Lady Gone Bad

Starr’s debut 1880s romance features the best kind of heroine: smart, loyal, beautiful, and equipped with a singing voice that captures the heart of every cowboy in the west. The exception is deputy U.S. marshal Rafe Morgan, who has been sent to arrest the saloon singer known as “Lady Gone Bad.” Lady, realizing her danger, slips away in disguise, then winds up rescuing him from a mob that isn’t too keen on law enforcement. On the run together, they find their mutual wariness turning into passion. He reluctantly gives up his plan to arrest her and instead helps her hunt down her parents’ killers. While the plot is weak and some of its underpinnings—the price on Lady’s head, her decision to go incognito—are never fully explained, Starr writes a fun, vivid western romance with entertaining characters in the tradition of Linda Lael Miller. Agent: Elaine English, Elaine English Literary Agency. (Sept.)