Into Dust (The Montana Hamiltons Book 5)

FINAL DECISION: Action packed and very intriguing romantic suspense. There is more suspense than romance, but I enjoyed this one enough to want to read more of the series. A warning that the story is not self-contained.THE STORY: When Cassidy Hamilton, youngest daughter of potential US President, is almost kidnapped off the street, she is saved by cowboy Jack Durand. The two end up on the run trying to find out who wants Cassidy. The truth strikes close to home for both Cassidy and Jack as it appears that family might be at the heart of the danger that both are in. The conspiracy that the two tumbled into is decades old and people will kill to bring the conspiracy to fruition.OPINION: I really liked that the book began with immediate action. The book was very focused on the suspense portion of the story. There is a romance, but I wouldn't read the book for the romance alone because the focus of the story is the mystery suspense.The book is filled with overlapping stories and points of view which makes the book a big puzzle. I thought the book was filled with tension and drama and I worked to figure out who was being deceptive and who was honest.The suspense story is definitely the highlight. There is a lot going on here and I think it might have been even better if I had read the other books in the series.The romance between Jack and Cassidy was pretty predictable at first but wrapped in a very tension filled and dramatic storyline. I was completely surprised by how their romance ended up. The story is not complete here and the twist at the end might end up disappointing those looking for a pure romance. I ended up being completely enthralled by the story and definitely will be reading the next book to find out what happens.WORTH MENTIONING: This is the first book by B.J. Daniels that I have ever read, I thought it was good and I now want to read the Montana Hamiltons series from the beginning.CONNECTED BOOKS: INTO DUST is the fifth book in the Montana Hamiltons series. I have not read any of the other books in the series, but I was able to figure out most of what was going on. I suspect that the book would be even better if I had read the other books in the series.STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

This is the weakest of the series so far - a convoluted unbelievable plot - with unbelievable hero and heroine. BJ Daniels had the opportunity to present Cassidy and Jack's romance but in between the Sheriff's homocidal stepdaughter Tiffany (who was much more interesting than Cassidy!) and would-be suicidal former terrorist-leader Sarah the romance got completely lost. Readers who complained about the lack of chemistry and good dialogue are correct. The main characters had no impact on the story which was based solely on action driven by the characters of amnesiac suicidal Sarah and her former lover murderous terrorist now priestly (Holy) Joe. As exciting as the Tiffany, Joe, Sarah, evil money laundering terrorist fundraiser father of hero Jack, and the villeinous memory wiping terrorist Doctor storylines were, Jack and Cassidy became one-dimensional puppets when they needed to be more fleshed out. Jack was meant to be an ex-military sniper yet got captured way too easily and did not seek any help for the desperate situation they were in. Cassidy was sweet and weak but mostly stupid. She was able to phone an exbf but not her family? The amount of times she doesn't answer her phone is also amazing. Father of the heroine would surely be keeping better watch over her despite the heavy commitments of a political campaign. As for the unbelievable ending where the hero and heroine decide to work for the political campaign? Truly the author doesn't like her supposed main characters because she doesn't make them likable and interesting for the reader. The terror cell has much better and more likable characters in this story. And as good as the Tiffany cameo was, it would have been much better wrapped separately as a Christmas/bonus novella for the loyal fans - it highlighted the weaknesses in the story - the Harlequin Mira editorial team should have picked this up along with the typos in the kindle edition. This story is only worth reading for the furthering of the terror cell plotline and the Tiffany cameo as the supposed story line is more like a weak subplot. Surely the Harlequin Mira editorial team could do better with such a good writer? The previous novel 'Hard Rain' was much more carefully edited and I noticed no typos in that Kindle edition.

Don't get me wrong, I do like BJ Daniels. My problem is that the books start out as a series. I don't mind if it goes to four books but six or seven. I don't mind series books if they come one after another , with month in between. But when the books come with several months or a year between, I have to read the one before to get back up to speed. B J Daniels likes to have to have different stories going at once. Like the girl Tiffany, it was so drawn out that I didn't care about her anymore. The gripping story surrounding her was no longer a mystery. This is not said to keep you from reading the series, it is Good. But if you do, keep paper by you to jot down the events and to keep all the characters straight. Or you can wait and buy all books in series to read one after another.

The book came 2 days before scheduled. While you can read it alone, I highly recommend reading the series in order as there are many continuing story lines. I can't wait to get #6.

While I really enjoyed the story, buyer beware ….This is a “ TO BE CONTINUED” novel and so you are left hanging and need to move to the next book for resolution of this whole storyline and maybe more books since I’m “one and done” with this author and this novel.

This is one giant conspiracy. While it is a romantic suspense story, this one is all about suspense and a conspiracy some twenty plus years in the making. Ms. Daniels’ genius is in the plotting and it’s so complex it has taken several books to tell the tale—and it’s not done yet. Stay tuned for the final installment in the Hamiltons’ story.

While each of the Montana Hamiltons books have their own story arc, there is a common secondary storyline so I encourage you to read them in order. I did find though with exception to Lucky Shot, the main romance between the hero and heroine could have been explored more and the focus was more on the suspense side than romance. Still, a good read.

thanks

great read can not wait until the next book. Do not want the series to end.

I am enjoying reading this series of the Montana Hamilton's family, I am looking forward.to reading the next book when it comes out. I would recommend this series to anyone the story line grips you so you have to read it all before you can put it down. However

Intricately written story line but involving several members of the one family as well as the main characters. I found it difficult to keep putting it down. Looking forward to reading another book by this author.