Chances

A pretty pioneering suffragette meets a stodgy undertaker in Nowak's charming historical romance debut. Thirtyish spinster and women's rights activist Sarah Donovan moves to 1876 Denver to be a Kansas Pacific telegrapher. After greedy kids shoot the pet dog of two young girls (there's a bounty on strays), Sarah comes to the girls' aid, and meets their father: prim widower Daniel Petterman, an undertaker. While a possible relationship begins between Sarah and Daniel , Sarah's rookie mistake regarding notice of an arriving body—along with Daniel's puritanical attitude—slow things down at work and on the romance front. Then there are Sarah's difficulties with Frank, a jealous male co-worker, and with Lavinia, an equally jealous member of the Colorado Suffrage Association. Nowak captures courtship in the Rocky Mountains outpost with flair, but the resolution doesn't live up to Sarah's pioneering spirit. (Jan.)