"The great questions of the time are not decided by speeches and majority decisions…but by iron and blood."—Otto von Bismarck, 1862
Summer 1880. The railroad is coming west, all the way to Leadville, Colorado, and its rich Rocky Mountain mines—and millionaires. Coming to celebrate the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad is a former president, none other than Ulysses S. Grant, eighteenth president of the United States and commander of the Union armies during the Civil War.
But not everyone wants to celebrate the arrival of the railroad. Inez Stannert, like other residents in the Colorado boomtown, regards the news with mixed feelings. Her business partnership in the Silver Queen Saloon is still shaky and the bonds of family still tenuous, with her husband missing and her son living back east. Inez doesn't want to see lawlessness escalate and lead, once again, to murder.
Inez isn't the only one with iron ties to the past. Some folks have wicked memories of the Civil War, and others a stake in the competing railroad lines. Caught in the crossfire is Inez's friend, photographer Susan Carothers. An explosion that nearly killed Susan has killed another—or could it have been murder? It's up to Inez to investigate.
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“Set
in the summer of 1880, Parker’s outstanding second Silver Rush mystery (after
2003’s Silver Lies) finds her
heroine, Inez Stannert, corset-deep in the intrigues of Leadville, Colorado. Inez’s
secret courtship with the Reverend Justice B. Sands is as heated as the conflict
over the incoming railroad. When the local authorities question the reliability
of Inez’s friend, photographer Susan Carothers, who witnesses a shooting and explosion
along the rail line, it’s up to Inez to discover the truth. In one of the many
nice twists in this appealing adventure, the attractive railroad man Inez meets
during her investigation turns out to be one of the good reverend’s Civil War
comrades. In an effort to increase business at the Silver Queen saloon, Inez’s
business partner, Abe Jackson, engages an acting couple to perform. None too
happily, Inez realizes why the beautiful actress seems so familiar. A ragged
piece of cloth becomes a major clue as the clock ticks and the town readies for
a visit from former US president Ulysses S. Grant. Plenty of convincing action
bodes well for a long and successful series.”
—
Publishers Weekly (starred review)