The
Drood Review
of Mystery
July/August
2003
This
tale is set
in a western
boomtown,,
when a rough
justice was
the province
of the tough
and the well-armed.
Inez Stannert
has these
qualifications;
she will need
them both
after an icy
December night
when Joe Rose
is murdered
and his mutilated
body is left
behind her
Silver Queen
Saloon. Since
she is a close
friend of
the Roses,
Inez agrees
to help Joe's
widow Emma
settle his
affairs. An
ambitious
businesswoman,
Inez would
also like
to eliminate
any suspicions
that she or
her partner
had anything
to do with
the murder.
Abandoned
by her charming
rogue of a
husband, surrounded
by ruthless
men whom she
cannot trust,
Inez is soon
engaged in
a deadly struggle
for survival
as she uncovers
crooked schemes
and scams
involving
blackmail,
counterfeiting,
and murder.
No angel herself,
with a weakness
for strong
drink and
bad boys,
Inez is a
curiously
modern woman
in a historical
setting. Despite
the gunplay
and graphic
violence,
the focus
on our heroine's
love life
makes this
promising
debut novel
more of a
romance/mystery
than a thriller.
(MCB)
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