It’s always, always, always great to catch up again with Samantha Kidd and the gang, especially oh-so-sexy husband Nick with those root-beer barrel brown eyes and that smile. Samantha is always surrounded by people that love her and have her back, even if they do get a little impatient with her tenacious personality at times. Nick is . . . well, Nick. Couldn’t ask for anything more there. And Samantha always manages to get herself involved in entertaining, funny, dangerous, over-the-top escapades that always seem to work out for the best. Things are a bit different this time out, though. Samantha seems to be having a confidence crisis, is far out of her element, and she feels left out and unable to fit in.

Nick’s father wants to buy a dude ranch and Samantha and Nick have gone with him for a week to check it out. This isn’t the stylish power couple outing she and Nick have become accustomed to in Ribbon, but she figures how hard can it be to put on some Western wear and kick back and relax? Turns out it’s a lot harder than she expected. Her wardrobe obviously doesn’t include dude ranch duds, so she borrows some blue jeans from her old pal/nemesis retired Detective Loncar. Yep, weird, but go with it for now. And it only gets weirder. When I said she was out of her element I wasn’t kidding. Right from the start she seems out of place: her clothes, her comments, her understanding of and assumptions about just what happens on a dude ranch. And for some reason almost everybody – ranch hands, guests, the owners - is not just unfriendly towards her but almost openly hostile. Even Nick’s dad, which made me a little irked with him for most of the book. No one wants her help, her opinion, her advice; they tell her to relax, read a book, take a nap.

When the owner is found dead and it looks like murder, here we go. Samantha is tenacious, determined, recklessly fearless and knows she will figure this out. Hopefully before someone kills her, right? Lots of clues, lots of suspicious people, lots of unexplained happenings – and lots of tender moments with Nick. A fast-moving, well-crafted plot, some surprises and a satisfying ending. Author Diane Vallere delivers as always. Recommend without hesitation.

Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy of Ranch Dressing. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review; all opinions are my own. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: read this book, read the rest of the series, and then read everything Vallere writes. Well worth it, trust me. ( )