The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin
1st in the Blood Ties series. Romantic suspense.
Kade hires a private investigator to search again for any information that may be found on his years ago murdered wife. Ellie has ranch experience so goes undercover as the ranch cook. When trouble starts, Kade and Ellie investigate.

There is a strong and immediate attraction between Kade and Ellie. And without spoiling, there are a lot of hot and sexy times with this couple.
Ellie is methodical in talking to people from the past for the investigation. She is friendly and gets people to open up and share.
One of the first scenes for Kade really turned me off of the hero.
There is a very minor secondary romance in this story that was very sweet and had one of those awwwww moments. Loved that.

Excerpt:
“I haven’t cooked for a while,” she said. “But it’s kind of like riding a horse. Once you’re back in the saddle, you remember how to do it.”
He clamped down on the heat those words generated and the stirring in his loins beneath the table. He’d like to give Ms. Ellie Bowman a ride—the kind neither of them would soon forget.”
Excerpt from The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Ok let me start this review by saying if you aren't for vivid descriptions of sex and sec organs I would advise you avoid like the plague ha.

Kade is a prominent man in his town, his wife was killed 8 years prior and the trail has run cold. With her car being found recently Kade hires Eleanor to work undercover and investigate to find the truth.

I didn't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. I liked that we went from Kade's to Eleanor's point of view throughout the book. Other than the fact both were sex obsessed it helped break up the intensity of the main storyline the murder. We also have them investigating other crimes that are happening currently the question is what like do they have to the murder, if any?

Both characters are interesting in their own way ir would of been nice to have a bit more strength behind each one. At pints they were a bit dense and it would of been nice to have a bit more to them. However I still liked both of our protagonist and I found myself routing for them both in different ways. Along with some of the side characters Maria the other cook I loved her especially in the latter part of the book.
I wanted to know mire about how Eleanor became an investigator espically ad they refer to her ad a detective and that confused me at points.

All in all the storyline was good and I found myself ad the book progresses hoping there would be more to follow, which there are Eleanor was differently my preferred protagonist but she did at points seem to be a hopeless woman yet she was so fiercely independent. The prose is written well and flows in a way that makes sense there was good description allowing you to paint a picture as you read .

I rate the book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thanks to netgalley, the author and publishers for the advanced digital copy of the last goodnight in exchange for my fair and honest opinions.

Kat Martin has delivered another intense, tightly-woven romantic suspense story to launch her new series. This one kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly flipping pages, and still trying to figure out all the answers right up until the big reveal. I'm pretty good at figuring out mysteries but there were so many (feasible) red herrings in this one that I just wasn't sure who the villain was. I love it when an author accomplishes that!

Kade and Ellie were both complex, well-developed characters who had immediate chemistry but also matched one another well in strength, determination, a love of the land, and pure grit. There were some red flags from Kade in the early stages of their relationship: jealousy, and some uber-alpha tendencies that felt a bit old school. They gave me pause but by the end of the book those issues had been addressed and I felt confident in Ellie's and Kade's future.

If you enjoy tightly-crafted, western romantic suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat, bring plenty of action, and keep you guessing until the end, check out The Last Goodnight. I read it in one sitting and am now eager to find out what Kat Martin has planned for Kade's brothers.

4.5 stars
ARC received for fair and unbiased review

The Last Goodnight is an excellent full-length beginning to Martin's new series. The characters are well developed and likeable. The pace of the story corresponds well with the needs of the plot; there are plenty of thought-provoking moments, along with the mystery and suspense. The advanced copy I received had some unfortunate typos, including misidentification of characters, as well as some grammatical errors. Hopefully these issues will be resolved in final editing before mass publication. Some readers may find repetitive turns of phrase or descriptions distracting. While not bothersome when in dialogue between characters or the internal thoughts of a character, repetitive use can become cliche and distract from the overall story. Overall, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next book in the series.

I absolutely loved this book. I’m a huge fan of Kat Martin’s books and she never disappoints.
When Kade Logan said goodbye to his estranged wife eight years ago, he never thought it would be the last time he saw her alive. Now her car has been hauled out of a nearby lake and Kade is determined to track down the man who murdered her. Enter Eleanor Bowman, a talented private investigator who’s about to stir up a hornet’s nest on his Colorado ranch.
With old scandals still buzzing about his late wife’s many affairs and new violence erupting, Kade is faced with the discovery of another beautiful woman’s body. Are the two killings linked? Who is the man who seduced, then murdered both victims? Ellie believes they are dangerously close to the truth.
This story has a lot of amazing, powerful moments. I loved the relationship between Kade and Ellie. It’s honest, emotional and insanely hot. They have this amazing chemistry that’s right on the pages. This is a page turner and the mystery is really good. I couldn’t stop reading. The characters are strong and deep. I really enjoyed the side characters, too. Especially Maria and Alejandro.
It´s easy to read and I totally recommended it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's been a while since I read a good romantic suspense book! Both Kade and Ellie were interesting characters, but I will admit that I ended up loving Ellie more! She was determined, intelligent and strong! While Kade was amazing as well, he did get a little too alpha male at times!⁣

