Needless to say the hero of this latest story by Diana Palmer is a Texas Ranger. Palmer's rangers are addictive,you never can get enough of them, and she obligingly provides lots to love. Strong, silent types with equally strong ethics and yet stubborn to a fault. LAWLESS introduces still another amazing character to add to her repertoire.

Judd Dunn shares ownership of a ranch with Christabel Gaines. The two have a rather unique partnership driven more by circumstances than affection, yet their relationship is more complicated than most. Certainly more than it appears on the surface. When it comes to the welfare of the ranch, they are a good pair, but as far as their personal lives-- well it's pretty much in limbo.

Judd did what he thought necessary to protect the future of the ranch and Christabel, which amounts to a fairly sizable sacrifice. Secretly they were married, but the difference in their ages, fourteen years to be exact, is enough to keep Judd from ever acting on any attraction he has for this young filly.

In his eyes, she's way too young and innocent for a man who thinks himself hard and resigned. There is an end approaching--Christabel's twenty first birthday, and at that time, the marriage will be annulled and all that will remain is their joint partnership and ownership of the ranch.

Judd takes his responsibilities seriously and no amount of temptation is going to sway him or weaken his resolve. In the meantime, Christabel is beginning to feel more than business-like to her partner. Sure they've known each other for many years, so many years it was apparent that Judd thinks of her as a child, one that he watched grow up, rather than as a coming into age twenty year old.

Christabel isn't averse to trying to ply her new-found female wiles on Judd but she's a realist. She knows she doesn't have the looks to attract a mature, virile man like Judd.

Soon their usually tame lives are going to be taken over when a movie company rents their ranch to film on. The company literally takes over the ranch, and much to Christabel's dismay, the star Tippy has definitely caught Judd's eye and attention. Pretty soon it becomes rather obvious that the two are becoming a couple--and this is where it becomes really interesting. You see it's obvious to the movie star and Christabel, but Judd is just not aware of the undercurrents of jealousy and spite.

Pretty soon Christabel finds herself distracted by the assistant police chief, Cash Grier, who finds himself at the ranch looking after the security of the movie company. Instead of being attracted to Tippy, Cash is enjoying time spent with the young owner of the ranch. And so the game begins.

As a fan of Diana Palmer I've enjoyed many of her rustic romances. I have to admit that the characters in LAWLESS have definitely won a permanent place in my heart. Palmer provides an enticing blend of characters that interact so well with each other that they also appear real. Her dialog makes you smile and at times laugh right out loud. LAWLESS is a quick read that you won't want to put down.