Book cover for Kill for a Million by Janet Dailey

Kill for a Million

2026 Released
304 Pages
4-5 Hours
Audiobook Unavailable
Paperback Unavailable
Kensington BooksISBN 9781496744883

For one prestigious Texas ranching family still reeling from the murder of their powerful patriarch, the aftershocks continue amid the most prized reining event of the year —and so does the infighting and scandalous romance from legendary author Janet Dailey!

Frank Culhane’s murder remains unsolved while his widow, Lila, is still battling to keep her beloved ranch from the grasp of his embittered first wife and grown children. As for arresting Frank’s killer, time is running out for Detective Sam Rafferty to prove himself and save his career, and for his number one suspect—and Lila’s lover—Culhane ranch manager Roper McKenna, to prove his innocence. Both men are staking their fates on the outcome of the imminent reining event of the year: the Run for a Million.

Roper’s dream of riding in Run for a Million is finally coming true. And for his struggling family, the million-dollar prize will mean everything. He’ll be competing on borrowed stallion Fire Dance, with Lila’s legendary stallion, One in a Million, as one of his backups. For now, only winning matters. But suddenly, even that is in jeopardy . . .

On the road, a huge semi almost sideswipes Roper’s truck and horse trailer. He just manages to save the rig from rolling, but the horses are severely shaken. Was it an accident, or an attempt to sabotage Roper—or to kill Lila, who was supposed to have accompanied him?

Meanwhile, others are in turmoil of their own. There’s Sam’s clandestine affair with Lila’s pampered stepdaughter—and murder suspect—Jasmine; dangerous information Jasmine has about her mother; and a long-buried secret Roper’s sister harbors that could explode the Culhane dynasty. Then there is the sole witness to Frank’s murder—a witness who can’t speak, but may have a one in a million chance at revealing the truth . . .

Janet Dailey

Janet Dailey's first book -- a Harlequin romance -- was published in 1976. In the twenty years since, she has written 89 more novels and become the third largest selling female author in the world, with 300 million copies of her books sold in 19 languages in 98 countries. Her most recent bestsellers, Masquerade, Rivals, and Heiress, have all sold more than one million copies each. She is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to re-create a time and place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues, like alcoholism and sexual abuse, in her stories.

All of her novels are meticulously researched, an endeavor she shares with her husband, Bill Dailey. The couple met in 1963, when Janet worked as a secretary for the construction company Bill owned. The two travel extensively to scout story locations, and have visited all 50 states; these days, they are likely to fly, but miss the time when they drove cross country, a trailer attached to their car. Janet Dailey also reads voraciously about every aspect of any subject she writes about; as she remarks, ""Accuracy is important in genre fiction; you have to get it right, zero in on the real details. That's the way to make writing come alive and not irritate the readers with carelessness.""

When they are not traveling, the couple spend time at their home on the shore of Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri. It is the part of the country Dailey loves best, partly because, she says, ""The people around me are more interested in their problems and their lives, and that sort of keeps me in touch with reality. They think it's nice that I write, but they really couldn't care less.""

Allison Janney has been featured on Broadway (Present Laughter), in films (Big Night and First Wives Club) and on television shows on all four networks.

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