Anyway I did love the chemistry between them! It's insta-attraction but I'm always cool with that when the relationship development is done well and it worked out properly here! The mystery was also really good and had me turning the pages! I had the bad guy figured out by 60% but I loved all the twists and turns!⁣

Thanks to @katmartinauthor & @kensingtonbooks for the ARC!

Ms. Martin kicks off a new romantic suspense series in Colorado with a car belonging to a dead woman being pulled out of a lake. Kade Logan was at the point of divorcing his wife when she supposedly ran away with her lover. With this latest piece of evidence it's clear that she didn't actually run away but instead met her death at the hand of a murderer.
Kade hires the Nighthawk Security agency to help him investigate the case. Eleanor comes in undercover to work as a cook at the ranch. Soon after she arrives another body shows up and now the local police is viewing this as a serial killer rather than a random solitary murder. In parallel it appears as though someone is targeting Kade and there are random attacks against him, the ranch hands or his cattle.
As Kade and Eleanor work together on investigating the more recent murder and look for parallels to Kade's wife's murder they also start to explore their sexual chemistry. In the meantime Eleanor has inadvertently put herself in the cross hairs of the killer and danger is now stalking her.
This is the type of romantic suspense novel that I totally enjoy.

The Last Goodnight is another great suspenseful book by Kat Martin. Kade Logan’s wife’s car has been found after it has been missing for eight years but her body was found six years ago. The suspicions and rumors are emerging again.

He hires an investigator from Nighthawk and is surprised when they send him Eleanor Bowman. She is a very talented investigator and takes a position as a cook at his ranch. They fight their attraction while trying to find the murderer.

Kat Martin is a talented writer. She brings all of her experience to this book incorporating murder, mystery, suspense with some romance. I loved this book and hope there are more and this book is a start to a new series.

Perfect way to introduce a new series and make a reader want to see more books in it! Kade Logan said goodbye to his wife eight years ago but he never expected for that to be the last time he saw her alive. Her car has now been found and fished out of a local lake and Kade wants to know who murdered her and why. Eleanor Bowman is a private investigator who is now involved in the investigation into her death, and she is stirring up trouble. Old scandals are coming to light and now a new woman's body has been found. Which raises the question of whether the two murders are linked or just a coincidence. And the closer Ellie gets to the truth, the more danger stalks her.

I really enjoyed this book. Not only is there a great plot and suspense story but there is also this beautiful romance that comes about during it all. Honestly, Kade is definitely alpha, possessive, and has a big jealous streak. But he needs a strong woman who isn't afraid of that and knows the reasons behind it. And Ellie is that woman for him. They compliment each other in ways that for a lot of people it wouldn't work, but for them it was perfect. The suspense was something that kept me guessing and I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. And I don't want to say a lot about it because I don't want to wreck it, but it definitely kept me reading! If you like romantic suspense books, then you will definitely like this story!

Nothing I enjoy more than a smart cowboy giving his trust to an intelligent independent woman. Ellie was sent to work for Kade, attempting to solve his wife’s eight year old murder. Nothing is ever quite so simple. Things on the ranch are dangerous as someone is holding a grudge. Ellie’s a wicked smart PI with great instincts and loves being back in the country. Kade, despite past issues with his wife, is determined to get justice. While this book is perfect for the mystery lover, it’s quite suspenseful and intensely romantic. This is part of a series for the Logan brothers, the prequel was an off shoot with the security guy helping Kade. The others sound like they were written for Gage and Edge Logan. I’ve found Kat Martin a wonderful writer and I was pleased to receive an early copy.

The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin
Blood Ties #1

Wanting to finally find out what happened to his murdered wife, Kade Logan hires a PI working for Nighthawk Security to come to his ranch and start an investigation. It is not the first investigation that has been made but eight years after she went missing her car has been found and it triggers a desire to put it all to rest once and for all. The investigator suggested is Eleanor Bowman who is great at undercover assignments and has a nose for unearthing information. Stepping in as the ranch cook…she is set to sleuth…and perhaps fall in love.

