Wild Horses

Written by B.J. Daniels

Narrated by Graham Winton

It took only one impusive moment on an empty two-lane highway to cost her everything. A man's responsible for his own prosperity-especially if he's Cooper Barnett, the most determined cowboy in the West. No one knows what he sacrificed to claim a piece of Beartooth, Montana, for himself and his beautiful fiancEe, Livie. No one knows what he's willing to do for love.until a stranger's twisted vendetta threatens the happy ending they should've had long ago. One fateful mistake isn't the only secret Livie Hamilton is keeping from her fiancE. Victimized during a treacherous blizzard by a man she thought she could trust, she's pregnant.but unsure who the father is. With an unknown blackmailer threatening to expose her, she must confess to Cooper and trust he'll still protect her. But when the truth falls into place, she may lose the only man she's ever loved-or worse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490662008

B.J. Daniels

New York Times and USA Today bestselling authorB.J. Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and two springerspaniels. When not writing, she quilts, boats and always has a book or two to read. Contact her at www.bjdaniels.com, on Facebook at B.J. Daniels or through her reader group the B.J.Daniels' Big Sky Darlings, and on twitter at bjdanielsauthor.

Reviews for Wild Horses

[ticocharlie · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Horrible....absolutely horible!!! Could not finish. No more Dick Francis....PLEASE!!!

[bnielsen_30 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

England, Newmarket, ca 1980Filminstruktøren Thomas Lyon er på besøg ved en gammel ven Valentine Clark, der er ved at dø af knoglekræft. Manden er ikke helt klar i hovedet, men dog klar over at han snart skal dø og han bruger Thomas som skriftefar og siger noget om død og om en kniv, han gav til Derry. Og selv om Thomas ikke er en katolsk præst, kan han godt sige "Ego te absolvo". Så vidt så godt, men hvad med den viden, han fik i skriftet? Valentine boede sammen med sin søster Dorothea Pannier og han har skrevet testamente, så hun arver næsten alting, mens Thomas får bøger og papirer. Det er Dorotheas søn, Paul Pannier, ikke ret begejstret for og han er en arrogant og ubehagelig person, der også har planer for at flytte Dorothea på plejehjem, sælge huset og i det hele taget gøre alle forberedelser til at lægge hende i graven i utide.Thomas er ved at skyde en film med manuskript af en kendt forfatter, Howard Tyler, hvis bagvedliggende bog "Staldens gåde" bygger på en virkelig hændelse og har en åben slutning. Thomas vil hellere have en klar konklusion og dykker ned i den gamle hændelse, hvor en kvinde enten begik selvmord eller blev myrdet. Filmens producer hedder O'Hara, fotografen Moncrieff, filmens stjerne Nash Rourke.I den virkelige verden var det hestetræneren Jackson Wells, der fik sin karriere ødelagt af at hans kone blev fundet hængt og han selv mistænkt for at have gjort det. Galopselskabets bestyrelse talte en mand, der var gift med den hængtes søster, så det hjalp ikke på noget.Handlingen tager fart, da Dorothea tilsyneladende overrasker en indbrudstyv og bliver banket og slået trekvart ihjel med en stor kniv. Hun bliver reddet, men bøgerne og papirerne er væk. Nogen overfalder Nash's stuntman med samme kniv, men taber den i flugten. Det er en kopi af en skyttegravskniv fra første verdenskrig. Giftige avisartikler truer også med at ødelægge Thomas, der til gengæld får et bedre forhold til både Nash og Tyler. Thomas bliver selv stukket med en ækelt stor og bred kniv, en Fury, men han har garderet sig nogenlunde med et korset og skal bare lige syes lidt bagefter. Værre er det for Paul Pannier, som bliver stukket ihjel i sin mors hus.Inden har Thomas fået talt med moderen, Dorothea, og fået at vide at hun havde gemt bøger og papirer ved en bekendt.Lægen Robbie Gill har checket hvem i området, der er eksperter i knive, og har fundet en pensioneret professor Meredith Derry. Thomas kontakter Derry og får at vide at alle tre knive er ulovlige i Storbritannien siden 1988, så de er formentlig ulovligt importeret fra USA.Thomas kigger papirerne fra Dorothea igennem og finder dels henvisninger til autoerotik, parafili og seksuel ophidselse under kvælning og dels et gammelt billede, hvor Jackson Wells, Sonia Wells, Ridley Wells, Paul Pannier, Roddy Visborough og P. Falmouth står samlet i en yngre udgave. Thomas gætter at Sonias død var et uheld og at Jackson var bortrejst da det skete, men at han og alle de andre dækkede over det. Jackson bekræfter det og siger også at det var jockeyen P. G. Falmouth, der kvalte Sonia ved et uheld. Thomas har en ide om at Valentine dengang slog Falmouth ihjel og at det aldrig er blevet opdaget.Thomas bruger Lucy til at lokke Roddy Visborough til og det lykkes så godt at Thomas bliver skåret ret slemt inden han får overmandet Roddy.Politiet er ikke overbevist om de motiver, Roddy har haft til overfaldene, men de får ikke at vide at den gamle skandale er den virkelige årsag. Roddy var med i det, der skulle være endt med seksuelt samkvem med hans moster Sonia. Og lige den hemmelighed ville ikke være rar at få frem.Thomas gætter på at P. G. Falmouth blev slået ihjel af Valentine med en speciel kniv, som Derry fik som gave og at Falmouth ligger i en gammel brønd på Valentines grund. Det røber han ikke, men han får optaget og klippet en fænomenal god slutning ind i sin film, hvor han blander hængningen med en folk vilde hestes ridt.Ok bog om filmmagere og skuespillere og lidt om heste

