Fantastic storyline, was a little slow moving at first but then things really picked up. I appreciated that the main characters didn't just jump right into things.

Nikki is on a mission to clear her father's name and uncover the truth of what happened to the McGraw twins after 25 years. What she uncovers is not only the truth but a love story all her own. A very well written romantic suspense.

DARK HORSE. by B J Daniels. Travers comes daily to visit his former wife a shell of what she was, clutching two old dolls. Nikki, notebook in hand, with a mantra, "at your own risk" 25 years, a kidnapping happened in Whitehorse, Montana. As a reporter, writing about true crimes, also this case is more personal. Riviating story of how a tragic event, broke a family and 25 years later, they were still hurting. The secrets, that were held, would Nikki find any hope for them. The plot was good, it held you captive to the end. The characters, drew you in, as you met the family. Good read for all to enjoy, and trying to put the pieces of what happened 25 years ago. Given ARC by Net Galley for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

I thought that it was a decent story line but i feel that i am left hanging. I think that it could have gone more into details. The one twist (ish) was meh. There was a lot of building up and then unravelled quickly and then ended. I was hoping for closure at the end of the book but did not get any.

Nikki comes to Whitehorse Montana to write a true crime book about the McGraw infant twins kidnapping twenty five years ago and to clear her father's name. Cull is trying to protect him family from Nikki. The two of them are very attracted to each other. This book is romantic suspense. It's a quick read. There are a lot of twists and turns. I really like the author's writing style. I enjoyed this book.
****I voluntarily reviewed and gave my honest opinion of this Advanced Readers Copy of this
book from NetGalley****

Dark Horse ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️written by B.J.Daniels

After twenty five years of family unrest over the kidnapping of the McGraw twins, Travers McGraw brings in a true-crime writer to see if new evidence can be uncovered. The McGraw family has been in turmoil since the incident.
When Nikki St.James arrives it is not with much fan fare but instead resentment by the family. Only Travers supports her venture and instructs everyone to fully cooperate.

If found this story interesting but quite the parallel with the all too familiar Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Of course, more was added to this novel but ghosts, mysterious winds, arsenic and shadows didn't do it for me. I really not too familiar with the writing of Ms Daniels so it is somewhat difficult for me to judge.
I received this novel from Netgalley for an honest review.

What a great mystery story. I loved how it focused around the disappearance of twins. I would have liked a little more about Nikki and Cull falling in love. There didn't seem to be much to their story. I felt there were other things that were unanswered from the story too.
It was still a very well written book and I did enjoy reading it.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review by Net Galley and Harlequin Intrigue.

In "Dark Horse," master storyteller B.J. Daniels takes us back to Whitehorse, Montana, where 25 years ago, twin babies were kidnapped from the McGraw family. The kidnapping has never been solved, and the McGraws have lived ever since with a dark, almost gothic, undercurrent to the mystery. They not only lost the twins, they lost their mother and wife, who has been institutionalized since her babies were taken. She now spends her days vacantly staring into a dark room, rocking two ragged dolls. As the anniversary approaches, the family's angst is palpable as they deal with the most important unanswered question: are their twin babies alive or dead? .

This is Ms. Daniels 25th book set in Whitehorse (although she has written at least 60 books in total), and perhaps her best novel ever. More mystery than romance, Dark Horse deals with more than one family's dark past as true crime writer Nikki St. James travels to Whitehorse for the purpose of writing a book on the kidnapping, and solving the mystery. Not known to the McGraws, St. James's father was Nate Corwin, the man convicted of the kidnapping.

Dark Horse challenges the reader to figure out who the bad guys are, but just when you think you have nailed the culprits, Ms. Daniels proves you wrong. Her clear, concise writing, with well thought out plots within plots within plots, kept me glued to book until the last page, and impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.

Wow! This book gave me chills from the start. I never could figure out who committed the crime. This book had me wound up tighter than a snare drum from the anticipation. I jumped at noises a couple times! The romance was just enough to make me get caught up without being all about fluff and just making you fall for the characters. This book was off the charts good and I would recommend it to anyone!

