Iron Ties by Ann Parker
The railroad is coming to Leadville and its rich Rocky Mountain mines. Among those who will be on hand to celebrate the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande is Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States and former commander of the Union armies. Like other residents in the Colorado boomtown this summer of 1880, Inez Stannert regards the news as mixed. With her business partnership in the Silver Queen Saloon shaky and the bonds of family slipping (her husband is still missing and her young son is still back East), Inez doesn't need the lawlessness of Leadville to turn, once again, into murder. But Inez isn't the only one with iron ties to the past. Some folks have wicked memories of the war, others have a stake in the competing railroad lines. And photographer Susan Carothers, Inez's friend, is caught in the deadly crossfire.... Ann Parker gets it just right.... -Margaret Coel, award-winning author of the Wind River mysteries Ann Parker earned degrees in Physics and English Literature before falling into a career as a science writer. Her ancestors include a Leadville blacksmith, a Colorado School of Mines professor, and a gandy dancer. Ann, her husband, two children, and two pet rats reside near Silicon Valley. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and Women Writing the West. Iron Ties is second in her award-winning Silver Rush Mystery series. www.annparker.net