Unbridled

Palmer’s 200th novel brings in many familiar characters to enrich the background of this placid romance set in present-day San Antonio, Tex. Naive pediatric nurse Suna “Sunny” Wesley, 23, is speechless when incredibly handsome Texas Ranger John Ruiz, who’s 10 years her senior, asks her to dance at her hospital’s holiday party. John mistakenly assumes her standoffish attitude is a reaction to his Latino heritage, not realizing that Sunny is painfully shy and very much alone in the world following the gang murder of her family. Meanwhile, John can’t immediately pursue Sunny because his attention is focused on a new gang war, one that is trying to draw in his 11-year-old son, Tonio. When they do connect, John takes an almost domineering approach, which Sunny meekly accepts. Tonio’s journey is the most believable as he copes with his father’s frequent absences. Their stories sometimes feel like an excuse for Palmer to give her devoted fans glimpses of previously featured families in Jacobsville, Comanche Wells, and San Antonio, but the intertwining marriages and law enforcement connections will leave new readers somewhat confused. Though not technically a series novel, this isn’t a good place to start reading Palmer’s romantic mysteries. (July)