Roan

The third installment in Blake's lighthearted Louisiana Gentleman series (after Kane and Luke) introduces small-town Sheriff Roan Benedict. The sheriff is chasing down a speeding van whose occupants have robbed the local grocery store when one of the van's occupants leaps out and rolls down a hill. Roan shoots and hits the person in the shoulder; an old-fashioned Southern gentleman, he is distressed to find that he's shot a woman, so he tenderly administers first aid while waiting for the ambulance. Tory insists that she was kidnapped and doesn't know the names of the two men with her, but Roan is skeptical. After the two men try to get into the hospital where she is staying, Roan takes Tory to his house to continue her recuperation. Slowly, her story unfolds: she's trying to outrun her ex-fianc and her stepfather, both of whom want access to her fortune. Roan, while fighting his attraction to Tory, still isn't convinced she's being truthful, though he starts to believe her when the nasty former boyfriend shows up. Blake, author of more than 38 romances and historicals, knows that playful dialogue and sexy teasing will keep readers turning the pages despite lightweight emotional content. (July)