3-1/2 stars.
A solid romantic suspense read. The heroine was nice and spunky. She had moments where she might have tipped over into TSTL but the author saved it by not making the stuff she did too dangerous and setting the whole thing up really well that she was determined to save her sister. The hero was hot and was one of those guys who knew how to do what he did and he was good at it. He wasn't an alpha jerk just really competent.

The story made sense and the suspense element held together really well. It had a lot of them actually working to figure out the mystery so that solving it in the end seemed way more realistic than is sometimes the case in RS books. The action moved along rapidly and kept my interest throughout. ( )

Angel works in a strip club while trying to find her missing sister. Johnnie is a PI who can't get her out of his mind. They partner up to see what they can dig up on Rachel & if she is dead or alive. Their chemistry is off the charts but they are very different people.

Lots of interesting side characters and lots of danger.

Another good Raines of Wind Canyon stories. ( )

Amy Brewer a kindergarten teacher from Michigan. When her sister goes missing in CA she takes up a job at the Kitty Cat Club where her sister worked under the name Angel Fontaine to try and find out what happened to her.

Johnnie Riggs is a former Army Ranger with a PI license. Johnnie is friends with Trace Rollins (the hero of Against the Storm) who owns his own security firm and occasionally helps him out with jobs. He is currently trying to track down a guy that skipped bail. This leads him to the Kitty Cat Club where he becomes intrigued with Angel.

When Amy/Angel finds out who Johnnie really is she decides she is going to use his attraction to her to try and get him to help her find her sister. But this doesn’t go so well as Johnnie had a gut feeling Angel isn’t who she says she is and when Angel finally breaks down and confesses who and what she really is he is still attracted but doesn’t want to be. But he does give in and says he will help her in her search for her sister.

What he doesn’t count on is Amy not sitting on the sidelines as he does the investigating. She wants to be there every step of the way not matter how dangerous it is.

This takes them all over California and even to Belize where things really get hairy.

Her sister Rachael had gotten herself involved with the wrong man and found out something she wasn’t supposed to which then had her handed over to a very sick man.

I really liked Amy and Johnnie as a couple. There romance throughout the book was very hot.

We get to see some of the previous characters in this book which was nice and get to meet more of the guys that work for Dev and Trace who will hopefully have there own stories in the future.
( )

Good story. Amy is a kindergarten teacher masquerading as an exotic dancer in an attempt to find her missing sister. Johnnie is a PI who has come to the club to catch a bail jumper. He notices her right away and can't get her out of his mind. When he meets her he quickly realizes that she is not what she appears to be and is further fascinated. Amy has noticed him also, and when she finds out what he does is determined to ask him to help her find her sister.

I loved the two of them together. Johnnie is an ex-Ranger who is very good at what he does. He takes on Amy's case because of his fascination with her, but quickly gets invested in truly finding out what happened. He is very much the protective, alpha kind of guy who ends up at a loss at how to deal with Amy. He can't get her out of his mind, even though he avoids getting emotionally close to any woman. He has lost people he cared for, and done things that haunt him, so feels that he is better off alone. He tries very hard to keep Amy's involvement in the case to a minimum, but can't deny her when she insists on being involved every step of the way.

Amy feels pretty overwhelmed by what she is doing, but she is determined to find her sister. Exotic dancing is something that is way out of her experience, but the longer she does it the more comfortable she is. When she first sees Johnnie she is attracted to him, but is very wary because of who and what he is. She really wants his help in finding her sister and asks him anyway. I loved the way that she refused to be sidelined in the investigation and made sure that Johnnie kept her involved. There were times she took some risks that could have turned out badly, but her own strengths saved her. Her attraction to Johnnie quickly turns to stronger feelings, but she sees no future in it. She knows he won't/can't commit and she'll be going back to teaching at the end of the summer anyway.

The romance between Johnnie and Amy is hard fought. Johnnie sees both the sweet and innocent Amy and the sexy Angel. He really wants her and finds that his feelings for her are more than he's ever felt for anyone before. He's convinced he's not good enough for her and resists thinking about a future with her. He doesn't see how well suited she is for him, with her ability to stand up for herself. I loved seeing the way that he was frequently confused by the fact that she so easily got her way. Amy falls hard for Johnnie, but doesn't see how her life can mesh with his. She spends a lot of time thinking about what it will be like to have to go back home when this is done. I loved seeing her insist on taking an active part in the investigation, not just sitting back and waiting for Johnnie to do the work. I really loved the scene where she showed him she could defend herself. I loved how she blew away some of his preconceived ideas. I liked the way that she had the courage to tell Johnnie how she felt. There was awhile when I wondered just how long it would take for them to realize that they could be together.

The suspense part of the story kept me intrigued. There were so many threads that had to come together before the whole picture was revealed. There were some villains that were clear from the beginning, but there were a couple that I never saw coming. I really enjoyed the appearances of characters from previous books and their involvement in helping Johnnie. The resolution of Rachael's disappearance didn't wait until the end, but there was more to the story after she was found which made a nice change. ( )

Against the Night by kat Martin

Johnnie does PI work for several companies also the police department as his sister was killed in action. Amy, a kindergarten teacher, off for the summer, came to town to find her sister who had disappeared a few weeks earlier. She is posing as an exotic
dancer at the same place her sister worked at. She rooms with the same person also as she follows leads as to what could've happened to her sister. Johnny agrees to help her and she finds herself in harms way several times and he has to come to her rescue.
He, being an ex-Ranger is also very good friends with Trace Rawlins-in previous books in this series.
Hopefully Sol, his computer geek friend will find some information about Rachel's disappearance.
Together they start to question those who knew her sister to get some more leads to follow in hopes they can find her alive. There is some hot steamy sex in this book that blends in with what's going on.
Love the places this book/series takes you to, it's a whole other world and I've never been and it's good to see things through their eyes. Lot of action that goes along with finding her sister.
Even though I did miss one book in this series when othes are introduced you are given information to bring you up to date if you knew them from before. Smooth transition.
A lot of things happen to bring them back to the States and Amy's mom comes to spend some time in California also to help out. Amy knows at the end of summer she has to go back to Michigan to teach, although she is in love with Johnnie. She doesn't want to alter his life. ( )