The Get Off

Faust delivers an outstanding conclusion to her Angel Dare trilogy (after Choke Hold). It’s been nearly 15 years since readers last heard from former porn star and occasional sex worker Gina Moretti, aka Angel Dare. Now she’s over 40, pregnant, and not sure what to do about it. When a revenge scheme against her sworn enemy, mobster Vukasin, goes horribly wrong, Angel accidentally kills a cop and is forced on the run. She barely makes it out of California alive before landing in Yuma, Ariz., where an old friend arranges for her to find sanctuary with an elderly couple living off the grid in the far reaches of Washington State, near the Canadian border. A professional rodeo bullfighter is tasked with ushering Angel to safety, and the two embark on a raucous road odyssey across the West. Faust fortifies her classic setup with pulpy sidesteps into rodeo culture and the world of wealthy cattle barons, mashing up picaresque, neo-noir, and old-fashioned western into a supremely satisfying saga. hroughout, the author’s signature tonal blend of world-weary toughness and poignant vulnerability is on full display. It’s a remarkable final act for a top-shelf series. (Mar.)