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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