"Master of the Genre Spins a Wonderful Tale"

Diana Palmer is my favorite 'guilty pleasure' and RENEGADE did not disappoint. The beloved characters that Palmer peoples her books with are all here, including past Long, Tall Texans (Calhoun Balenger is running for office) and new characters who will quickly join the pantheon of beloved Palmer couples.

Jacobsville Texas is a wondrous place, peopled with Long, Tall Texans and retired Mercenaries. Lots of couples that have large age differences and plenty of mystery to keep those Texans and Mercenaries busy.

Tippy Moore "the Georgia Firefly" was the semi-villainess of last year's LAWLESS and her redemption in RENEGADE is believable. With her heartbreaking background her past actions are understandable. Tippy was an abused child who ran away at age 12 and survived with the help of friends. She became a model and is now attempting a new career in film. She is also the guardian of her teenage brother Rory, who was also abused by her step-father.

Cash Grier is a force of nature. Cash first appeared in the final Hart book (LIONHEARTED) and his impact was immediate. Cash also fell in love with Christabel Dunn, the heroine of LAWLESS but had to back off when she reconciled with her Texas Ranger husband Judd. Cash is a martial arts expert, a former CIA assassin, former Mercenary and now the Police Chief of Jacobsville. One can only hope that he lasts a long time in that job.

As the book opens Cash is bored and with Judd's encouragement decides to go to New York and visit Tippy, who is absolutely thrilled that he is coming. Their ﷯﷯relationship﷯﷯ becomes passionate and Cash gets cold feet and flees.

Unfortunately for Tippy there are consequences from their passionate interlude which lead to a tragedy and a misunderstanding that causes her to turn to drink and Cash to refuse to talk to her. Even when she calls him for help when her brother is kidnapped. Luckily Cash quickly has a change of heart and goes to New York to help.

What follows the rescue is classic Palmer, lots of grovelling by Cash (Palmer writes the best grovel in the business in my opinion). Watching this couple laden with so much emotional baggage tentatively learn to trust and love each other is wonderful and emotionally satisfying. For them simple pleasures like relaxing in a hammock are new and fun. The scene where Tippy and her brother Rory, comfort Cash after a particularly awful nightmare made me smile and was quite touching.

The fun of a Palmer is seeing old favorites years after their stories were told, yet the new stories all stand well on their own legs. But, for new Palmer readers I highly recommend pursuing the oft reprinted tales of the Long Tall Texans and the Mercenary series. Clues for the couple in Palmer's next book are also laced throughout RENEGADE and I am eagerly looking forward to meeting more members of the unique Jacobsville community.

Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Posted September 18, 2004

Summary

For newly appointed police chief Cash Grier; life in rural southeast Texas was quite a departure from his former world of subterfuge and black ops. But as a true renegade, Cash had learned never to take anything at face value. Even now he sniffed an undercurrent of unrest in the air and made it his personal mission to keep law and order in the streets of Jacobsville. Complications arose when Cash found himself distracted by his traitorous desire for Tippy Moore-the "Georgia Firefly."

The combative barbs he'd once relished exchanging with his gorgeous sworn enemy no longer gave him the same satisfaction. Cash was stunned by Tippy's amazing transformation from "spoiled" Hollywood starlet to unassuming beauty who had almost as many skeletons in her closet as he did. Despite himself, the hard-edged Texan discovered a kindred spirit in this woman who was selflessly devoted to raising her beleaguered younger brother. Before long, Cash, a man who prided himself on self-restraint, found himself powerless to resist their explosive chemistry.

Just as Cash was beginning to believe that Tippy might be the one for him, an unforgivable betrayal ripped them apart, spiraling them in different directions, leading to despair—and unexpected danger. Yet even as Cash licked his wounds, sharply hewn instincts alerted him that Tippy was in grave jeopardy. In a race against time, he rode to the rescue after Tippy courageously sacrificed herself to secure her brother's freedom when the boy was used as a pawn in a deadly moneymaking scheme. In the aftermath of her harrowing ordeal, the Tippy Cash whisked home would not be the same woman he'd coldly turned his back on. Now all roads led to this one pivotal moment that would test the very fabric of a love that had once known no bounds....