What Gold Buys

Silver Rush #5

by Ann Parker

Autumn, 1880, in the Rocky Mountains brings frost, snow, and the return of Inez Stannert to Leadville, Colorado, where she is one of three partners in the Silver Queen Saloon. Her undisputed reign is going to be challenged by her roving husband, Mark, who returns with her. The third owner, African-American Abe Jackson, is definitely worried about harnessing this volatile pair to the business, especially as Mark seems bent on wooing back his wife. The boomtown that greets the Stannerts is, as ever, populated by people in quest of fortunes in precious metals. Others, hungry for spiritual relief, seek to pierce the veil between life and death with the help of fortune-tellers, mediums, and occultists. Meanwhile, deep in the twisted byways of Leadville's Stillborn Alley, soothsayer Drina Gizzi works while awaiting the promised arrival of her benefactor, a Mr. Brown. When Drina is found murdered, strangled with a set of silver and gold corset laces, no one seems to care except the three who find her body: Inez, her lover Reverend Justice Sands, and Drina's young daughter, Antonia, who has been struggling to support her mother by disguising herself as a newsboy called Tony. The mystery surrounding Drina's death deepens when her body vanishes without a trace. As Inez and Antonia band together to seek out Drina's killer, they unearth evidence that resurrection men are supplying bodies dug from the cemetery to "anatomical dissection classes." Additionally, long-held grievances and white-hot revenge surface, complicated by an unruly group of young British remittance men. And by the missing, mysterious Mr. Brown. Meanwhile Mark Stannert, true to his word that he only "plays to win," contrives to drive Inez and Sands apart, gambling that he can convince her to abandon her plans for divorce. But what can gold buy? A new life? Freedom from the past? Truth and justice for those murdered and unmourned? Or a final passage for Inez and Antonia into an unmarked grave and the world of the dead? Silver Lies (Book 1) Iron Ties (Book 2) Leaden Skies (Book 3) Mercury's Rise (Book 4) What Gold Buys (Book 5) A Dying Note (Book 6) Mortal Music (Book 7) Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award Finalist Macavity/Sue Feder Historical Novel Award Finalist Will Rogers Medallion Award 2nd Place Winner (Western Romance) "Lefty" Left Coast Crime Award finalist, Best Historical Novel Sarton Women's Book Award (Historical Fiction) Finalist

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, 19th Century, Fiction, The United States Of America

408 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2016

About the author

Ann Parker earned degrees in Physics and English Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, before taking up a career as a science writer. These days, she slings science and technical verbiage for a living during the day and writes fiction at night.

Ann's ancestors include a great-grandfather who was a blacksmith in Leadville, a grandmother who worked at the bindery of Leadville's Herald Democrat newspaper, a grandfather who was a Colorado School of Mines professor, and another grandfather who worked as a gandy dancer on the Colorado railroads. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Historical Novel Society, Women Writing the West, and Western Writers of America. Ann and her family reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, whence they have weathered numerous boom-and-bust cycles.

Her Silver Rush historical mystery series, published by Poisoned Pen Press, is set primarily in the silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, in the early 1880s. (The sixth in the series, A DYING NOTE, is set in San Francisco, 1881.) The series was picked as a "Booksellers Favorite" by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association.

Reviews

[Peggyzbooksnmusic · Rating 5 out of 5]

So excited to be back in 1880's Colorado with Inez and all of the other colorful characters from this series!

edited to add review: This is #5 in the Silver Rush historical mystery series and it did not disappoint! What a colorful cast of characters in 1880 Leadville, Colorado. And an engaging mystery also. Inez is a one of a kind heroine who is torn between her romance with Rev Sands and her husband who deserted her and their son over a year ago. I won't give away any spoilers with the mystery other then to say that it looks like there will be another book in this series in the future. Yeah! Although this can be read as a stand alone, I would recommend starting with #1 "Silver Lies".

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I've been waiting forever for this book! I really enjoyed the first four books in this series, and I was worried that the author had abandoned it since it has been 5 years since the last book, and never before did she wait so long in between the books in this series. I was so excited to see this new one was out, and I snatched it up immediately.

Coincidentally, I read the first four books in this series while living in England, but since then have wound up living in Colorado, not far from Leadville and right in the heart of where the four book had taken place. So I was doubly excited to read this fifth book now that the location setting is much closer to my heart.

This one introduced readers to the seances which were popular in the late 19th century when a gypsy medium is murdered, leaving a tough but vulnerable daughter behind, while also dealing with Inez's divorce going on in the background. The plot was just as intriguing as the previous books, and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen with Inez's marriage. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 5 years for the next book!

Historical Readings & Reviews

[Liz V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first four books in the series a number of years ago and have no idea how so much time elapsed before reading the fifth.

The author is meticulous in her research, as evident in her weekly blog posts on word usage appropriate for the 1880s and her author's note on Leadville and its residents during that era.

As well, Ann writes interesting mysteries.

[Knewmyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, even though I thought it was a bit slow to get going, it ramped up nicely in the middle and end to the point that I couldn't put it down. Loved the many strong female characters, the history.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Gold Buys by Ann Parker is the 5th book of the Silver Rush mystery series set in 1880 Leadville, Colorado. Inez Stannert finally returns to her Silver Queen saloon, after an extended visit with her son and sister in Colorado Springs. Mark Stannert returns with her, for the moment determined to remain married (by using a variety of dirty tricks). As Inez investigates the death of a fortune-teller in Stillborn Alley (the most poverty-stricken and crime-riddled part of town), she befriends young Antonia, who has survived by her wits disguised as "newsie" Tony.

