cover image Bannon Brothers: Trust

Bannon Brothers: Trust

Janet Dailey. Kensington, $25 (358p) ISBN 978-0-7582-5576-1

Bestseller Dailey (Santa in a Stetson) launches a new series with this well-paced but unremarkable love story between an injured cop and the intriguing artist who inspires him. Roped into unofficially reopening a cold missing persons case by a friend who knew the victims, RJ Bannon is delighted when artist Erin, who refuses to reveal her last name, offers to help him investigate. When the case turns dangerous just as a sweet romance blossoms, Bannon has to decide whether solving the mystery is worth putting the woman of his dreams at risk. Populated with stock stereotypes as secondary characters, only Erin, Bannon, and Bannon's brothers (who will star in the sequels) really emerge as individuals. Dailey's prose is lovely, with imagery that clearly evokes the setting, but the contrived plot never overcomes its formulaic pattern, and readers will figure out the solution long before Bannon does. (Aug.)