboy. Nikki is a determined and stubborn writer. When Nikki arrives looking to solve the 25 year old mystery of what happened to Culls baby twin siblings, Cull has a fit and tries to get her to leave. But Culls father wants him to play nice and help Nikki, and the more time he spends with her, the more he's drawn to her. And she is drawn to him, knowing that it isn't smart. You find yourself being pulled into the story, trying to figure out who did it. And the end is very sweet and romantic. It's a must add to your TBR list.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my voluntary and honest opinion of it.

B.J. Daniels has another spellbinding thriller blockbuster on her hands! Dark Horse, book #1 in her Whitehorse, Montana: The McGraw Kidnapping series introduces a cast of characters and a compelling storyline centered around the kidnapping of the McGraw twins twenty-five years ago. The ransom was paid but nothing was ever heard from the kidnapper/s again. Are the twins dead or, as their father, Travas McGraw fervently hopes, are they still alive? Their mother, Marianne McGraw never recovered from the trauma of the kidnapping and spends her days rocking her life away clutching two dolls in a mental institution.

Enter Nikki St. James, a true-crime writer who receives permission from Travas McGraw to travel to the ranch to interview the family and those living at the ranch in the hopes she can solve the mystery as she so successfully has for most of her true-crime novels. After overcoming his mistrust, eldest son, Cull McGraw joins Nikki in helping her answer some of the questions from the past,

Once I started reading this story I had to just keep turning the pages. Nikki finds many answers but there are still lots more questions to be answered in the next books in the series. So very much looking forward to Dead Ringer, book #2 in the series.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

True crime writer, Nikki St. James wants to solve the 25 year-old mystery of the kidnapped infant twins and write her next book about it. She also wants to know if her father may have been involved some how.

The overall story was good and I was definitely interested in finding out what happened to the twins. I don't know if I'd call it a romantic suspense though since there wasn't much romance, pretty much insta-love.

A great mystery that keeps you guessing. Not a cliff hanger but lots of unanswered questions that will continue in the next books as well as romance for the other 2 brothers I believe.

Intrigued.... Yes this Harlequin Intrigue kept me very intrigued. This book is about the research of finding out what happen to the McGraw Twins in a kidnapping that took place twenty five years before. These twins could be dead or alive as no one has ever found the body of these babies. The book was well written and flowed very smoothly. It kept me entertained and I could not put the book down.

Nikki is a True Crime writer and wants to get to the bottom of The McGraw kidnapping because it will clear her father, hopefully. She will pursue this at all cost no matter if she gets hurt along the journey. She only wants the truth even though everyone around here appears to have something to hide.

Cull wants this woman off his families property. What could possibly be found about a twenty five year old crime. He fears that the truth may hurt someone he loves. So he will run her off by spending time with her and making her see she is just wasting her time.

I received a copy of this book in trade for an honest review via Net Gallery.

This book if the first one of a series about the McGraw Kidnapping. The kidnapping of a set of twins which occurred almost 25 years ago with no clues , a woman in a mental hospital, an accused man that died on his way to jail and a woman that went from being a nanny to being the second Mrs McGraw.
It’s the intent of true-crime writer, Nikki St James to find out what really happened and try to solve the kidnapping. But she does have ulterior motives for her investigation.
Cull, the oldest of the three sons that were small children at the time of the kidnapping, is very protective of his father and family and not happy with Nikki’s intervention.
The story is filled with lots of suspense, whodunit and suspicious people. As a mystery it was very engaging and well written. But be aware that the romance is minimal and only develops more towards the end.
Though not a cliffhanger, the mystery is not totally resolved so future books are in store in this series.
All in all, a story for those that enjoy a good mystery.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

The 25 year old mystery had to be solved. Nikki is sure she can find out what happened to the McGraw twins. In the process, she will clear her father's name. Cull is sick of the whole business. He has lived with it for 25 years and it has torn apart his family. There are too many bad memories in the house and Cull's father wants the mystery solved one way or another. Everyone in the house has too many secrets about that night and it all has to come to light.

