Ransom is everything I read Julie Garwood for. For an author who claims not to read romance herself, she sure seems to know what romance readers are looking for.

If you've read The Secret then you'll surely remember Ramsey Sinclair and Brodick Buchanan, the Scottish Chieftains who are the focus of Ransom. As incredible as they are, so are their heroines.

In one horrific night, the child Gillian was separated from her beloved sister, and bore witness to her father's execution. The night her sister Christen disappeared, so did a jeweled box, and with it the proof of their father's innocence.

Two others have never forgotten the box: King John and his Baron Alford. John wants the box because it was created for the only woman he ever loved, and contains the key to her brutal murder. Baron Alford is determined to be the one to find it for him. Both men believe that Christen is the key to recovering the treasure, and that Gillian knows where Christen is.

As a grown woman, Gillian is a heroine of incomparable courage who longs to reunite with her long lost sister, and clear her father's name. She knows the danger she is in, and that she is not likely to survive this adventure. She's willing to accept this. But she doesn't count on Brodick Buchanan.

From the moment they meet, Brodick's and Gillian's plans conflict. All Gillian wants is to find the box and take it to Baron Alford, but Brodick cannot allow her to put herself in danger. His only thought is to protect the woman he is quickly growing to love.

This newest novel is Julie Garwood's best, and worth paying the hardcover price for. You'll appreciate it even more if you read The Secret first.

---K.D.