Back Roads
by Susan Crandall

A story of unchanging small towns and conflicted hearts. Sensible, capable and always in control, Leigh Mitchell is the sheriff of a sleepy southern Indiana county, a position which sets her apart in ways she hadn't imagined. She's facing her thirtieth birthday and feeling restless. On a moonlit night, driven by a desperate need for change, she indulges in an innocent flirtation with an intriguing stranger.

Against all of her well-laid plans, she falls for Will Scott, a man plagued by dangerous secrets. By turns passionate and tender, Will reveals little about his past and less about his future. Yet Leigh takes a leap of faith and lets him into her heart. When a teenage girl goes missing form this tight-knit community, suspicion immediately falls on Will Scott. Although his very life depends upon remaining unknown and unseen, he lingers among the accusations and the whispers, even as the wolves are closing in. Seemingly overnight, everything Leigh holds dear -- her loyalty to family, devotion to duty, her trust in love -- are tested to their limits. For the first time in her life, steadfast Leigh must let go of the clear cut rules that have always guided her and travel the uncertain back roads of the heart.

Other Books by Susan Crandall

A Kiss in Winter

On Blue Falls Pond

Promises to Keep

Magnolia Sky

The Road Home

Susan Crandall's Bio

Winner 2004 RITA for Best First Book

Hoosier native, Susan Crandall grew up in a small town, loving the fact that if you didn't know everyone, you at least knew of them ­ or their aunt, or their cousin, or the person who cuts their hair. She's taken the warmth and emotion of that sense of community and flavored her books, drawing fond memories from those who've lived in a small town and a quiet yearning from those who have not. After a few years in the big city (Chicago), she returned to her Indiana hometown where she lives with her husband, two college-age children, a menagerie of pets, and a rock band in the basement.