What I liked:
*Eleanor: bright, talented, knows her strengths, doesn’t like cheaters, grew up on a ranch, good at what she does, interesting back story, has chemistry with her new employer.
* Kade: wealthy, bright, determined, has trust issues, has the trust of his employees and sees many as his friends, jealous, uses his fists from time to time, loyal, workaholic, protector, has chemistry with Eleanor
* Kade’s employees on the ranch – good men with potential for romance in the future
* At first thought this would be a series about Nighthawk Security and its employees but then realized it is probably about Kade and his brothers. That said, I can see that there could be overlap and the potential for a great number of books using the characters from the security firm and the ranch as well as the community Kade lives in.
* The red herrings, twists, and turns
* That Kade was not perfect…and neither was Eleanor
* That the H/h both were able to express what they did/did not want
* The side romance between Maria and Alejandro
* Billy: would like to hear more about this youth
* Zoe: Ellie’s friend and computer expert recently employed by Nighthawk Security
* Gage and Edge: Kade’s brothers – great potential for them to have interesting books in the series
* That the bad guy was found and dealt with
* That there are more books to look forward in the series

What I didn’t like:
* The people and events I was meant not to like – easy to dislike this murderer
* Not a dislike but, would have preferred that Kade was a nicer person, less stuck in gender stereotypes, and a bit less edgy BUT it worked in the story so perhaps he is just not my ideal book boyfriend.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

Kat Martin never fails to deliver a wonderful Romantic-Suspense and "The Last Goodnight" is no different. I always expect a great plot and a sweet romance and she always delivers. Both the main characters this time have been burned by past relationships and have trouble seeing beyond the right now to the future. Throw in an eight year old cold cast and a very real threat in the here and now and you have a plot that ticks all my boxes.

Kade Logan's wife disappeared one night eight years ago after he told her he had filed for divorce. She wasn't seen alive again. Her body was found two years later. She had been murdered. When her car is hauled out of a nearby lake and all the anger Kade had locked away came roaring back and he is determined to find her killer. He hires private investigator Eleanor Bowman and gets a whole lot more than he bargained for.

Reopening Heather Logan's case has stirred up a whole lot of old scandals and someone is out to take a pound of revenge from Kade's flesh. As Ellie settles into the Kade's ranch as the cook, she is also asking a whole lot of questions and making things uncomfortable for Kade, who can't seem to think of Ellie as his employee and wants nothing else but to take her to his bed and not let her out. With problems increasing on the ranch, the discovery of another woman's body begs the question, Are the two deaths related?

As Ellie and Kade dig deep into the lives of the two women they discover some surprising similarities and Ellie and Kade are right in the middle of a killer's cross-hairs.

Great start to a new series. Really enjoyed the characters and found them very relatable. This book had me hooked from the beginning and kept me on my toes right up to the end. The tension was palpable, and I thought the mystery aspect of the story was very well written. While Kade was a bit hard for me to love at times, I admired his dedication and loved the slow burn chemistry between him and Ellie. Definitely pick this one up if you’re in the mood for a romantic crime mystery. Excited to read more from this author! *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Goodnight pulled me in from the beginning and kept me turning the pages until the end. This riveting read has a great storyline with wonderful characters.

The Last Goodnight is the first book in the new Blood Ties series by Kat Martin.

Kade's wife was murdered 8 years ago. Her body was found 6 years ago. Her car was found very recently bringing up all the emotions he felt then. He decides he needs to try once again to find her killer.

Nighthawk Security is the best of the best. Many former military men and women are employed by Nighthawk. There are others who are the best in their fields as well. Kade decides to hire them to see if they can find who killed his wife.

Eleanor, Ellie, a private investigator working for Nighthawk. Very good at her job. She is tasked with trying to find the person who murdered Kade's wife.

Although Kade and Ellie are attracted to each other, they both have issues with commitment. As they begin to explore their mutual attraction, things begin to happen around the ranch and another woman is found murdered. Why now? Is the new murder connected to Kade's wife?

Kat Martin just has a way to weave her stories back and forth, throwing in clues when you least expect them. You think you've gotten the person figured out, then, wham...you're wrong! Another satisfying mystery by Ms. Martin.

Kade Logan wants to know why someone has started shooting he cattle on his Colorado ranch. And now those shootings have escalated. A crew member and the ranch dog have been shot, although not fatally. An explosion at the mine wounded even more.

Eight years ago, Kade's wife walked out and was never seen again. Two years ago her body was found ... she had been beaten and strangled. No one was ever charged with the crime.

With old scandals still buzzing about his late wife’s many affairs and new violence erupting, Kade is faced with the discovery of another beautiful woman’s body. Are the two killings linked? And why is someone trying to create problems at the ranch? Personal vendetta?

