Kit Sinclair (professor of history at the Albuquerque City College) is looking for the Lost City of Gold. She thinks she will find it at Desolation Canyon and she needs a guide to take her there. She asks Hawke Lonechief (tribal chief of police) but he is opposed to taking her there since he lost his wife when she fell to her death in the canyon a few years ago. Eventually Hawke agrees, but they end up facing dangers way beyond the canyon itself when they discover Kit has an obsessed stalker after her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic suspense story. I loved the setting of the canyon. Kit and Hawke were a well-matched couple since both experienced the pain of losing a loved one. (Hawke lost his wife, and Kit’s fiancé was murdered right in front of her in the church on what was to be their wedding day.) I was curious to find out who the stalker was.

An entertaining read with lots of suspects, a great setting, and a likable main couple. ( )

2.5-3.0 stars (rating shown may vary depending on whether site allows half star ratings).

I didn't know the subseries name until it showed up when I typed in the title. I'm guessing they mean Amazon in the sense of warrior women (think Wonder Woman) rather than the river, though when I first saw "heart of the amazon" I was thinking the river and the jungle--maybe that came from the suspense in this book (which reminded me a bit of King Solomon's Mines or the Indiana Jones series though on a much smaller scale.)

I understand being career driven and even the "publish or perish" idea professors deal with, but there is such a thing as taking too much risk. A career is not worth your life, or the life of someone else. So for me, Kit's determination to get into the canyon no matter what was irksome. She won't take the word of people who know better than she that she's not physically ready to go into that canyon.

Though I feel bad that both Kit and Hawke had to deal with deaths prior to them meeting each other, it did provide a bonding point for them as well as giving them each something they had to overcome.

There were good options for who Kit's stalker was. The author did a good job of having several believable options--just when I'd think I had figured out who it was, there'd be something else that made me think, well, no, maybe it was one of the others.

I was sorry to read that a colleague was trying to steal Kit's work, presumably to shore up his own publishing so he didn't perish in the university setting. ( )

Back Cover:

"I'll arrest you."

So threatens the tribal chief of police if Kit Sinclair dares enter Desolation Canyon alone. Hawke Lonechief insists it's too dangerous. He lost his wife to the treacherous canyon. He knows the ancient ruins Kit seeks aren't worth her life. But Kit is sure all that hiking and searching will help put her traumatic past behind her. When she risks Hawke's wrath by going alone, he finally agrees to lead her. On his terms. Impossible. Because someone else is following their every move. Watching them grow closer to danger with every step...

Review:

Kit thinks that the Lost City of Gold is in Desolation Canyon and she is determined to find it with our with out Hawke Lonechief's help. Tempers flare when he finds out just how stubborn Kit is when it comes to her research.

Forsaken Canyon takes you on a adventure through treacherous canyon cliffs, through secret caves, and underground rivers. Deadly canyons are not all they have to look out for as someone is watching their every move and he is not happy to see Hawke and Kit growing closer together.

Margaret Daley weaves a great suspense story with just enough romance to make it a great read. I love the mystery that surrounds her suspense novels by throwing in several different characters that you think could be the bad guy and then making it the one you would have really thought it was. Her books are fast paced and easy to read and I really liked it. I give it four out of five stars. **** ( )