Dangerous Ground

Grant (Night Owl) shines in the heart-pounding romantic thriller that opens her Fiona Carver series. Archaeologist Fiona Carver and her crew are headed back to the site of an interrupted dig on remote Chiksook Island, Alaska. Newly joining them is supposed ornithologist Bill Lowell, whom Fiona mentally dubs Hot Bird Man. She has no way of knowing that “Bill” is actually famed wildlife photographer Dean Slater, who’s searching for his fraternal twin, Dylan, the crew’s missing volcanologist. Dean’s suspicions of foul play are quickly borne out when he and Fiona are abandoned by the others, left stranded on the island with a destroyed camp and no food or supplies. With someone working to sabotage them, Fiona and Dean must fight for their lives through extreme conditions—including a harrowing escape from a volcano. Grant makes time for nuanced characterization within the breakneck adventure, taking her protagonists through a series of heart-stopping twists. The story ends on a tantalizing tease of a cliff-hanger, but still doles out just desserts to good guys and bad guys alike. This page-turning romance is headed for many a keeper shelf. Agent: Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein, McIntosh & Otis. (Aug.)