More secrets lurk in the Montana mountains…and the past.

Private investigator Samantha Price savors a slow summer at her firm, Honor’s Edge Investigations, along with Nate Bennet, who recently received his license to join her as an investigator. They make a strong, though still uneasy team. When a new, but familiar client requests help, the case seems like a slam dunk, but of course, there are complications. Aly Cartwright works on the Bennet ranch and is engaged to Nate’s brother. One clue leads to another, and what starts as a vandalism investigation widens to connect to a recent murder and another nearly two decades old.

Nate, who left home at fifteen, isn’t sure he’s back for good or ready to make peace with his brothers. Samantha, too, has made enemies with the Bennets. But when Aly’s estranged mother reappears on the heels of increased vandalism, threats, and danger, can Samatha and Nate negotiate a truce with the Bennetts long enough to untangle the mysteries and save Aly and each other from a grisly end?

Titles in the Western Edge Mystery series include: Double-Edged Reckoning ~ Dark Mountain Ambush ~ Long Lost Winter ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Dark Mountain Ambush
Series:  Western Edge Mystery #2
Author:  Nicole Helm
Published:  August 6, 2025
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Dark Mountain Ambush is the second title in the Western Edge Mystery series, and takes place in Marietta, Montana… the edgier side of Marietta, probably my favorite fictional small town.  This is a series that I’d strongly suggest be read in order, as the relationships (and there are many) build over time, and also reveal more details, more layers to not only the Bennet family but those who have had interactions with them over the years.  It’s an excellent mystery that will grab your attention and hold it tightly through to the end, with several twists, reveals, and perhaps, even more mysteries along the way.

Nate has decided to settle in Marietta, temporarily at least.  He’s gotten his PI license and is currently working alongside Samantha (Sam) at her investigative agency, Honor’s Edge.  He’s still working out his relationship with his family after being away for over fifteen years.  

Recently, Aly (ranch hand, daughter of a former ranch hand, and former, sorta of friend to Sam) and Landon (one of the Bennet brothers) have taken their friendship to the couple-in-love level.  They’ve discovered Aly’s vehicle has been vandalized, and given the troubles they’ve all just come out of, they decide to contact Sam to investigate.  To add to the suspicious things happening, Aly’s mother, whom she’s had no contact with since birth, suddenly shows up in town looking for a reunion… or is she?

I loved Dark Mountain Ambush by Nicole Helm and am so glad to be back in the edgier, more dangerous side of Marietta, Montana.  Watching Samantha and Nate dance around each other as they build a working relationship was intriguing.  It’s obvious that there are feelings between them, and they are slowly becoming perhaps more than surface co-workers.  I’m enjoying watching their slow-burn beginning romance develop.  There are twists, turns, reveals, and more mysteries to be discovered before we have a resolution… but the journey to get there is intense, intriguing, dangerous, and believable.  If you love a well-written, good mystery that will pull you in, drop clues, and have you guessing up until the final reveal, then Dark Mountain Ambush would be perfect for you.  I’d highly recommend it.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)