Wild Trail

Arthur (Uniquely Us) kicks off her Clean Slate Ranch series with a frustratingly meandering contemporary. Gruff, taciturn Mack Garrett left Los Angeles and his career as a SWAT officer for a calmer life on a dude ranch in northern California. After a miserable ending to his last relationship, he thinks he’s content with one-night stands. He sees that notion for the fiction it is when Wes Bentley arrives for a vacation with his sister and several friends. Wes was run out of Los Angeles by a nightmare ex who ended his dreams of being an actor. These two damaged yet appealing souls might be able to heal each other if they’re willing to take the risk of further heartbreak—and if Arthur gives them a chance. The plot moves ever so slowly, hinting at mysteries that are not fully developed and leaving readers to wonder why the author headed down several dead-end alleys. The focus oscillates between the deepening love between two hot men and the suspense of dastardly deeds committed by unnamed people. Either plot would be fine, but combining the two in this plodding fashion makes for a drawn-out, unbearably slow story. The epilogue, though satisfying, also is far more verbose than is necessary. “The whole thing seemed convoluted and strange, like something out of a romantic suspense movie plot,” Arthur writes near the end, aptly summarizing her work’s flaws. (Jan.)