This book had so much suspense and intrigue I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The female lead character is strong and has a take no prisoners attitude.. loved her!
I was drawn into the story from the beginning of the book, and I’m hoping there will be more books to follow.. I’d love to hear about the twins, and the other brothers seem to have stories that need to be told.
I really enjoyed reading this book.

**I received a copy of Dark Horse from Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review**

Dark Horse by B.J. Daniels is a bit mystery and most definitely suspense that will leave you with curiosity of when will they find the missing twins. Hopefully, a future book will answer the questions at a later date.

Nikki St. James is a true crime writer who has come to Whitehorse, Montana on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the kidnapping of the McGraw twins, Oakley and Jesse Rose. But she's there two fold to also try and clear her father's name as well but it could mean that the killer will do everything to keep her from finding out the truth. Travers McGraw's sons, don't want her to be at the ranch neither does his new wife Patricia Owen McGraw the former nanny. Somehow Nikki will be able to dodge the threats to find the truth all while trying to fight an attraction to Cole McGraw.

Cole McGraw knows that the anniversary of the kidnappings will soon be upon them but when he finds out who his dad has invited to the ranch he lets Nikki know that his brothers will do whatever necessary to protect their family. But can he fight the attraction to her that is just beginning and help her try to find the answers. It will take everything they both have to keep Nikki alive while finding answers to the mystery surrounding their family.

I enjoyed this book so much I couldn't put it down. I hope if the author is continuing this series, she includes finding the twins along the way.

CLIFFHANGER... I read this in one day. Suspense. Mystery. Cowboys. And a tenacious crime writer.
Nikki is a author who writes about true crimes. Her next book involves the kidnapping of twins who were never found. It's been almost twenty five years and she gets the father to agree to an interview. He is allowing her to stay at their ranch and talk to the family.
Cull is the oldest son but he doesn't trust Nikki. His father wants him to cooperate with her even though he was only seven years old when the twins were taken. The more he's around her, the more he admires her guts and bravery. But he knows she's hiding something just like she knows he is.
This book will leave you anxious for the next one. Not real long but it will keep you turning page after page until the end.

Wow, this book was interesting. A true crime author that will go to no end to get the story. Twins that have been gone 25 years. There is intrigue, mystery, drama and a touch of romance blended together to make a super book. The step mother is quite the awful person, isn't she! And her daughter is needed some serious parental guidance. So we have plenty of characters to dislike. I have to say I was not thrilled with the main character either. The book brought out strong emotions when, in my mind, makes for a fabulous read. I felt this was a real page-turner.

The unwritten rule between mystery reader and author is that the author doles out little crumbs and red herrings along the way, so we can try to solve the mystery and hopefully get that oh-so-satisfying Eureka! moment. So we get to feel clever, doncha know. But Dark Horse spent the first 60% of the book on setup, background etc. Not a crumb or puzzle piece in sight until then. Not that the first part wasn't interesting because it was. But those puzzle pieces were a long time in coming. I never did figure it out, and FYI, I noticed when I turned the final page, that one of the peripheral bad guys hadn't actually been named. Huh.

Very twisty plot, characters with plenty of depth, lots of fun to read. I definitely recommend this one.

Dark Horse
B. J. Daniels

Fans of Daniels will not be disappointed. I loved the characters. Nikkie St. James was spunky and determined. She contrasted well with Cull. The cast was well done and they came to life as the reading progressed. I really wanted to ring Kitty's neck. What a snot. Felt sympathy for the cook Frieda and where does Tilly, the maid, fit in?

Daniels added enough tidbits to constantly lead the reader astray. The only one I knew who was innocent was Travers McGraw. Even the sons were keeping secrets about the kidnapping and they were very young when it happened.
All in all it is a spell-binding read. Sure to keep you reading till the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Dark Horse has an interesting plot, but I just didn't feel the chemistry between Nikki and Cull. The story revolves more around solving who kidnapped two babies twenty-five years ago than it does around the relationship between Nikki and Cull and so when they do get together at the end, it seems very forced and unnatural. The ending was disappointing as it left a lot of questions unanswered and so the mystery was never completely solved. It seemed as though the book just stopped.

