Cloaked in Beauty

Witemeyer (If the Boot Fits) continues her Texas Ever After series with an exciting if occasionally clumsy retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. After the death of her wealthy father, Scarlett Radcliffe stands to inherit a majority stake in his shipping company when she turns 21—if her greedy uncle, who wants the shares for himself, doesn’t kill her first. Sent away by her mother, Scarlett has taken refuge with her grandmother in a forest, where she goes by the name Letty Hood, wears a red riding cloak, and travels with a pet wolf for protection. Five weeks before Scarlett turns 21, her mother gets wind that the threat to Scarlett’s life has intensified and hires investigator Philip Carmichael to find her. Philip tracks Scarlett down and the two begin the trek home. Along the way, shadowy hit men stalk them and Philip starts to fall for his charge. Meanwhile, Scarlett, who has grown accustomed to her independent and simple life in the forest, grapples with doubts about returning to a life constrained by social expectations and power, and prays for the strength to start anew. Despite some wooden exposition shoehorned into the dialogue, the narrative charms with its twists, turns, and wry fairy tale allusions. This has plenty of heart. (Dec.)