A collection of short fiction, including an Edgar Award–nominated story, about hard-luck characters and the human instinct to survive.

A survivor of Little Bighorn faces down the resulting trauma in the decades following the bloody battle. An old man who has lost his late wife's cat joins forces with an unlikely partner to rescue abused animals. An ex–racecar driver contends with criminals in the midst of the famous Dakar Rally. Challenge the Widow-Maker is a collection of short stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary problems—and fighting back even when life has beaten them down.

The title story took second place at Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's annual Readers Awards (another story by author Clark Howard won the top spot that year), and was nominated for an Edgar Award. Featuring characters who experience "one more chance at the brass ring: the gift of surviving another day," this absorbing collection comes from an author whose work has appeared in The Best American Mystery Stories and other anthologies, and earned numerous honors from crime fiction critics and fans (Kirkus Reviews).