HIGH ON A HILL

Prolific romance author Dorothy Garlock returns to 1920s Missouri in her latest historical. At 21, Annabel Lee Donovan leads a nomadic life, constantly uprooted by the urgent demands of her father's mysterious occupation. When they move to a house on a hill outside the small town of Henderson, she's determined to create a home. With the help of rough but loyal Boone, her father's best friend, Annabel plants a garden and buys a few chickens and a cow. The young woman's domestic dream is threatened by the suspicion (soon confirmed) that her father is a bootlegger and by the lascivious moonshiner who has his eye on her. Meanwhile, the whole town is curious about Corbin Appleby, the handsome lawman from Garlock's The Edge of Town, and no one is more interested than Annabel. This volatile mix of illegal alcohol and love at first sight culminates in gangster warfare and a passionate elopement. National bestseller Garlock is clearly comfortable with her gifts as a storyteller, and she knows her audience. The romance between Annabel and Corbin is sweetly nostalgic (they keep their passion in check until their wedding night), but Garlock isn't afraid to be earthy and funny, nor does she shy away from serious topics like rape and domestic violence. Advertising in USA Today, People and Romantic Times. (June 17)