[tripleblessings_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Movie director Thomas Lyon comes to Newmarket to shoot a film about a long-ago scandal, and finds the past still dangerous. Interesting descriptions of a film director's work, good suspense.

[ffortsa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Francis's usual mix of professional something and amateur sleuth gets a little mired in the business of movie-making, but still delivers a satisfying mystery, along with some gruesome details about combat knives.

[reannon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent novel from Dick Francis. Thomas Lyon is a director working on a film involving a mysterious death that happened many years ago. Lyon feels that if he solves the mystery it will make a better ending for his movie. Well-plotted, good characterization. Highly recommended.

[mrshillreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

OK, I admit it--I like books that are about horses in some way or another. I guess I never got over all those Black Stallion books I read as a kid. Anyway, I enjoyed this book.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not one of my favorites, but excellent none-the-less. Interesting insight into film-making - both the practicalities and the politics. The way he tries to solve the mystery, mostly so that the film _won't_ be correct, is great - he doesn't want to stir up old troubles. The scene where he shows the daughter the characters in the movie and urges her not to identify them with the actual people involved is great. Good, interesting, well-written (well, it is a Francis!), just doesn't quite catch me. Glad I read it again, though.

[scoutmomskf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an exciting and complicated book. It starts when Livie, having had an argument with her fiance, Cooper, drives off in a huff into a worsening snowstorm. She ends up driving into a ditch, from which a stranger rescues her. Later we find out that she wakes up naked in bed with no idea how she got there or what happened. Three months later, she's receiving blackmail threats, things are still rocky between her and Cooper, and she's three months pregnant with no idea who the father is. To say that she is in turmoil would be an understatement. She knows she has to tell him, but she's worried about how he'll take it. She loves him and doesn't want to lose him.Cooper is the head wrangler on Livie's father's ranch. After some rough years as a teenager he pulled his life together and has made something of himself. He's got some land of his own and a few wild mustangs that he's training. He's loved Livie since the first time he met her and sometimes has trouble believing that she loves him too. He knows that people are saying that he's marrying her for her money and is determined to prove them all wrong, to the point where he refuses to accept any of the help that her father offers. It doesn't help that he knows her sisters don't think that he's good enough for her. Ever since their argument back in January, he's had a feeling that there's something wrong, and when she finally tells him he doesn't know what to think.At this point, both Livie and Cooper are in pain and both are somewhat responsible. Livie should have told him what happened as soon as she got back, instead of pretending everything was fine. She compounded the problem when she didn't tell him about the pregnancy or the blackmail notes, leaving him feeling like she neither loves nor trusts him. On the other hand, if Cooper hadn't been so proud and unwilling to bend even a little, Livie might have felt more comfortable going to him right away. I did like the fact that once he recovered from the shock, Cooper was determined to track down the mysterious man and get to the bottom of the trouble. But it turns out to be more complicated than either expected.The house she was taken to doesn't belong to the blackmailer, but there may be a connection to the lady of the house. The man turns up in Beartooth, but claims he's not blackmailing her, never slept with her, only drugged her so she could sleep. After the man confronts Livie while she's alone, Cooper goes looking for him. The next day, the man is found dead and Cooper accused of his murder. Adding another layer of stress to the relationship between Cooper and Livie, his former girlfriend wants him back and will do anything to make it happen. One of Livie's rejected suitors also gets in on the action. Livie's father, Senator Buckmaster Hamilton, has spoiled his six daughters since the death of their mother twenty-two years earlier, trying to make up for her loss by giving them what they want. He married again, but Angelina wasn't interested in being a mother, just advancing her husband's political career. Now that he's a possible candidate for president, she's worried about how all these problems will affect their plans. Things get even more complicated when his first wife, Sarah, turns up, very much alive, but with amnesia. She claims she just wants a chance to get to know her daughters, but people are skeptical. Angelina is furious, but how far is she willing to go to protect her husband's political career?The tension and surprises just kept building throughout the book. With the problems they were having, I really wasn't sure at the beginning just how good a chance Cooper and Livie had to make a go of their relationship. It wasn't easy, but they did manage to earn back each other's trust, and belief in their future. As for the blackmailer and the murderer, there were several twists that kept me guessing as to who it might be. I had a feeling about the identity, but I couldn't figure out the why and the how until almost the end. There was also a last bit of a threat to Livie's life, where only her ability to stay calm in a crisis kept her safe until Cooper could come to her rescue. While the mystery of the threat to Livie is solved by the end of the book, the questions of Sarah's return carry over into the next book. I also enjoyed the appearances of various characters from the Beartooth, Montana series, especially Sheriff Frank Curry. He is the lawman in charge of the murder investigation and the questions surrounding Sarah's return from the dead. There is a glimpse into his continuing issue with the young woman who tried to kill him.

