by Robert Knott
First published 2026
Marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have enjoyed months of peace in the growing town of Appaloosa. Their quiet streak ends when Rose McMaster steps off the train. Rose is the spirited daughter of Virgil's half-brother, fleeing San Francisco after her attorney husband Frank's apparent suicide. A Chinese associate warned her to leave the city immediately. Rose's troubles follow her to Appaloosa when a fellow passenger turns up dead. As Virgil and Everett investigate the murder, militia raiders with old grudges against Virgil threaten the territory. The lawmen discover Frank represented Chinese business interests and likely stole money from a major opium smuggling operation. The Chinese believe Rose knows where Frank hid their stolen funds. With danger closing in from multiple directions, Virgil and Everett must protect Rose while untangling her husband's criminal connections and confronting enemies from their own past.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, crime, detective, action, 19th-century
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Appaloosa, San Francisco
Period: 19th-century
336 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: drug-use