Nikki St. James is a real crime author. Finding out that her father was accused of murder before his death made his story one she was compelled to investigate.
What really happened that night? Where are the twins? What broke their mother? Who has the vital clue to the answers?
Nikki contacts Travers McGraw and he invites her to find the answers he is even more desperate for...and her inquiries are deadly dangerous.
Cull McGraw is drawn to her...against his will......will anything develop? Grab this romantic mystery for a very enjoyable read.
I requested and received a NetGalley copy to peruse.

First, I really liked the mystery in this book. I found it interesting and wanted to read more about it. The author tied it up a little too neatly and there's still a lot of unanswered questions, but I also know there are other books in this series and I assume that the questions will be answered later in the series. As for the romance... um, what romance? Two kisses and a horseback ride and I'm supposed to believe those two characters fell in love? I found the romance part of this unrealistic and even though I liked both characters, I just wasn't feeling the usually happy warmth I do at the end of a good romance novel. It worries me for the rest of the books in this series because although I would like to read them to discover more about the mystery, I don't want to see the other brothers getting the same treatment for their love stories. This book had such potential and I think with another thousand or so words focused on the romance, it could have been realized. Even one more seen between those two characters would have helped.

Welcome to a three book series based on the kidnapping of twin infants that took place twenty five years ago. There’s no denying that this baby girl and boy disappeared. There was also a ransom paid. The babies never made it back safely to their home. And candidly the road to discovery was at a dead end. The babies’ father has for all these years kept up hope that his children were alive and well. Where they were – well that’s where the road to nowhere begins. No one knows anything conclusive. People were charged. One man died on way to becoming the person most likely to have been perhaps the mastermind of this horrific event that candidly destroyed this family. The mother of the twins has been institutionalized all these years living in her own hell. And public opinion has never gone passed the probability that the man and this woman were in cahoots.

Okay do I have your attention yet?

DARK HORSE by B.J. Daniels is book one of the Whitehorse Montana: the McGraw Kidnapping series. In each of the three books Daniels gives you still another clue or look into the events of that fateful evening. The list of suspects seems to grow exponentially with each and every page. There are times you are pretty sure you’ve got it. And then B.J. Daniels steps back in with still another possibility and you are off and running again.

DARK HORSE has an amazing cast of characters, some good, some bad, some conflicted and some pathetic. The power of suggestion can be powerful – no pun intended. In fact there is nothing comical about the premise of DARK HORSE. Twin infants are kidnapped – no real viable clues and yet justice was meted out. Family is torn apart and each and every person is the walking dead. No one has managed to more past that night.

For successful crime novelist Nikki St. James coming to the McGraw ranch at the request of the patriarch Travers is having an unusual effect on her. There is something in the wind that turns her blood to ice. And Nikki is quick to acknowledge time is not on her side.

It would appear that there are definitely those that would rather Nikki not use McGraw kidnapping as the focus of her next crime novel. In fact some of the creepy chilling feelings that Nikki manages to shake off are beginning to get too real to dismiss. There are definitely forces possibly in the McGraw household that have much to hide. Someone or perhaps more than one person has something that they would just like to remain unknown. Something that they have successfully hidden for the last twenty five years. Something Travers and his grown sons Cull, Ledger and Boone have had no inkling about.

Someone immediately lets Nikki know that they just don’t want her at the McGraw ranch. Small incidents seems to quickly escalate into larger more dangerous threats and yet the culprit manages to stay just outside of suspicion. But Nikki has attracted the attention of Cull the eldest McGraw son. And although like his brothers would just rather attention to their sadness diminish with time, Cull realizes that perhaps the danger still exists and he now couples with this very brave almost foolish writer in her zeal to get to the core of this tragedy.

Wow – are you on board yet? Well by the middle of DARK HORSE you realize that B.J. Daniels is going to need way more room to get to the bottom of this terrible incident. DARK HORSE won’t be able to finally solve this mystery so we will be treated to two more books in this series.