THE LONE WARRIOR – Lori Austin
Once Upon a Time in the West , Book 3
Signet Eclipse
ISBN: 798-0-451-24232-7
January 2014
Western Historical Romance

Western Kansas, 1871

He's known as the White Ghost with Hair of Fire to the Cheyenne and white settlers as well. He dwells alone in the Smoky Mountains, and it's said that anyone who tries to find him is never seen again. His name is Luke Phelan, and he was once a Confederate soldier who spent hell in a Yankee prison. After the North won the war, he gained his freedom by agreeing to fight in the Indian wars for the Union army. He spent another period in hell as a prisoner of the Cheyenne. His strength and bravery eventually won their respect, and they made him one of their own. But then a tragedy took everything away from him again…just maybe including his sanity. The ghost is a haunted man.

Rose Varner spent the last year looking for her daughter. Lily, then two years old, was stolen by Indians after they burned the Varner farm. Her husband refused to stay out West to look for Lily, and she found no help at the various army posts she visited, so Rose set out on her quest alone. Her last resort seems to be the White Ghost, who once lived with the Cheyenne.

Luke is reluctant to have any part of the Cheyenne ever again, but his growing admiration for the brave woman changes his mind. The two set out on a search. It's not easy, for Luke has a bounty on his head and a war rages between the tribes and the army as more and more whites move onto Indian lands.

THE LONE WARRIOR is guaranteed to take readers on an emotional ride as it delivers dangers, suspense, and strong characters. The plot is a complex one in which past traumas, personal honor, strengths, and relationships play important parts.

Both excellent reads that can stand alone very well, THE LONE WARRIOR follows AN OUTLAW IN WONDERLAND in the series that began with BEAUTY AND THE BOUNTY HUNTER, which I haven't read. But judging by books two and three, you can't go wrong starting at the beginning.

Jane Bowers