Silver Lies: 04/30/07
Silver Lies is the second book I've recently read that takes place in Leadville Colorado at the close of the silver boom. Of the two, I preferred the slightly more melodramatic The Golden Fury by Marian Castle who grew up in Leadville.

Silver Lies from start to finish takes place in what would be the first third of The Golden Fury. It's the time when Leadville is still booming but the boom is slowing down. The lucky few will find the remaining veins of silver or find other metals (lead and zinc). Those who are close to the mines can see the bust coming and will move on to other mining towns and the other businesses will try to adapt.

In the middle of this time of turmoil, a man has gone missing and an another, assayer, has been murdered. Inez Stannert the wife of the missing man must work with a questionable cast of characters to solve the mystery of Joe Rose's death. While Leadville is described with full detail making it a believable depiction of a boom town, the mystery seemed both clunky and predictable.

books | mystery