A woman alone in a mountain cabin finds a man stumbling through the snow and gale to her lit window. Her instinct to help him is stifled when she realises that he's a FUGITIVE wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. But then she recognises him, and although she hasn't seen him for thirteen years, and he warns her to leave him alone, she can't abandon him.

Logan Randall is a deputy sheriff who was framed with a large amount of heroin. Someone shot the prison van crew and is trying to kill him too. East Washington is rugged and sparsely populated, and Laney Jefferson's hunting cabin is his only chance of surviving the weather. He hadn't expected to meet the girl he knew as a teenager, but Laney determinedly warms him up and uses her late husband's tools to break his handcuffs. The two have a shared history; Laney's unpleasant parents hired Logan to work for them, but Laney left town as soon as she could escape. Now she's just back for long enough to sell the house, but she's walked into a lot of trouble. The tension mounts as Logan tries to find out who has framed him, while keeping a step ahead of the authorities. Anyone he'd arrested might have harboured resentment, but with most of them still in jail, his suspicions turn rather closer to home.

I liked Laney who had started from a harmful childhood and made her own independent life, turned herself into a strong and caring person. Some stories today focus on a man who had a bad upbringing, and expects everyone to allow him to be unpleasant and unreasonable. Maybe women have better coping skills. Laney was shattered when her husband died early, and it's clear that she didn't expect to find love again. She doesn't flinch from aiding someone in need, and her instincts don't let her down.

Shirlee McCoy has written a complex tale of past sins, mixed memories and present danger, keeping us on the edge of our seats and maintaining a pace which barely allows the romance to develop beyond attraction and trust. Laney is also conflicted about her house, which is old and beautiful but carries bad memories for her and if sold would end up demolished by developers. This dilemma is carried right through the story and deepens the interest for us. FUGITIVE is well written and fast-paced, a fine romantic suspense read.