The
Best Reviews
"Strong
mid-nineteenth
century
western
thriller"
-
Harriet
Klausner
Leadville,
Colorado
is booming
in 1879
as people
arrive hoping
to get rich
by finding
the silver
mother lode.
Inez Stennert
is becoming
rich as
the owner
of the Silver
Queen Saloon
but her
personal
life is
very unsettled
because
her wandering
man walked
out one
day and
never came
back. Inez
doesn't
know if
her husband
is alive
or dead;
she waits
for him
while her
sister raises
her sickly
son back
east.
Fights
and brawls
are frequent
occurrences
but everyone
is shocked
when upright
family man
Joe Rose
is found
murdered
behind Inez's
saloon.
Inez starts
investigating
the assayer's
homicide
because
his widow
and son
are very
dear to
her and
she would
like to
be one to
bring his
killer to
justice.
She learns
that Joe
was not
as law abiding
as she believed
and her
questions
are making
some people
very uneasy,
individuals
who will
not hesitate
to kill
her if she
gets too
close to
the truth.
Ann
Parker captures
the ambiance
of a mid-nineteenth
century
western
boomtown
so colorfully
that readers
will imagine
they are
there. The
heroine
is an independent
woman who
lives by
her own
rules at
a time when
females
were expected
to stay
in their
place. Inez
is bossy
and stubborn
but she
is also
the kind
of person
one wants
to have
in your
corner when
life turns
rough. Let's
hope there
are more
stories
starring
this one
of a kind
protagonist.
"Great
mystery
set in
the Old
West."
-
Lynnae Hornbarger
(Courtesy
Old Book
Barn Gazette)
Parker
has done
her research,
and it shows
in the way
she tells
this tale
set in 1879
Leadville,
Colorado.
She's definitely
a wordsmith
- you feel
the cold
hit you
when the
door opens,
you trudge
through
the wind
and snow,
and you
appreciate
the nice
room where
you are
reading
when Inez,
the main
character,
chips the
ice from
her pitcher
on an icy
cold morning.
Inez
owns Silver
Queen Saloon
with her
partner,
Abe. She's
had a very
rough year
- her husband
left and
never returned,
plus she's
sent her
baby son
to live
with her
sister while
she sorts
out her
life. A
life that
gets much
more complicated
when Joe
Rose, one
of her best
customers,
is found
dead behind
her saloon,
and she
becomes
involved
in straightening
out his
affairs
for his
widow, Emma,
and their
small son.
Joe
turns out
to be involved
in more
schemes
than Inez
could ever
have imagined,
including
counterfeiting
and lying.
This story
includes
components
of the old
west - houses
of prostitution,
gambling,
silver mining
(this is
Leadville,
after all)
and religion.
Yes, there's
a church
and a new
reverend,
whom Inez
finds very
interesting.
Even Bat
Masterson
turns up.
There are
some surprises
and twists
to this
plot, and
many of
the characters
turn out
not to be
what you
expect.
Don't
ignore this
debut novel
because
it's set
in the old
west. It's
a really
good mystery.
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