Laurel Plummer loses her husband and infant daughter in the same year, and she's not going to lose her father-in-law as well. When she finds out his late-night handyman jobs are really trips to his moonshine still, she's livid. Then she finds ways to improve the business, and soon they're catching the attention of the formidable roadhouse madam, Gert, and the crooked mayor, Bernie Croft. Thatcher Hutton is just passing through Foley, Texas--he arrives by jumping off a freight train--but his powerful skills of observing people seem handy to Sheriff Bill Amos, who more or less deputizes him in his efforts to prevent a full-on moonshine war. Unfortunately, this puts him at odds with Laurel, and that's the last place Thatcher wants to be. Brown doesn't often delve into historical fiction territory, but she does here with gusto, and readers will practically taste the dusty streets of Foley and feel every rickety bump of the moonshiners' trucks. There are shoot-outs and reformed prostitutes and a no-good hillbilly family, but none of it feels like an empty stereotype--it's just all a lot of fun. Combined with Brown's knack for romantic tension and page-turning suspense, this one is a winner. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Brown's romantic suspense novels are always bestsellers, and this historical tale of love and moonshine will be no different.

Set in 1920, this superior thriller from bestseller Brown (Thick as Thieves) firmly anchors all the action in the plot. Laurel Plummer, the mother of an infant, is stuck in a remote shack with her father-in-law near the little town of Foley, Tex., after the sudden death of her WWI vet husband. Thatcher Hutton, a discharged soldier who's just leapt off a boxcar, turns up at the Plummer place, asking for water and directions to the nearest town. His first night in a Foley boarding house, Thatcher is awakened "by a gun barrel jammed against his cheekbone" and an accusation that he kidnapped and possibly murdered Mila Driscoll, the local doctor's missing wife. After Thatcher is released from jail for lack of evidence, the sheriff makes him a part-time deputy and he sets out to find the truth behind Mila's disappearance. Meanwhile, Laurel, who's in dire financial straits, helps her father-in-law expand his moonshining business. Conflict ensues as the two wind up on opposite sides of the law. Laurel and Thatcher are strong and inventive characters, and their surprising decisions and evolving relationship will keep readers engaged. Brown shows why she remains in the top rank of her field. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency. (Aug.)