4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fine police procedural romance, September 1, 2004
This review is from: The Rivals (Mass Market Paperback)
In Jackson Hole, Wyoming no one except the families and the Teton County Sheriff Department cared about two missing teens. That abruptly changes when Kate Grayhawk never makes it home as she is the daughter of influential Texas mogul Clay Blackthorne and the granddaughter of his powerful enemy King Grayhawk.
Deputy Sheriff Sarah Barndollar, raising three kids alone since her spouse vanished last year, investigates the serial vanishings. Meanwhile the feuding families' hatred for one another interfere with her case because they suspect the other side abducted Kate and set out to prove it. Clay's cousin Drew DeWitt offers a rare dose of sanity, but insists on being part of her inquiries. As they race to save lives, they fall in love, but she is Wyoming wilderness while he is big shot urban.
This solid entry in the continuing saga of the Blackthorne family is a fine police procedural romance. The story line moves at a fast clip while readers will shake their heads at the setbacks caused by the family feud. Though a government conspiracy has been used so often that one wonders how any trees remain in the forest, Joan Johnston's latest thriller is a delightful investigative romantic suspense.
Harriet Klausner
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
5th in the Bitter Creek Series...Adventure Abounds, September 12, 2006
This review is from: The Rivals (Mass Market Paperback)
This review refers to "The Rivals" by Joan Johnston...
This is the 5th in the Bitter Creek series. The stories of the modern day descendants of the Sister of the Lone Star series("Frontier Woman", "Comanche Woman", and "Texas Woman"). The last we knew, the Blackthornes had made an attempt at ending their long running feud with the Creeds,but... they still are at odds with the Grayhawks(this was the first I read about them, but I intend on picking up some of the books with their back story as well). Although the first 4 books in this series will fill you in on the Blackthorne/Creed feud,and the various Romeo and Juliet type lovers, it is really not necessary to have read them all to enjoy this one. The character of Drew Dewitt, a cousin to the Blackthornes, and one of the major characters in this story gets his start in the 4th in the series "The Price", but even so the plot of this one stands on it's own.
Having said all of that, I have to say that I enjoyed this one very much.Maybe it was because this one was packed with adventures and mystery(which is a big draw for me), and although you know with Johnston there will be the steamy love sequences(also a draw), they were there, only not too too steamy and they seemed to take a back seat to the rest of the plot.
Kate Grayhawk, teenaged granddaughter of two very powerful men, King Grayhawk of Wyoming, and "Blackjack" Blackthorne of Texas, is kidnapped. Not only is she the granddaughter of these two wealthy powerhouses but she is also the secret daughter of Clay Blackthorne, Attorney General(the reader is privy to this early on). The local Deputy Sheriff Kate Barndollar gets involved in the search, and happens to be a beautiful woman raising three kids on her own. Drew Dewitt, rich, playboy cousin of the Blackthornes, is also on hand to help with the search. The mystery of why Kate was kidnapped, combined with some very menacing characters, the search in the snowy mountains with avalanches looming, and the ever daring and mischievous adventures of Sarah's young kids kept me turning the pages.I found it a little strange at first, that the women could think of making love while the children where missing, but the I think the tense and frightening situations, combined with ex-lovers and Drew and Sarah being thrown together with a passion, leads to them finding comfort in each other's arms(and beds).
It's a great follow up to Drew's story, and a nice little escape for a while. Adventure, mystery, suspense, and passion.If you are interested in the the others in this series and want to start at the beginning, you can either start with the Sisters of the Lone Star(adventures and passion in the old west) mentioned above, or the modern day Bitter Creek series, which include "The Cowboy", "The Texan","The Loner", and "The Price"(in order of events).
As always a most enjoyable read from Joan Johnston.Here is a large print edition:
The Rivals Large Print Next up in the series is
The Next Mrs. Blackthorne: A Bitter Creek Novel, the rest of Clay Blackthorne's story.Also if you are lucky you may be able to find:Bittercreek Set of Six - The Cowboy - The Texan - Loner - Price - Next Mrs. Blackthorn - Rivalsfrom an outside seller and pay only one time for shipping
Enjoy the read...Laurie
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I have every single book she' s ever written BUT..., September 7, 2004
This review is from: The Rivals (Mass Market Paperback)
I was a little disappointed in this book. AND I'M A HUGE JJ FAN. So it was really hard to write that last line. I don't know, it just didn't have the same magic as the first three. Even the Price wasn't that great. I mean it's not that they're bad, it's just getting too " who done it" for me. I guess I'm not a big muder mystery fan, maybe that's my problem. It's worth reading, I guess. But I threw it away after I finished it because I was so disappointed (and I have kept every single one of her other books). The Loner, The Cowboy and the Texan were awesome. I definetly suggest those. The Hawks Way books are awesome and all of her ones are awesome. Please believe me I'm a huge JJ fan, just kind of sad on this one, hate to give bad review, just being honest.
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