Edgar Award Finalist: The “exciting” true story of the abduction of biathlete Kari Swenson and the five-month manhunt to bring her tormentors to justice (The New York Times Book Review). Former rodeo cowboy Johnny France had been sheriff of Madison County, Montana, for three years when Kari Swenson, a Bozeman resident training for the World Biathlon Championship, went missing near Big Sky Resort in July 1984. Her friends feared that Kari had been attacked by a grizzly bear, but the truth was far scarier: She’d been kidnapped at gunpoint by father-and-son survivalists Don and Dan Nichols. The pair had been living in the wilderness off and on for years and hoped to make Kari a “mountain woman” and Dan’s bride. But the plan went horribly wrong from the start, and after a deadly firefight with rescuers, the kidnappers vanished into the rugged terrain of the Spanish Peaks. As Montana’s summer froze into brutal winter blizzards, SWAT teams, forest rangers, and antiterrorist units searched the backcountry but sighted the mountain men only once. Then came the call about a strange campfire on a slope above the Madison River. Sheriff France decided to go into the forest to face the fugitives—alone. The resulting showdown made him “perhaps the most famous Western sheriff since Wyatt Earp . . . a modern legend” (Chicago Tribune). Incident at Big Sky is an “amazing . . . exciting retelling of a modern crime” that made headlines around the world (The New York Times Book Review). In a voice as distinctive and compelling as the Montana landscape, France takes readers on a high-stakes adventure so bizarre and unforgettable it could only be true.

Edgar Award Finalist: The thrilling true story of the abduction of world-class biathlete Kari Swenson and the five-month manhunt to bring her tormentors to justice. Former rodeo cowboy Johnny France had been sheriff of Madison County, Montana, for three years when Kari Swenson, a Bozeman resident training for the World Biathlon Championship, went missing near Big Sky Resort in July 1984. Her friends feared that Kari had been attacked by a grizzly bear, but the truth was far scarier: She'd been kidnapped at gunpoint by father-and-son survivalists Don and Dan Nichols. The pair had been living in the wilderness off and on for years and hoped to make Kari a "mountain woman" and Dan's bride. But the plan went horribly wrong from the start, and after a deadly firefight with rescuers, the kidnappers vanished into the rugged terrain of the Spanish Peaks. As Montana's summer froze into brutal winter blizzards, SWAT teams, forest rangers, and antiterrorist units searched the backcountry but sighted the mountain men only once. Then came the call about a strange campfire on a slope above the Madison River. Sheriff France decided to go into the forest to face the fugitives-alone. The resulting showdown made him "perhaps the most famous Western sheriff since Wyatt Earp...' modern legend" (Chicago Tribune). Incident at Big Sky is the "exciting," edge-of-your-seat account of a shocking crime that made headlines around the world (The New York Times Book Review). In a voice as distinctive and compelling as the Montana landscape, France takes readers on a high-stakes adventure so bizarre and unforgettable it could only be true.

In the wilderness of Montana's Big Sky country, a young woman Olympic athlete, Kari Swenson, was kidnapped at gun point while on a training run. Searchers found her chained to a tree and guarded by two 'mountain men,' Don and Dan Nichols, father and son who had left civilization a dozen years before. In the ensuing confrontation, Kari was badly wounded by the younger Nichols and a rescuer was coldly shot and killed before the Nicholses made their escape, leaving Kari behind. The manhunt that followed featured FBI teams, helicopters, electronic aids, and massive manpower. In the end it was Johnny France, the local sheriff, who had spearheaded the search for months and who finally, by chance, tracked them down alone. He faced them in a real-life Clint Eastwood scene, and brought them in. What lay behind this crime? What sort of man was Sheriff Johnny France? What really happened up there in Spanish Peaks? It is all here in a bizarre and fascinating tale, told by the one man who knows it all.

Relates how Johnny France, a Montana sheriff, searched for and tracked down the two men responsible for kidnapping Olympic athlete Kari Swenson after they had managed to elude even the FBI

The twelve-year rampage of “Missoula Mauler” Wayne Nance—and the shocking end to his murder spree To his neighbors, Wayne Nance, a furniture mover from Missoula, Montana, appeared to be an affable, considerate, and trustworthy guy. No one knew that Nance was the “Missoula Mauler,” a psychopath responsible for a series of sadistic sex slayings that rocked the idyllic town between 1974 and 1986. Nance’s only requirement for murder was accessibility—a preacher’s wife, a teenage runaway, a female acquaintance, a married couple. Putting on a friendly façade, he could easily gain his victims’ trust. Then, one September night, thirty-year-old Nance pushed his luck, preying on a couple who lived to tell the tale. A true story with an incredible twist, written by former Wall Street Journal editor John Coston and complete with photos, To Kill and Kill Again reveals the disturbing compulsions of a charming serial killer who fooled everyone he knew, stumped the authorities, terrified a community, and nearly got away with it.

Buried secrets threaten a lawman And a woman with everything to lose. A grisly discovery at the bottom of an abandoned well leads cold-case detective Waco Johnson to Cardwell Ranch—and a thirty-year-old unsolved homicide. When evidence points to Ella Cardwell’s missing mother as the murderer, Waco knows he'll need the Montana rancher's help to find the vanished woman. Ella’s desperate search for answers uncovers family secrets that could break the case wide open…and thrust Ella and Waco into a killer's sights. From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served. For more action-packed stories, check out the other books in the Cardwell Ranch: Montana Legacy series by B.J. Daniels: Book 1: Steel Resolve Book 2: Iron Will Book 3: Ambush before Sunrise Book 4: Double Action Deputy Book 5: Trouble in Big Timber Book 6: Cold Case at Cardwell Ranch

Amidst the captivating landscapes of Big Sky Montana, 'Down Came Death' unfolds with the compelling story of two young women drawn to the enchantment of a perfect summer escape, lured by promises of adventure and newfound friendships. However, the tranquility of their idyllic retreat shatters when one of them inexplicably disappears into thin air. Sheriff Mikeal Lancaster and his team, initially attributing the vanishing act to a wandering spirit, soon find themselves thrust into a complex web of long-buried secrets concealed within the depths of the forest. The emergence of decades-old bodies from their forgotten graves exposes a sinister history, casting a shadow of darkness over what was once a tranquil community. The narrative takes an unexpected turn as the lines between seemingly unrelated events blur, compelling Sheriff Lancaster and his deputies to confront the disconcerting prospect that these incidents are intricately interwoven. 'Down Came Death' weaves a suspenseful tapestry of concealed truths and unforeseen connections, propelling readers on a gripping odyssey through Montana's wilderness. Here, the collision of past and present embarks on a high-stakes quest for answers that has the power to redefine individuals and reshape the town's history. As the suspense tightens its grip, 'Down Came Death' immerses readers in a captivating exploration of the heart of Montana's untamed ex- panse. Unraveling the threads of an intricate mystery, the novel invites its audience to join the characters in a relentless pursuit of truth and redemption, where the echoes of the past resonate with the uncertainties of the present. This promises an unforgettable journey that could alter the course of the town's history forever.