★★★ ½ @katmartinauthor #TheLastGoodnight #NetGalley
Kicking off a new series, this is for suspense readers who also love cowboys. I am one of the very few romance readers who seem to be completely indifferent to cowboys. They don't do anything for me. I'm not interested nor aroused by them. Nothing about them appeals to me. I generally tend to avoid cowboy themes because they bore me. Why did I pick up this book? Because I saw the author name and ignored the blurb. This book is more romantic suspense with a cowboy love interest.
For me, every time I imagine a cowboy, Sam Elliot pops up in my head. I am unsure what Kade looks like based on Ms. Martin's descriptions because as soon as I realized Kade owned a ranch, all I saw was Sam Elliot. Which works for me because I liked Kade. He's a man just trying to find answers. He may be a bit old fashion with how he thinks of women and their place, but it isn't malicious. It is just what he is used to based on his experience. This is why I liked Ellie. She doesn't take it personally. Instead, she stays true to herself and it helps Kade change is mind with what a woman can or cannot do.
I found the romantic interaction and the process in solving the mystery to be interesting. The ending and the culprit for Kade's murdered wife was ... odd. It felt a little forced and didn't really make too much sense to me. As it it felt like the ties ins were very circumstantial and the motive whilst clear was just... odd. The set up was nicely done and I liked the red herrings. I just felt puzzled with the connections to Kade. I think in this instance, the romance is much stronger than the suspense aspect and I enjoyed it. This is a good start to a series which I'm going to guess revolves around cowboys and mysteries. I look forward to the next book in this series. There is a certain old world charm to it with men who are masculine and gentlemenly without being condescending. This romantic suspense is recommended to readers who like strong female leads and rugged cowboy love interests.
*provided by NetGalley
