The Renegades
by T. Jefferson Parker
Some say that outlaws no longer
exist, that the true spirit of the American West died with the legendary bandits
of pulp novels and bedtime stories. Charlie Hood knows that nothing could be
further from the truth. These days he patrols vast stretches of the new American
West, not on horseback but in his cruiser.
The outlaws may not carry six-shooters, but they’re strapped all the same.
Along the desolate and dusty roads of this new frontier, Hood prefers to ride
alone, and he prefers to ride at night. At night, his headlights illuminate only
the patch of pavement ahead of him; all the better to hide from the demons—and
the dead outlaws—receding in his rearview mirror.
But Hood doesn’t always get what he wants; certainly not when he’s assigned a
partner in Terry Laws, a County veteran who everyone calls Mr. Wonderful. And
not when Laws is shot dead in the passenger seat and Hood is left to bear
witness by someone who knew Mr. Wonderful didn’t always live up to his nickname.
As he sets out to find the gunman, Hood knows one thing for sure: The West is a
state of mind, one where the bad guys sometimes wear white hats—and the good
guys seek justice in whatever shade of gray they find it.
exist, that the true spirit of the American West died with the legendary bandits
of pulp novels and bedtime stories. Charlie Hood knows that nothing could be
further from the truth. These days he patrols vast stretches of the new American
West, not on horseback but in his cruiser.
The outlaws may not carry six-shooters, but they’re strapped all the same.
Along the desolate and dusty roads of this new frontier, Hood prefers to ride
alone, and he prefers to ride at night. At night, his headlights illuminate only
the patch of pavement ahead of him; all the better to hide from the demons—and
the dead outlaws—receding in his rearview mirror.
But Hood doesn’t always get what he wants; certainly not when he’s assigned a
partner in Terry Laws, a County veteran who everyone calls Mr. Wonderful. And
not when Laws is shot dead in the passenger seat and Hood is left to bear
witness by someone who knew Mr. Wonderful didn’t always live up to his nickname.
As he sets out to find the gunman, Hood knows one thing for sure: The West is a
state of mind, one where the bad guys sometimes wear white hats—and the good
guys seek justice in whatever shade of gray they find it.