Kade has hired private investigator Eleanor Bowman to look into the death of his wife. Kade's not sure about Ellie ... but she's known for getting terrific results after going undercover. Not too sure how she will fit in, he makes her the cook's helper. It gives her access to people close to the Logan's ... maybe someone who has targeted him specifically.

As Kade and Ellie get closer to finding a killer, Ellie becomes the next target. Kade must risk everything to save the woman he’s coming to love—before she becomes the next one to die . . .

Well written with an intriguing plot and a story line filled with twists and turns and suspects who all seem to have kind of grudge against Logan. There's plenty of action and thrown in some relationship sizzle it's a riveting read. The ending is explosive!

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this Romantic Suspense. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here ar unbiased and entirely my own.

A wonderful beginning to this new series and I can’t wait for the next book! Kade Logan’s wife Heather’s body was found years ago and her missing car has just been pulled from the lake. It renews Kade’s determination to find the person who murdered her. He hires a private investigator from Connor Delaney’s Nighthawk Security to reopen his wife’s investigation. Eleanor “Ellie” Bowman is assigned to investigate and is surprised by her immediate attraction to Kade. She divorced her husband when he cheated on her and has no plans to get involved, especially with a client. When acts of vandalism targeting his Diamond Bar Ranch escalate, will they find the perpetrator before someone is killed? When another woman’s body is found with wounds similar to Kade’s wife, could her death be connected and if so, how? Ellie and Kade are unable to fight the attraction between them, but will he finally realize that Ellie, unlike his first wife, can be trusted? I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Eight years ago rancher Kade Logan’s wife Heather disappeared. In the midst of a divorce at the time, Kade was sure Heather had run off with her latest boy toy – until her body is found two years later. With nothing to go on and no place to start searching, the killer has never been caught. When Heather’s car is pulled out of a local lake, all the pain and anger returns. Kade is determined to find the man who killed his wife. He turns to Nighthawk Security and private detective Ellie Bowman. Ellie can’t resist a puzzle and is anxious to start solving this one. But with an eight year old cold case, she’ll have to go back to the beginning.
Posing as the ranch’s cook, Ellie is able to seamlessly become a part of the household, and move about the town. She didn’t expect the attraction to the muscular, handsome man who owns the ranch. Kade is drawn to Ellie, but his experience with Heather has left him raw and wary, but he can’t resist her easy company and the strong desire he feels. But unexplained events start to occur around the ranch putting Kade and everyone around him in danger. Kade and Ellie begin to believe these events are related to Heather’s death, the only question is why? And just who is behind the trouble.
I always look forward to reading a Kat Matin suspense. The stories are always intriguing, the characterizations believable and the dialogue isn’t wasted. Every word moves the story along. And this is one of Ms. Martin’s best. The story grabs the reader from the start. The twists and turns keep the reader guessing while turning up a tension that breaks only in the last ten pages of the story. This first book in her new series is one romantic suspense fans shouldn’t miss.

The Last Goodnight opens with Kade Logan's wife's car being discovered in nearby lake. He had served her with divorce paper years 8 years ago and everyone thought she up and left town right after. Two years later her body was discovered, and her murderer has never been solved. Kade decides its time to try again to find some answers so turns to a private investigator. He hires Ellie Bowman, who comes recommended as the perfect fit to go undercover on his ranch as the cook to try and see if she can turn up some new information on the case. What follows is an intense attraction and chemistry, intrigue and suspense as they work together to solve the mystery of his wife's murder.

This has it all - romance, mystery and action! I enjoyed trying to figure out what had happened to his wife. Because of his experiences with her cheating on him, Kade has issues with trust and this creates problems for him with Ellie. Ellie is an interesting character in being a successful female investigator who has also grown up doing hard work on a ranch and knows her way around guns. What kept this from being a five star read for me was that certain inconsistencies with Ellie. As a female in a traditionally male's career there were certain things she did and didn't do that really didn't ring true and these happened multiple times where it felt like the author reverted Ellie to type forgetting who and what she was supposed to be and having her do and behave in way that a woman without her experience or career would act.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the Advance Reader Copy. I have voluntarily left an honest review.

Special thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion..

I enjoyed this book but I have to say it really wasn't for me. It was a little sappy with the love story. Elle is a private investigator and Kade has lost his wife 8 years ago, by murder. He finds a break in the case and gets Elle, the Special Investigator, to help him. They are very slow in trusting each other but the "hot" cowboy Kade is irresistible and, well....hot.

It was an okay book and its the first in a series. I'm not a fan of romance novels, nor of books that are becoming series, when the first book in the series didn't blow me away, and this book did certainly not blow me away.

Perfect for women who love hot cowboys and romance with a little mystery thrown in. Just not for me!