The Lone Warrior

November 18, 2013
The Once Upon a Time in the West trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion with this 1871 romance between Luke Phelan, a former Confederate soldier, and Rose Varner, a mother frantic to find her kidnapped daughter. Luke spent years living with the Cheyenne before becoming a recluse in the Smoky Hills of Kansas, where Rose tracks him down, desperate for his help. His knowledge of the Cheyenne make him the perfect guide for Rose, who’s trying to find the Dog Men warriors who stole three-year-old Lily. Despite his reluctance to get involved in anything that forces him to interact, feel, or live, Luke is drawn to help Rose. While the story is nominally a romance, Luke and Rose are on a quest, and their love affair is a distant second to their adventures. The careful attention to historical details—especially interactions among the Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux—make the Wild West come alive with a cacophony of sights and sounds as the pair crisscrosses the Great Plains. Cameos from past protagonists make this exciting conclusion extra satisfying for returning readers.

Starred review from December 1, 2013

Rose Varner will do anything to find her three-year-old daughter, kidnapped by the Cheyenne. She will even venture alone into the deadly Smokey Hills in search of the only man who can help her, the elusive, mysterious White Ghost. Haunted, hunted, and wavering at the edges of reality, loner Luke Phelan would just as soon kill an intruder as not, but Rose is a surprise in more ways than one--and his ultimate salvation. VERDICT A fearless, persistent woman and a nearly broken man tormented by the past struggle against unbelievable odds to find healing, forgiveness, and belonging in this heart-wrenching, deeply complex tale that brings the stark beauty and brutal reality of the times into vivid focus through well-integrated historical detail and flawlessly refreshing prose. RITA Award winner Austin (An Outlaw in Wonderland) also writes under her own name, Lori Handeland; she lives in Wisconsin.

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