Raven and the Cowboy

Chastain's (The Redhead and the Preacher) latest offering is filled with Native American mysticism: the heroine, Raven Alexander, is an Irish/Arapaho ""spirit woman"" haunted by visions, and the setting--the Rio Grande in 1877--is a ghostly, mythic landscape. Raven has been sent to recover the lost treasure of the Arapaho people when she meets her foreordained ""guardian"" cowboy, Tucker Farrell. Together they struggle with Mexican banditos, rogue Arapahos and natural disasters, while Raven fights her own intense attraction to Tucker. Strong, original characters and a believable relationship make this strange fable a successful departure from the typical western romance. (June)