The Renegades

S
ome 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.

Praise for the Novels of T. Jefferson Parker

The Renegades

“Deft characterization and hard-boiled action played out against smartly detailed Southern California landscapes.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“An interesting and inventive writer. If you’re interested in the best of today’s crime fiction, he’s someone you should read.”

—
The Washington Post

“A typically streamlined T. Jefferson Parker thriller…. Think of Parker’s work as sunshine noir. It’s akin to that of Don Winslow, another specialist in the soft white underbelly of Southern California, and that of Louisiana crime poet James Lee Burke. The writing is so lean…and the dialogue can ricochet.”

—
St. Petersburg Times

“‘Stromsoe was in high school when he met the boy who would someday murder his wife and son.’ It’s hard not to keep turning the pages after that opener…. In
The Renegades
, Parker surpasses himself in…a book that ranks among his most original.”

—
The Toronto Star

“Another stylish, cleverly plotted yarn by one of the most consistent performers in the crime-novel genre.”

—The Associated Press

“Superb…. Two-time Edgar winner Parker vividly evokes the spirit of the Wild West…. He delivers steady suspense and a cast of damaged characters…. Readers will likely find themselves rattled—and riveted.”

—
Booklist
(starred review)

“It’s quite a showdown, done the Edgar Award–winning Parker way, in this engrossing tale of justice and redemption. Highly recommended.”

—
Library Journal

“A beautifully crafted thriller.”

—Mysterious Reviewed

“[A] wild ride…turns and tensions and brilliant dialog…a testament to Parker’s abilities as a master storyteller and a true craftsman. Parker’s fans will love
Renegades
, and it will certainly draw in some new readers.”

—CrimeCritics

“Parker is one of my favorite authors. He writes smart, challenging plots…. If you’re not reading T. Jefferson Parker, you should be.”

—Fresh Fiction

“NO ONE DOES TOUGH LIKE T. JEFFERSON PARKER”*

L.A. Outlaws

“T. Jefferson Parker’s terrific
L.A. Outlaws
introduces one of the most enticing heroines in recent American crime fiction. All [Parker’s] skills are on display here: vivid writing, strong characters, clockwork plotting, agonizing suspense, and, finally, an ending that manages to be just right.
L.A. Outlaws
is popular entertainment at its most delicious.”

—
The Washington Post

“May be my favorite of T. Jefferson Parker’s thrillers, and that’s saying something about this gifted writer. With its propulsive prose, tightly wound plot, and vivid leading players, it’s a keeper. Think of Elmore Leonard’s
Out of Sight
with a gender twist…totally compulsive reading.”

—
The Seattle Times

“
L.A. Outlaws
is hard, fast, and etched with characters so sharp they’ll leave you bleeding. This is the best T. Jefferson Parker novel yet.”

—Robert Crais

“
Out of Sight
meets
Gone in 60 Seconds
. Bottom Line: Parker can write a tense action sequence—and there’s a peach of a showdown.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

“Terrific…. Parker continues to lay claim to literary ownership of all things Southern California. But [his] story and themes…stretch way beyond that.
L.A. Outlaws
is the best book of its kind since
No Country for Old Men
, and Lupercio rivals Anton Chigurh as psychopath of the century. Simply stated, once again Parker has penned the best mystery of the year.”

—
The Providence Journal-Bulletin

“At once a noir thriller and a Western ballad of desperadoes and doomed lovers. The book is both hard-boiled and heartbreaking, Ross Macdonald as sung by Marty Robbins. His concise prose, at once low-key and lyrical, plays almost like cowboy poetry…. Casting Parker as a mere mystery writer is a little like writing off Graham Greene’s work as espionage fiction.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“Allison Murrieta [is] a combination of Robin Hood, Zorro, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Gloria Steinem. An amazing read.”

—*Elizabeth George

“[A] marvelous love story wrapped around a rip-roaring plot. The characters make this novel even more exciting than the chase, and Allison Murrieta is poised to become a pop hero. In
L.A. Outlaws
, Parker’s best work to date, you’ll enjoy mulling which actress to cast as Allison in the movie.”

—
The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“T. Jefferson Parker evokes the spirit of outlaw heroes like Jesse James with his latest thriller,
L.A. Outlaws
. Parker’s protagonist this time is something different: a self-styled Robin Hood for the twenty-first century…a bandit for the media age, performing for the cell phone cameras of her victims. A suspenseful and original story,
L.A. Outlaws
…is a fun one to read.”

—
Chicago Sun-Times

“Two-time Edgar winner Parker may find himself picking up more awards with
L.A. Outlaws
, a tightly plotted tale that surprises at each turn and excels with strong characters. [He] continues to be one of the genre’s most original authors, proven by his fresh approach with
L.A. Outlaws
.”

—
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“Two-time Edgar winner Parker…once again displays his knack for creating captivating characters and his unabashed passion for California lore. Only two other authors—Dick Francis and James Lee Burke—have won the Edgar for best novel twice. Don’t be surprised if Parker is on his way to a third.”

—
Booklist

“[A] brilliant new thriller…. In a city full of gritty Los Angeles literati, Parker takes a seat at the head of the class next to Michael Connelly with
L.A. Outlaws
, a novel that just might garner him his third Edgar, which is street cred even Connelly can’t claim.”

—
The Sunday Oregonian

“Compulsively readable. Parker operates at a high level of audacity…. He takes huge chances in characterization and plotting. He handles potential prose land mines with such assurance that he seems barely to acknowledge the presence of risk. In
L.A. Outlaws
, he sets up three principal characters—good guy, very bad guy, and…a woman who is somewhere in between—and turns them loose.”

—
The Toronto Star

“[An] irresistible antihero…[an] outstanding thriller. This tour de force of plotting and characterization may well be Parker’s best book.”

—
Publishers Weekly

ALSO BY T. JEFFERSON PARKER

Laguna Heat

Little Saigon

Pacific Beat

Summer of Fear

The Triggerman’s Dance

Where Serpents Lie

The Blue Hour

Red Light

Silent Joe

Black Water

Cold Pursuit

California Girl

The Fallen

Storm Runners

L.A. Outlaws

T. JEFFERSON PARKER

THE RENEGADES

A CHARLIE HOOD NOVEL

SIGNET

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Published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published in a Dutton edition.