"Fun Texas contemporary romance"

Paleontologist cataloguer and single mom Lyndsey Attwood misses her daughter, who is spending the summer with her father, Geoff, the first time the absent dad has been with his eight years old daughter. Her twin sister Laura recognizes that her sibling is lonely so asks her to spend time with in San Saline, Texas. Knowing she cannot face her walls without Sydney, Lyndsey takes leave and travels from Denver.

In Texas, Laura's reporter pal Collie Collins (see TEXAS COOKING), asks Lindsey to go undercover by pretending to attend a horse psychology seminar in order to help her solve a mystery involving missing dinosaur tracks on a local ranch. Lindsey meets and begins to fall in love with former veterinarian cowboy Zach Truitt; he reciprocates. However, she has doubts about relationships with males having been burned once before.

The latest Big Lizard Bottoms tale is a fun Texas contemporary romance with a mystery subplot that never really matters as the missing dinosaur tracks takes a back seat to the relationship drama. The story line is driven by the antics of the zany secondary cast, who help the Rocky Mountain visitor learn about Texas high life where trust is more important than anything else whether it is with horse or human.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 25, 2005

Summary

Big Lizard Bottoms—where getting hitched is a local industry—is not any place Lindsey Attwood, a play-it-safe paleontologist who's sworn off romance, ever expected to find herself. She's here posing as a horse psychology student to help recover dinosaur tracks stolen from a local guest ranch. After only a day at the ranch, things start spiraling out of control. Her horse-therapy horse hates her, she's been adopted by a huge stray dog with a bad reputation, and there's this local rancher who has her all moonstruck. After years of digging around in the past, Lindsey's wondering if it's finally time to see what the present has to offer.