MyShelf.com
- Rachel A
Hyde
Leadville,
just after
it had started
to become
a city, is
a place out
of a western
with saloons,
brothels,
miners, lynch
mobs and marching
bands. Life
is cheap and
the law is
not always
on the side
of the angels,
so it is not
surprising
that assayer
Joe Rose is
found dead
outside Inez
Stannert's
saloon. Inez
is a lady
with a past,
whose husband
left town
in a hurry
eight months
before and
who now runs
the Silver
Queen with
her black
partner, Abe
Jackson. It
falls to her
to investigate
the case and
try to ensure
that justice
is done for
Joe and that
his widow
and son get
what is theirs.
This is going
to be harder
than she thinks,
as she has
no real idea
who her friends
truly are,
and she is
going to uncover
a plot that
goes as deep
as one of
Leadville's
celebrated
silver mines.
When I was
in school,
I viewed any
history dealing
with "western
expansion"
as being too
sensational
and generally
just plain
fun to be
truly classed
as history.
Therefore,
it is not
essential
to be the
sort of reader
who normally
reads this
type of thing
to enjoy this
tangled tale.
Read it for
its gutsy
depiction
of life in
Leadville--who
can resist
a novel that
features Bat
Masterson--and
for its gritty
lack of coziness.
Inez is a
strong woman
in a man's
world who
manages to
hold her own
and get some
pleasure and
satisfaction
out of it,
as well as
a living,
so it is hard
not to want
to find out
what will
befall her,
and thus the
pages turn.
It is true,
however, that
this is not
really a book
that needs
its 400+ pages,
and in the
middle it
does tend
to sag rather
when nothing
new is happening
and much old
ground is
being re-trodden
to no real
purpose. This
aside, the
plot is intricate
and the leading
characters
the sort I
hope will
be reappearing
in another
(slightly
shorter) book
soon. Anybody
who has read
Michelle Black's
The Second
Glass of Absinthe
(also reviewed
on this site)
and who wants
to read more
about Leadville
at this particular
time need
look no further.
As with that
book, I can
imagine reading
groups everywhere
having a ball
discussing
this one.
Well worth
a look.
http://www.myshelf.com/mystery/03/silverlies.htm
