The Last Renegade

Goodman (Kissing Comfort) strikes a balance between tight plotting and solid character development in this romance set in 1888 Wyoming. Kellen Coltrane encounters a fatally wounded stranger, Nat Church, on a train, and agrees to convey his dying words to Pennyroyal in Bitter Springs, Wyo. At the Pennyroyal Hotel and Saloon, owner Raine Berry awaits the hired gun she’s employed to take on the Burdicks, a father and three sons who own half the town and have killed many people in the area. Kellen delivers Nat’s message and decides to stay until he discovers Nat’s murderer. When Kellen meets independent, redheaded Raine, sparks fly. Multidimensional villains and heroes add humor and drama to a complicated, fast-paced, and deliciously believable story of love, sex, and secrets. Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Associates. (Sept.)