I love a good mystery novel, and the fact that this was a mystery swept up in the romance and lawlessness of an old Western town just drew me in more.

Anne Parker does a great job at building her world. And her character development is spot on, including slowly sprinkling in bits of each back story to give each character even more depth. I think the only downside of the characters for me was the vast amount of them; however, I saw many others enjoyed this as it makes the world in the story more realistic and also leaves you all sorts of red herrings.

Overall, I think this book was just a little lack-luster. I felt some of the ends at the story weren't tied very well. There were also some details that reached a dead end, such as Emma's former prostitution or everyone assuming Inez wanted to get in bed with them.

I still plan on reading the next book in the series!

Silver Lies was quite enjoyable because of its sense of place, Leadville, Colorado in 1879 during the silver rush days. Inez is a saloon owner with a missing husband and a child being raised by relatives. She’s tough, harsh, with a feisty temper and a strong sense of justice. The book dragged a bit at times but I was quite taken in by the descriptions of life during this time.

The history in this book was interesting but the characters were hard to get behind. I just really didn't love any of them enough to continue in this series.

Start a new series!

If you're a fan of historical mysteries, westerns, or both, you will like this book. Set in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado during the silver rush, this book has it all. Great characters, intricate plot, even some romance. A strong heroine who can hold her own with the boys. Loved it. Ms Parker, you have a new fan. Bravo!

I like books that take place back in the early years. This story takes place in 1879 in Leadville, a boom town in the Rocky Mountains. Silver fever is at its highest, which brings mystery and death to the town. This is the first in the series as an E book.

Rather slow going, but I liked the sense of place. I think I'll keep on with the series since the set up has me wondering.

Although at one point I thought the book dragged, I ended up enjoying the mixture of mystery, romance, western and historical fiction. It was good to have a strong woman protagonist, and mixed race characters.

I wish that I could give this book 3.5 or even 3.75 stars. It's good, just not quite 4 stars good. The setting is almost a character, and that is neat. The mystery is well put together. It's not a typical whodunit, or action oriented book, but a good, solid mystery. I actually figured out the "whodunit" part early, but still enjoyed reading how all the pieces fit together.

The biggest failing is that the characters weren't quite real to me. I didn't care a whole lot about them. Toward the end of the book, a scene makes you question whether the main character is the person you think she is up to that point, which I really liked. Most of the story is told from her perspective, and in that scene the perspective shifts and you see how another important character feels about her, and it wasn't what I expected.

All in all an entertaining read. And to have been a kindle freebie, it was excellent.

This is a historical mystery which has won awards for both the historical aspect and the mystery aspect. I can see why. When you pick this book up, you will be immersed in Leadville, Colorado, or "Cloud City" as it was called in the 1880's during the Silver Boom. You'll feel the boardwalk sidewalks under your feet, the chill of winter at 10,000 feet and excitement of State Street, a street like Vegas- it never slept.

Throw into this mix, Inez Stannert- salon owner, an intelligent, well-educated (for the time) woman who eloped with a husband of questionable character only to be abandoned by him, leaving her and their young son. At the end of the book, we still do not know, is the wayward Mark Stannert alive or dead? However, we are very familiar with the protagonist, Inez. She has a short fuse, speaks in anger, is fiercely loyal and independent- heck, she's a lot like what a lot of us would WANT to be, given the chance.

You can read my interview of the author on my blog:

http://erikagardner.com/2012/09/28/li...

This is an engrossing, thrilling read where nothing and no one is what they seem. ENJOY!

I read this book for my mystery book club and loved it! It's a historical mystery, set in a Colorado mining town in 1880. I loved the strong central character--a female saloon keeper. She is one tough cookie! Lots of excitement and intrigue in the story. I recommend it.

It was OK but not my type of book, really.

Wondered how I would be able to read this kind of book, since I have never read anything about the 1800's before, but I found that this story was easy to read, suspenseful in spots, and actually a genuinely pleasing book. Nice to read a book without cell phones, GPS, tablets and everything about this day and age that wasn't in the picture back then.