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.

ARC Kindle Copy for Review

What really happen twenty-five years ago when twins wer e kidnapped and never found?
When a crime reporter comes to town with evidence about the kidnapping she stirs up things. Questions come to arise as things get stirred up.

She finds herself involved with the oldest son but her own secreet mught destroy what they might have. Awellpaced read.

I will be posting a full review later on my blog but this book was brilliant! It held my interest right until the very end and I could not wait to find out what happens. The story was well written and the plot was excellent.

Gothic story set on a ranch. Nikki is a true crime writer who will do anything for a story, including throwing herself in front of Cull's moving truck to get his attention. This was a big turnoff for me, especially as she never seems to lose this aggressiveness and Cull kind of finds it endearing. It's not.

Gothic in the extreme, complete with a darkened, creepy hallway in an insane asylum where she visits the crazy mom, poisoning, and a cook who kills. It's an "everything but the kitchen sink" story. An editor should have reeled in the story-teller.

This is not my favorite series of books by B J Daniels but I did enjoy them. They seemed to drag in places. I usually love her books so was a little disappointed in this series