The Texan

March 15, 2001
The second in Johnston's Bitter Creek contemporary romance series (following " The "Cowboy, 2000) is full of adventure as Texas Ranger Owen Blackthorne and veterinarian Bayleigh Creed team up to save their brothers, who seem to be involved in the theft of some deadly VX nerve agent mines. Bay's younger brother Luke accuses Owen's brother, Clay, the state attorney general, of being involved in the highjacking of the mines, then disappears into the vast desert of the Big Bend wilderness. Bay goes after him, accompanying the man whose family was responsible for the murder of her father. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Bay's widowed mother and Owen's dad are in love, so he has to divorce the wife who cheated on him and orchestrated the murder of Bay's father. And Owen's younger sister is also involved in a problematic love affair. This sprawling, sensuous romance will keep readers avidly reading as Johnston's characters struggle against seriously deranged foes and face seemingly insurmountable obstacles to true love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)