An excellent Ann Parker historical mystery set in 1879 Colorado.

The characters and lots of Leadville history made for a great tale. There was a little bit of everything - lust, deception, mystery, action! Living in Leadville and knowing the history here, I was able to go back in time and visualize a story like this one really happening.

Exceptional read! Living in Colorado and knowing the Leadville area, this was a great storyline with suspense and intrigue....love it!!

I liked the historical 19th century setting of the story in Leadville, CO, although there were no particular surprises on that score.

The story itself was only so-so. Chapters were short and easy to get through, but the tale was never hugely compelling, and the use of real historical persons was paper-thin. There was some good action, but the mystery elements were fairly rote. The characterizations felt pretty obvious, another thing that made the mystery portion difficult to be all that interested in, although there were a few good instances here and there of a character turning out to be different than they seemed to be. And at least there were a few morally ambiguous characters also.

A great read. The plot development was fabulous.

This was interesting for you Colorado readers as it takes place in Leadville in the 1879. I liked the parts that made me reflect on where I live now and where this was taking place...the difference in transportation, communication etc. Another of those fast reads, throw in some mystery, throw in some romance. Overall okay.

This was an enjoyable historical mystery that takes place during the Colorado silver rush in the late 19th century. The main character was very human and definitely not perfect. Parker created characters that were both likeable and unlikeable at the same time. I liked that immensely. The story started off slowly, but the action in the story did pick up and kept me intrigued. The ending made sense to the story. I will definitely continue the series to see where the author takes these characters.

3.5 stars

This was a fun and easy read. I love historical fiction in this time period. This had a taste of the wild west charm....thugs, get rich schemes, saloons, etc. I love that. I liked the way the author inserted social dilemmas of the day into the story. There were also some great twists in the plot that kept things flowing. The characters were well drawn and I especially enjoyed Inez and the preacher.

I loved this story. This historical milieu comes alive, and the mystery kept me turning pages. Am now turning to the rest of the series.

To be rated/reviewed closer to this month's book club meeting

The first book in the Silver Rush mystery series introduces readers to the town of Leadville, Colorado and Inez Stannert, one of the owners of the Silver Queen Saloon. Set during the late 1800's, this series blends history and mystery for a fun read. I liked the historical aspects of the story most, such as the fact that the character of Inez was based on a real female saloon owner. Leadville was a rough and tumble town, where residents had to be prepared for anything and everything, to include murder. This book did a good job of laying the foundation of interesting backstories that I'm curious to learn more about. I ended up with a copy of the fourth book in this series when I attended a past Malice Domestic conference and plan on seeking out the second and third books too.

Who killed Joe Rose and why??? Inez and Reverend Sands will figure things out though, won't they??? I enjoyed tis story and recommend the book.

Pretty well done in the setting. The characters don't feel real, but they are at least distinct. The introduction of a famous historical character late didn't make any sense to me, nor the role the character played, which I thought undercut many of the good things in the plot.