Dark Horse (Whitehorse, Montana: The McGraw Kidnapping #1) by B.J. Daniels, was the first book I’ve read by this author, so I had no expectations. The overall story was OK, it kept me entertained. I believe it’s being classified as romantic suspense, I’d say the romance is secondary to the mystery of who kidnapped the McGraw twins 25yrs earlier. This is a very clean read and it has the expected HEA.

I felt the characters were very thinly written, providing just enough info for the reader to decide if they liked them or not. I found the writing included repetitive info, especially about Patty’s past, and any reader with historical knowledge will see the similarities between the kidnapping of the twins and the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. I also noticed the author didn’t take advantage of the beautiful scenery (Montana) to flesh out the book with more descriptive setting info. The romance / attraction between Cull and Nikki is rather quick, has no heat, and lacks that chemistry that most romances have between the lead characters. To that end I would say there was blandness to parts of the overall story.

The book is a quick read. The story is complete with no cliff hanger, but the door is wide open for the story to be continued with another brother, and additional info dealing with the twins.
I wish to express my thanks to the author, Harlequin Intrigue and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For me this was 2.75 star read which I’ll round up to 3 stars.

Dark Horse was an intense and suspenseful book it kept you on the edge of your seat. B.J.Daniels is masterful in her story telling she kept you turning every page making you feel everything that every character was feeling. She kept you wanting more and more with every chapter.
True crime writer Nikki St. James is out to uncover the truth behind the twenty five year old kidnapping of the McGraw twins. Cull McGraw oldest son is determined to protect his father from people who are out to interview his family out of morbid curiosity.
Will these two learn to work together and trust each other to find the truth behind this long ago crime?

Dark Horse is a very good book. Lots of mystery, intrigue, romance. Interesting characters, an interesting storyline. This is going to be a great series.

The mystery in DARK HORSE was very intense and fast paced with the romance taking a back seat. Not all the loose ends were tied up but then this the first book in the McGraw series. It will be hard waiting for the next installment.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Nikki St. James is a successful true‐crime writer. Recently she came upon the information that her father who she never knew, had be falsely accused (according to her mother) and sentence for the kidnapping and murder of the McGraw infant twins, almost 25 years ago. Her father had been the horse trainer at the ranch and had sworn he was innocent, but never was able to prove it as he died on the way to prison in a vehicular accident. Nikki wants to know the truth and makes contact with the still grieving father, Travers. He is very ill, wants to find the truth before he dies and invites her to the ranch. The grieving mother has been in a mental facility since after the babies disappeared. Nine years after the kidnapping, the nanny of the children, Patricia had returned to the ranch with a baby in tow. She married her former boss. When Nikki comes to the ranch she is met with hostility from Patricia, her daughter, Kitten, two of the surviving sons, Cull and Boone, (the youngest brother, Ledger is welcoming) and others. Yet with her experience and expertise not only does she manage to clear her father's name, but also saves Travers' life, give hope that the missing twins might still be found, and also win the love of the oldest son. Not all the questions were answered, so hopefully they will be addressed in the next book. Since this is # 1, the next books now doubt will find the twins, and love for Boone and Ledger. I read a free ARC from netgalley.com for an honest review, and recommend to readers of mystery, crime solving, romance ...etc.

I really love this author's work, you stay on the edge of your seat through the entire book. This was about a true crime writer wanting to solve the 25 year old mystery surrounding the kidnapping of twins babies of a wealthy family and in the process clear her father's name, who was a horse trainer at the time at this family's ranch, he was accused of helping to kidnap them and possibly having an affair with the kids mother who is now in an asylum. But the family doesn't want to have go through this again, they feel it's been too long ago and nothing will come of opening old wounds, but the matriarch of the family wants it solved because his health is failing and he contacted this crime writer to help solve it because she has had success solving other crimes in the past. Great story and very suspenseful.