A Matter of Trust

Author: Susan May Warren
Genre: Mystery/Suspense

It's those we love who have the power to hurt us most . . .

Champion backcountry snowboarder Gage Watson has left the limelight behind after the death of one of his fans. After being sued for negligence and stripped of his sponsorships, he's remade his life as a ski patrol in Montana's rugged mountains, as well as serving on the PEAK Rescue team. But he can't seem to find his footing--or forget the woman who betrayed him. 

Senator and former attorney Ella Blair spends much of her time in the public eye as one of the youngest senators in the country. But she has a secret--one that cost Gage his career. More than anything, she wants to atone for her betrayal of him in the courtroom and find a way to help him put his career back on track. 

When Ella's brother goes missing on one of Glacier National Park's most dangerous peaks, Gage and his team are called in for the rescue. But Gage isn't so sure he wants to help the woman who destroyed his life. More, when she insists on joining the search, he'll have to keep her safe while finding her reckless brother--a recipe for disaster when a snowstorm hits the mountain. ​

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Reviewer: Carol A. Brown

A Matter of Trust is an excellent read on many levels and that is a major reason I liked this book. On the surface this is a story of snow boarding and romance, but it is much more than that! Snowboarding is simply the venue. Deeper themes play out against the backdrop of the challenges of nature and the art of the sport of snowboarding. The depth of the story depends upon what the reader brings. The many themes are artfully woven together. To name a few:

• It’s a page-turner romance, you can read it that way—a young couple learning to trust their own hearts and each other, nearly destroying their destinies because of pride, unmet expectations, other people’s expectations and not listening to their hearts...the potential for self-inflicted wounds is mind boggling!
  
• It’s a coming of age story with all the hutzpah of youth who feels indestructible, but learning the sobering truth that they too break!
  
• It’s a story of how fame can be as fickle as the Montana Mountain weather!
  
• It’s a story of reacting to the expectations of others—do you live up to them, rebel, or risk and learn to trust self, others, and God?
  
• It’s a story of inter generational relationships.
  
• And you see woven through it all the main thread of trust.
  

If you ponder the story, there is wonderful depth, but if you read it lightly, it is an exciting outdoors romance with a happy ending!

Well written. I mentioned the themes as being artfully woven, but the plot of the book is also well crafted. The story never lags; it has it’s exhilarating points and then it’s quiet moments to let your heart stop racing, but then it takes off again miles an hour down the mountain.

The language used is picturesque so that you can almost hear the snow swoosh, hear the wolves and wind howl and feel the tension in Search & Rescue HQ.

The characters stay with you—they have depth and personality. You want to shake the teen that is trying to prove himself and advise the main characters as you read! Warren gives you just enough background on each character to understand why they would act or react as they do—well done. And, the end of the story gives you hints that there will be further stories as the author turns her spotlight on characters who played a secondary role in this story but who have their own story to tell.

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. I would whole-heartedly recommend it—especially to snow sport enthusiasts and romance aficionados.


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Reviewer: Rebecca Maney

"You're a good guy, Gage. I've always known that." 

Gage Watson's stellar snowboarding career was upended by the lovely lawyer- turned- state- senator who spoke those very words. Found liable for a petulant teen's accidental death in a civil law suit, Gage has retooled his career by serving on the PEAK rescue team and patrolling some of Montana's most challenging slopes. Three years later, Ella Blair still has the ability to scare him, for he "never has been able to take a full breath around her"; it had been love at first sight, or so he thought.

Ella Blair can scarcely believe that she has the opportunity to make amends with Gage Watson, or at least to tell him how sorry she is for ruining his career, for she has never forgotten the kind, charismatic man that she imagined once loved her. Their opportunity to clear the air is cut short, however, when Ella's rebellious brother decides to mimic Gage's greatness by making a run down a dangerous series of peaks; succeeding in going off the grid ahead of foul weather. A fine boarder herself, Ella insists on joining Gage for a search and rescue mission, but can they lay aside their differences long enough to re-establish peace on that mountain? 

Susan May Warren has hit her stride in this episode of the "Montana Rescue" series; for in spite of being inundated with fascinating ski lingo, the story allows room for its characters to break free of the guilt and regret that has entombed them; discovering that it is the nature of God to "love the lost and broken and scared . . . . and buried".

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.

This book  has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group.

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