Ruth McClintock has been obsessed with sharpshooter Annie Oakley for most of her life. She has sacrificed much to become an Oakley scholar, but it all might be worth it when she receives a journal in the mail from a mysterious book dealer with a request for provenance and authentication. Ruth little dreams that researching the journal will plunge her into a search through her own past and a confrontation of demons from long ago. It will also lead to a special partnership with high school senior Reece, a tech whiz with whom she apparently shares a psychic connection. As Ruth delves into the journal and Annie's attempts to travel back in time to right an old wrong, she explores her own psychic abilities to nearly disastrous consequences. VERDICT Romano-Lax's (Plum Rains) brilliantly conceived characters, delicate exploration of abuse and childhood trauma, and examination of vengeance and its power to heal will entrance from the very first page. Her latest is a tour de force that will appeal to a wide variety of readers,—Cynthia Johnson, formerly with Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA

Romano-Lax follows Plum Rains with an engrossing work of speculative fiction featuring a time-traveling Annie Oakley. Failed doctoral candidate Ruth McClintock is working to prove her theory that Oakley was sexually abused by a man Oakley's parents sent her to work for as a child. Aided in her research by high school student Reece, Ruth discovers her neighbor, a cheerleading coach at the school, has been raping students, making him a modern-day "Wolf"—Oakley's name for predatory men. As Ruth learns more about Oakley's life, she uncovers Oakley's secret visits to a psychoanalyst, which are informed by chapters following Oakley through various points around the turn of the century. Along the way, Ruth discovers that she and Reece share an ability held by Oakley to travel in time through memory, and that Ruth is clairvoyant. Ruth then tries to prevent the death of her ex-fiancé, Scott, in a car crash, and to go back in time to prevent her sister from killing herself. Romano-Lax neatly weaves the parallel narratives of Oakley and Ruth, and juggles various literary devices and genres with aplomb. The dual storylines dovetail perfectly for a winning anthem of female power sustained across a century. (Feb.)