From I
Love a
Mystery
By
Jean
Utley
Leadville
, Colorado
, in 1880,
is a silver
mining
town waiting for the railroad
to come to town.
Photographer Susan Carothers
has seen two men sabotage the
newly laid tracks and nearly
dies herself in the explosion.
Susan's friend, Inez Stannert,
a saloon keeper and amateur sleuth,
agrees to find out what Susan
has seen. And so begins IRON
TIES by Ann
Parker, the second book in the
series featuring Inez
and Leadville.
Inez
finds herself
swept up
in a romance
with Reverend
Jay Sands,
even as
she is attracted
to a railroad
man. But
she can't
afford to
let her
reputation
become tarnished
even the
slightest
bit, since
her saloon
is barely
profitable.
Her partner
Abe hires
two actors
to help
bring in
customers
and one
of the actors
seems very
familiar
to Inez.
All of these
problems
pale when
the news
that General
Ulysses
Grant, Civil
War Hero,
is coming
to town
on the new
rail line.
The
Civil War,
bitterly
fought only
fifteen
years before,
is still
a divisive
subject
and veterans
of
both sides have moved west after
the war. The war is
almost as popular a subject among
the citizens as
which rail line belongs in Leadville.
And why sabotage
the rail lines at all? The answer
has its roots in
both conflicts. Inez follows
the clues to a satisfying
conclusion that is steeped in
the past.
Parker
makes history
interesting
and combines
the best
of the mystery,
western
and romance
genres in
a book that
will appeal
to all readers.
There is
something
for everyone,
and anticipation
for the
next adventure
featuring
Inez Stannert.
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