Dangerous Refuge: A Novel

Written by Elizabeth Lowell

Narrated by Betsy Zajko

Beautiful, sweet Shay and dark, dangerous Tanner don′t have a lot in common. He′s a suspicious big city cop come home to his family′s ranch and she′s a bleeding heart who works for a group that seeks out ranches to conserve after the owners have passed away.

But the suspicious death of Tanner′s uncle at his ranch throws the two opposites together and sparks fly.

Working as a pair, using Shay′s sweet personality and town connections, as well as Tanner′s experience, they set out to find justice -- they never expected to find love along the way as well.

They both say it will just be temporary but when Shay is put in danger, Tanner realizes that he′ll give up just about anything to save the woman he loves. But will he have to sacrifice his life to save hers?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062263131

Elizabeth Lowell

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell has more than eighty titles published to date with over twenty-four million copies of her books in print. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, with whom she writes novels under a pseudonym. Her favorite activity is exploring the Western United States to find the landscapes that speak to her soul and inspire her writing.

Reviews for Dangerous Refuge

[grumpydan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rancher Lorne David is found dead on his property by Shaye Townsend who represents the Ranch Conservancy. The Conservancy was in the process of acquiring the ranch when Lorne passed away. He was in his eighties and everyone figures he died a natural death until his nephew Tanner, an LA copy and executor of is estate comes up to settle the estate. He knows it is murder and starts investigating. Shaye and Tanner butt heads, wanting a different outcome, yet both want to find the truth. The story begins with the discovery of Lorne’s body and the mystery escalates. When Shaye and Tanner first meet, she rubs him the wrong way. I enjoyed how the suspense builds and the how the two protagonists’ relationship develops, but felt that the romance was too contrived. The plot was what interested me in the first place. I know it is a romance novel, but that didn’t click with me.

[ftbooklover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elizabeth Lowell really knows how to write romantic suspense. This book isn't extremely dynamic, but it does have a nice pace and good balance between the romance and the suspense. The two main characters were very likeable, and the suspense story was very believable. There were some loose ends left at the conclusion of the story, so I hope that the town of Refuge gets another visit from Elizabeth Lowell.

[mrslabraden · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elizabeth Lowell really knows how to write romantic suspense. This book isn't extremely dynamic, but it does have a nice pace and good balance between the romance and the suspense. The two main characters were very likeable, and the suspense story was very believable. There were some loose ends left at the conclusion of the story, so I hope that the town of Refuge gets another visit from Elizabeth Lowell.

[phenshaw-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although at times formulaic, Lowell’s (Beautiful Sacrifice, 2012) latest touches on issues plaguing the West. After crusty Nevada rancher Lorne Davis dies, his nephew and only living relative, Tanner, an L.A. homicide detective, comes to the funeral and reading of the will. Tanner learns his uncle was about to disinherit him and give the ranch to a nature conservancy. But while Shayne, the uncle’s conservancy contact, was out of town, Shayne’s boss presented Lorne with a contract he didn’t like and refused to sign. When Tanner visits the ranch and finds Lorne’s stash of gold coins missing, he becomes suspicious about Lorne’s seemingly natural death. While the will is probated, Tanner shares his thoughts with Shayne, and together they begin to look into Lorne’s last days. Using many of the standard clichés of romantic suspense, many of which she used in the 1990s, Lowell builds a love story between two independent people who ultimately love the land but must defeat a killer to keep it.— Pat Henshaw

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elizabeth Lowell writes great romantic suspense novels and DANGEROUS REFUGE was no exception. LA homicide detective Tanner Davis comes home after the unexpected death of his uncle Lorne. Shaye Townsend found his body. She had been working with him to try to convince him to leave his land to the Ranch Conservatory program after his death. However, her airhead boss Kimberli brought Lorned the wrong contract and made him so angry that he was on the verge of signing the papers backing out of the deal when he died.Tanner hears about what Shaye saw when she discovered Lorne's body and his homicide cop instincts told him that the death was suspicious. The County Sheriff, a political hack, determined that Lorne died of natural causes. Tanner, with Shaye's help, decides to investigate on his own.Their investigation turn up all sorts of shady characters including the politician who wants to use the governorship of Nevada as a stepping stone to the White House, the developer who had plans that included Lorne's land, the casino owner who wanted to build a bigger and better casino, and Shaye's boss who was pretty stupid but really easy to manipulate. Shaye and Tanner compliment each other nicely. He has the tough edges and the skill at investigations; she has the tact and connections that gain access to the people Tanner wants to talk to. They are intrigued with each other but Shaye is at home in Refuge, Nevada and Tanner's home is LA. The story was exciting and the climactic chase through the deserted heights near Refuge where Shaye is trying to get away from the man who wants to murder her and Tanner is racing against time to catch up was heart-pounding.I recommend this title to fans of romantic suspense.

[bookbetch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the plot. I liked the setting. I liked the characters. I especially liked the idea of Tanner Davis.. sexy police officer, who doesn’t love that image? The sex was steamy (pun intended.. Read the book). It just could have all been condensed… Another editorial failing. Many of the sentences and paragraphs were strong, but the supporting framework was weakly managed. And, and, and I HATED the inner monologue interruptions… Ain’t nobody got time for that. I found myself, for the second time in as many books, doing something that I almost never do: skipping text. I had to. I was bored. I kept having to stop reading because i was falling asleep; I am a person who stays up all night reading. This was foreboding. I just couldn’t get fully into it. Maybe the pieces were off, maybe it was too little mystery, too little romance, and too much background/ general knowledge information.Anyway, the price was right, the characters were fun and quirky, and overall it was interesting enough. This book didn’t anger me, and it didn’t make me fall in love.. What it offered was much more dangerous—apathy.