The Renegades: Book summary and reviews of The Renegades by T. Jefferson Parker

The Renegades Summary

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 he doesn’t always get what he wants— certainly not when he’s assigned a partner named 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 that 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 can find it.

The Renegades Reviews

"Starred Review. In this crackling follow-up ...Parker creates a desert no-man's-land unique in its corruption, but no less dangerous than the roughest of South Central street corner." - Publishers Weekly.

"Starred Review. [An] engrossing tale of justice and redemption. Highly recommended." - Library Journal.

"The pace is leisurely and the plot a bit obvious, but Parker...at three-quarters effectiveness still beats most others at their best." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Starred Review. Readers will likely find themselves rattled—and riveted—too." - Booklist.

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T. Jefferson Parker Author Biography

Parker was educated in public schools in Orange County, California, and took a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, in 1976. He was honored in 1992 as the Distinguished Alumnus.

His writing career began in 1978, as a cub reporter on the weekly newspaper, The Newport Ensign. After covering police, city hall and cultural stories for the Ensign, Parker moved on to the Daily Pilot newspaper, where he won three Orange County Press Club awards for his articles. All the while he was tucking away stories and information that he would use in his first book.

Laguna Heat, written on evenings and weekends while he worked as a journalist, was published to rave reviews and made into an HBO...

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