Ann Parker's tales of the Leadville, Colorado community in the 1880's follow Inez Stannert, part-owner of the Silver Queen saloon, through her personal trials and the most inconvenient murders, this time just as President Grant visits in celebration of the intercontinental railroad. Parker captures the emotions of the times as Grant's visit stirs up Civil War memories and conflicts lying just under the surface of day-to-day life...and sometimes right in the thick of the day. IRON TIES is the second in the Silver Rush series and finds Inez struggling to save a friend's life, sort out the truth about her errant husband, and the overtures of the local minister. She does all this while building her business, solving a murder and worrying about her infant son, sent east to becared for by family. Parker's many threaded tales unite in a superb read.

Second in a good series

This was assigned as this month's book club read. Having read (and had issues with) the first book, I was pleased that this one addressed some of the things that made me dislike Inez. I still didn't like her a whole lot--the book began with her wanting very much to have her son back, which is a trait that I like to see in a mother, but it fizzed to nothing. Again. The author did show us Inez's love of men, but juggling two in this book, even while she's still technically married didn't add to her likability. And how convenient for Susan to disappear from the storyline until she was needed to explain the solution to the mystery.
The writing was good, with good descriptions and imagery. I still found it stilted and slow, which may be in keeping with the language of the times.

Inez is back at sleuthing and crime solving in Leadville, CO involving post-civil war PTSD, domestic abuse, and her own romantic triangle. Just about the time where I think I'm not sure on continuing this series, the end wraps up and I go what's next....

History and Mystery Part II in Colorado's Cloud City. It's the summer of 1880 in Leadville, Colorado, and the battle over which railroad will build the line through the Royal Gorge and into Leadville is over. Or is it? Inez Stannert's good friend Susan is taking photos in the country and witnesses a murder and sabotage along the new rail line. Or does she? Where did the bodies go? Or were there any bodies there at all? President Grant is coming to town on the new rail, are some disgruntled Civil War veterans planning murder? Or is the sabotage being planned by a competing railroad line?

Once again saloon owner Inez Stannert is thrown into an ever changing mystery, as one clue turns up another after another, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the final end, as she brings this sky high city and the old west to life. I enjoyed the added twist of the disgruntled Civil War veterans still suffering from the effects of that horrific war, and their involvement in the mysterious plot against Ulysses S. Grant and the new rail lines, and most especially the added wrinkles to the character of the mysterious Reverend Sands. I hope this author continues with more books on Inez, as there is still one big puzzle still left untold at the end of this book. I want more

I guess I'm invested here. I read this questioning Inez's motives, judgement and decisions. On to Leaden Skies.

This is the second book in the Silver Rush series by Ann Parker. These books are entertaining hops through the wild west and it covered the silver mining that was going on in Colorado in the late 1800's. Also the railroad was getting established. There were many historical events that provided twists and turns in this book. I enjoy this particular era and even though the books in this series are a little softer than I prefer, it was still fun and they mentioned places where my parents are from and even had some family surnames in this. So 4 stars.

I'm really enjoying this historical fiction series about Leadville CO, in part because our heroine is far from perfect and still quite fetching. She has no problem pursuing men she is interested in, except when she realizes that it might have an impact on regaining her frail son, now in the East. She's still with the ambiguous Rev. Sands but struggles with an attraction to Preston Hunt, a Railroad man. The book details the arrival of rail service to her city and the economic and territorial fallout of this change in civic life. My only criticism is another artefact bearing high value goods-in the last novel it was a rocking horse full of counterfeit plates and loot, this time something is full of gold. And when the contents are revealed I am somewhat gobsmacked that the 'donor' is fine with turning the coins over to a man of a different race. But then then there are moral codes in the territories that are inconsistant, or consistent to people living on the edge in a boom or bust economy.
Great characters, well written and I have yet to find a typo in the text. On to the next!

The railroad is coming west, all the way to Leadville and its rich Rocky Mountain mines, not to mention millionaires. And who is coming to celebrate the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande but Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States and former commander of the Union armies. Like other residents in the Colorado boom town 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 tightening (her husband is still missing and her baby 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 a stake in the competing railroad lines. And Inez's friend, photographer Susan Carothers, gets caught in the crossfire. . . .

Great protagonist and historical detail.

Interesting historical mystery set in 19th-century Leadville, CO. Railroad machinations, post-war (takes places 15 years after the end of the American Civil War) politics, and a strong female heroine help keep it from turning into a romance. If you like watching The Pinkertons, try reading this book. this is the second in a series of at least three novels, the others of which series I aim to read.

I rolled straight into the second book after the first and loved it almost as much. The author's writing had got better and although I wasn't as taken with the story it had the right level of complexity and suspense.