[b.j.o. · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 "Blackmailing Montana Royalty" Stars for the story and narration! Wow, this book is sure to keep you guessing with it's numerous suspense-filled sub-plots, one of which appears to arc over the entire series. Wild Horses is the first in a 6-book series which will feature the extremely wealthy Hamilton family of Beartooth, Montana, who made their money in ranching. The patriarch of the family, Buckmaster Hamilton, is a US Senator, who many have pegged with White House aspirations, and each book features the love life of one of his six daughters.In the case of Wild Horses, we learn the story of Livie Hamilton, and her fiance, Cooper Burnett, who is a rancher who works for Livie's father. As you can imagine, the differences in their socioeconomic backgrounds, and a number of past secrets intermingle to threaten Livie's and Cooper's HEA. Intermixed within this story is the story of Livie's mother, who disappeared from the Hamilton mansion over 22-years ago. Each family member has a different way of coping with this tragedy, but there is no doubt that even two decades later, this great mystery is still having its impact on the family. Further adding intrigue to the whole plot is a meddling, step-mother who stepped into Livie's mother's shoes, but never cared much for her step-daughters, just the potential long reach of her husband's political career.Further complementing this story is the solid narration by Graham Winton. Mr. Winton does a fabulous job of coloring this story with the appropriate western drawl that would no doubt be prevalent in Montana. Additionally, Mr. Winton generally did a good job of varying his intonation to provide distinguishable voices for each of the many characters, allowing the listener to sit back and enjoy the story without having to overly rely on dialogue tags. In fact, you could practically hear some of the personality traits dripping from his characterizations of a number of the characters, including, for example, the scheming, socialite, political ladder climbing tendencies of Buckmaster's second wife. Mr. Winton also did a good job of communicating the particular mood of the scene. By, for example, increasing the speed of his delivery during the more heightened suspense scenes, and drawing out some of the parts where the effect was to add to the allure of the mystery. All in all, I was pleased with Mr. Winton's performance and look forward to listening to more of his works in the future. Wow, revenge, blackmail, love, and unexplained mysteries abound in this fantastic western romantic suspense title! The only reason I'm giving Wild Horses four, rather than five, stars is because I was anxiously awaiting the unraveling of the remaining mystery (ie, the one I hinted to above, which I now realize, will likely arc the whole series), and was so shocked to find that it was not resolved at the end of the book. But that means that now I am even more anxious to explore more of the Hamilton family's secrets and desires. Fortunately for me, Book 2, Lone Rider, just released earlier this week!Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

[lrhubble · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Contemporary, Romantic SuspenseBeartooth, Montana One impulsive moment on a two-lane highway cost Livie Hamilton more than she could imagine. Cooper Barnett is a determined cowboy that feels a man is responsible for his own prosperity. What he has sacrificed to get a piece of Beartooth, Montana for himself and his fiancée, Livie, no one could know or guess. What he is willing to do for love no one knows. At least until someone’s twisted vendetta threatens their happy ending, one that should have happened long ago. Livie is keeping more than one secret from her fiancé. One fateful mistake is just the beginning. She was victimized during a blizzard by a man she mistakenly thought she could trust. Now she is pregnant and isn’t sure who the father is. With the threat of exposure by a blackmailer, she now must confess all to Cooper and trust that he will still protect her. When the truth comes out she might end up losing the only man she has ever loved or something even worse.This is part of a series set in and around the small town of Beartooth that makes for a wonderful return to the town and population. It will have readers wondering how it is possible to have so much happening in such a small town but makes for a series that is fun and interesting to revisit time and time again. It has plenty of action and suspense that the reader will never guess just what is going to happen next. It will also have readers hoping for more from Beartooth. While the story can easily be read as a standalone readers will find it much better if they read the other books in the series first. Readers who enjoy westerns or contemporaries will find an amazing series in this one. Even readers that don’t enjoy westerns will find themselves loving this series. It is definitely one to check out.Received a review copy.

[mybookaddiction_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

WILD HORSES by B. J. Daniels is an interesting Romance, Mystery & Thrillers.The Montana Hamiltons #1 Fast paced tale of secrets, mystery, danger, passion, romance, Blackmail, and true love. An interesting tale, with engaging characters. The secrets and blackmail is amazing with many twists and turns. Oh, I did forget to mention murder? Well, the readers will find many intriguing things about WILD HORSES, not just passion, romance and love but life's complications, and the wild ride to finding your HEA. I enjoyed how Cooper Barnett and Livie Hamilton come to terms with all the secrets, danger, passion and blackmail. A well written story, with vivid descriptions and a passionate romance. I would suggest picking up WILD HORSES for your reading pleasure.*Received for an honest review*Rating: 4Heat rating: MildReviewed by: AprilR. courtesy of My Book Addiction and More