Mystery
Author Taps
Into Rich
Vein of
Leadville's
History
-
Chuck Brownman,
For The
Daily Camera
October 26, 2003
Silver
Lies by
Ann Parker.
Poisoned
Pen Press,
420 pp.
$24.95.
The
fascination
of historical
mysteries,
which are
increasingly
popular, lies
primarily
in creating
plots and
characters
that bring
alive long-ago
periods.
More
than other
subgenres,
historical
mysteries
are highly
dependent
on research,
since the
author must
accurately
portray the
time and location
(including
language,
fashion and
values). Many
writers of
historical
mysteries
say that they
first research
the period
they are trying
to recreate,
then develop
a mystery
appropriate
to that time.
Some
writers use
their personal
histories,
which is what
Ann Parker
has done in "Silver
Lies." Her
great-grandfather
relocated
from Pennsylvania
to Leadville
in the 1870s,
working as
a blacksmith
and raising
a family that
included her
grandmother.
Her grandfather
worked the
Colorado railroads.
Her parents
were raised
in Denver,
and her younger
brother, an
astronomer,
still lives
in Boulder.
"Silver
Lies" takes
place in
1879 Leadville,
two years
after silver
was discovered
there. In
the "silver
rush" that
followed,
Leadville's
population
quadrupled
to 20,000,
and the
city's leaders
hoped it
would become
Colorado's
capital.
Besides
a thriving
red-light
district,
Leadville
boasted
such "modern" conveniences
as a water
system,
a hospital
and local
gas and
telephone
companies.
Fortunes
were made
and lost
daily, and
real estate
values boomed.
Against
this backdrop
of sudden
wealth and
19th century
values, fraud
and counterfeiting
were common,
and men underestimated,
used and took
advantage
of women.
The frontier
lured people
looking to
forget their
past or alter
their future.
These themes
all play a
role in the
plot of "Silver
Lies."
The
body of Joe
Rose, a precious
metals assayer,
is found behind
the Silver
Queen, a saloon
owned by Inez
Stannert (whose
gambler husband
disappeared
a few months
earlier) and
Abe Jackson
(her husband's
black friend
and partner).
When Emma,
Joe's widow,
asks Inez
to settle
Joe's business
affairs, Inez
discovers
that Joe was
neither the
honest businessman
nor the wholesome
family man
she thought
him to be.
Her questions
incur the
wrath of the
richest man
in town (who's
also a spurned
suitor), bring
out the post-Civil
War racism
of the town
marshal and
threaten an
ambitious
brothel madam.
An interim
reverend who
has just arrived
shows up whenever
trouble erupts
and may not
be who he
says he is.
And when Inez's
own questionable
past comes
to light,
she is forced
to face unpleasant
truths about
herself.
Parker
has captured
the feel of
early Leadville — the
lawlessness,
the boom-and-bust
mentality,
the hope and
despair. Equally
effective
are her portrayals
of the bone-chilling
cold and wind.
Descriptions
of how quickly
pure white
snow turns
into gray
slush when
mixed with
wheels, hooves
and mud, made
my appreciation
for streets
and sidewalks
rise dramatically.
Unfamiliar
historical
terms, many
of which are
unexplained
and whose
meanings must
be discerned
from the context
of the story,
slow down
the reading.
And Inez,
while a strong
central character,
frequently
proves that
she's an amateur
by failing
to recognize
clues and
connections
that most
readers will
easily see
and by failing
to ask logical
follow-up
questions
of other characters.
But
the positives
outweigh the
negatives
in the book,
which is published
by Arizona-based
Poisoned Pen
Press, an
independent
publisher
founded seven
years ago
to publish
out-of-print
books and "smaller" mysteries
that are too
often lost
in the shuffle
of publishing
industry mergers
and consolidations. "Silver
Lies" is
an enjoyable
read that
will let the
reader experience
a slice of
Colorado's
early history
while providing
an entertaining
and puzzling
mystery.
Chuck
Brownman is
an attorney
and a mystery
writer living
in Boulder.
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