First published 2010
Mags Rogers drives her silver Camaro toward Wings Ranch with her wirehaired dachshund Baxter riding shotgun. She's fleeing the wreckage of her Wall Street career to start over with her great-aunt Jeep, a spry octogenarian who flew planes in World War II and discovered major gold deposits. The ranch sits in Red Rock Valley, where someone just bombed the water pumping station. Deputy Pete Meadows suspects the sabotage connects to recent local murders, but he can't tell if corporate interests or eco-terrorists are responsible. Then workers dig up human bones in Jeep's barn. The skeleton belongs to a Russian military officer from the 1800s who died by knife wound. Mags starts investigating the century-old murder and uncovers ranch history tied to Buffalo Bill. She and Pete find themselves drawn to each other while solving multiple mysteries. Baxter teams up with Jeep's German Shepherd mix King to protect their humans, despite King's opinion that Baxter resembles a fuzzy sausage. Jeep plans something big for Red Rock Valley that will involve them all.
Genres: romance, adventure, suspense, mystery
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Red Rock Valley, Russia, Wall Street, Wings Ranch
Period: 1800s, 20th-century, 21st-century
267 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books