Blakemore (After Alice Fell) kicks off her Wild-Willed Women of the West series with an exciting story of two women on the run in 1905 Kansas. Ruby Calhoun and Penelope “Pip” Quinn are former dancers at a brothel called The Paradise who quit when the owner lost the business in a bet with the volatile and violent Cullen Wilder. Ruby has recently opened a cigar store when Pip arrives with the news that Cullen has put out a hit order on both of them, along with Verna Rolfe, a third woman who left The Paradise. Cullen’s safe was broken into, and he thinks the trio was behind the heist. With Cullen and a sheriff in pursuit, Pip and Ruby live off river water and cans of baked beans, hide out at various farms, and eventually reunite with Verna. Many dangerous episodes ensue, culminating in a final showdown with Cullen. Though the cliffhanger ending may irritate some readers, Blakemore’s rip-roaring action and lively characters capture the imagination. This series is off to a fine start. (Self-published)