Dr. G is hunting for Tony, who has unusual eyes. Newspaperman Jed Elliston is tracking a rumor of anatomists who dissect corpses, and possibly also create fresh corpses for their dissection efforts. Dr. G may be in cahoots with the undertaker Mr. Alexander. Tony accepts a menial night job for Mr. Alexander, hoping to find her "Maman", whose corpse disappeared after her murder.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in this series. The only thing I didn't care for was the final twist at the end, setting up the next book, but then I don't care for first chapter previews at the end of books, either.

[Story Circle Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autumn, 1880 in the Rocky Mountains' Leadville, CO is the idyllic setting for this excellent murder mystery. Amid winter's approaching chill and ever-present danger on the streets, the high stakes for great wins and losses abound everywhere in the Silver Rush community. Fascinating characters inhabit the nooks and crannies of the town, primarily Inez Stannert, operator and part-owner of the Silver Queen Saloon, along with part-owner African-American Abe Jackson, and part-owner Mark Stannert, Inez' former husband, just back from a fling that didn't work out.

I loved the author's ability to lift me from my quiet solitude into a bustling historical time brought so fully alive on each page that I felt present everywhere. I experienced the danger of walking after dark in shadowy parts of town, the discovery of a young, sweet murdered woman whose lifestyle differed from the average resident; I participated in the life of her young orphaned daughter, Antonia, who posed as a boy, Tony, in order to increase her safety and ability to earn a bare living on the streets. I walked with this smart observant girl as she courageously explored and eventually unwrapped the obfuscated facts behind her mother's murder. The exciting, often risky sights, sounds, and activities of life in the saloon linger with me still.

There is no dislike to this book in any sense. What Gold Buys is my first Ann Parker read, which brings with it the pleasure of knowing I now have four more Silver Rush Mysteries awaiting me. If you enjoy historical mystery, I invite you to open and dive into the lively pages of this book. If you're familiar with this series, you already know what awaits you.

by Mary Jo Doig
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in this series. The series started very well with interesting stories set in the historic mining town, Leadville CO, at the height of the silver boom in the late 1800's. The fourth book in the series strayed badly from that start, being set "down the hill" in Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. That book was of much less interest, because it was nearly entirely taken up with domestic matters - Inez's sister, her son and the return of her estranged husband. Fortunately this 5th book returns to Leadville and is more concerned with doing business there and an investigation into events evolving around a fortune teller, a voodoo practitioner, an undertaker's wife and the usual denizens of the town. Unfortunately, the central focus still seems to be on Inez and her husband. There seems to be only one more book in the series, which may turn out to be more than enough.

[James Hockenberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Gold Buys, by Ann Parker: Ms Parker is in a world of her own with her “Silver Rush Mysteries” set in Leadville, Colorado in the 1880s. No one brings the life, complete with the sights and smells, of the old west better than Ms. Parker. These books are wonderful escapes with well-drawn characters that enter and leave like great actors on stage, and well-scripted plots that entertain and keep you guessing. In What Gold Buys, the heroine Inez Stannert, one of the owners of the Silver Queen Saloon, investigates the murder of a soothsayer (and later the disappearance of her body) and becomes the protector of her young daughter. Her investigation leads to further mysteries while old town grievances resurface and desperate men seek their fortunes in an unforgiving world. This is a perfect book for the beach.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inez back in Leadville with the wayward Mark, does not disappoint. Nor does the crossdressing newsboy Tony, child of a fortune telling woman who is murdered in their Stillborn Alley hovel. And Miss Carrothers returns, a character I liked in the last novel and the one before that-a photographer of nature and folk. As indicated by the fortune teller spiritualism, mortuary science and death obeservations play a strong rome in this novel, and I was very happy with the way it ended-on a train. No more because of spoiler potential but I admire this author!

[Val Sanford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book too Predictable and at times, difficult to stay interested in. The story had good bones, but too many ideas were explored: mining, frontier living, prostitution, orphans, spiritualism, yellow journalism, and anatomists-- the act of dissecting bodies gained illegally. Add in women's rights under the law and mixed race children and the book is all over the place. Sad, really, because this has been a good series.

[Pamela Priest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a book - although we have to wait a while for each book in this series, Ann Parker does a great job weaving the continued fictional story of Inez, et al. with the true history of the place. I love it and highly recommend this series to anyone who loves good historical fiction from the late 1880s, especially set in Leadville, Colorado. And this one left us hanging, so I can't wait until the next one comes out!

[Julie Daneman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this murder-mystery set in boomtown Leadville, CO, days. As with most good mysteries, I thought I had it figured out, but didn't see the twist at the end. Parker's characters are interesting and the leads are well-developed. Her female characters are strong and smart. I really enjoyed this book.

[Julie Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Parker's Leadville stories delight the reader with her well-drawn characters and twisting plots. What Gold Buys is no exception. As usual, I was pulled right into the world of saloons, mystery, and the machinations of the men and women who people her books. I can hardly wait for the next one! I highly recommend the whole series of Silver Rush books!

[Eloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I keep saying, I love these books! Inez is such a wonderful character, as are those surrounding her. She is free at last from Mark and on her way to San Francisco with Antonio--another extraordinary character. The story was full of twists and turns and ultimately very satisfying. Gosh, I hope Parker keeps on writing about Inez.

[Andy53 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great addition to the Leadville series. Lot's of twists and a surprise ending

[Eileen Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series ! Can’t wait for the next one .

[Sarah]

I read this again to feel up-to-date for books #6, 7, and 8, which apparently all came out while I was oblivious / dealing with pandemic stuff. It was just as delightful the second time.

[Mary Nuttelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much a character driven entry into the series that serves as a transition to the next part of Inez' life.

[Donna King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Parker's books written about the silver rush in Leadville, Colorado keep you hooked from start to finish.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to get hold of this book over here in Germany. But friends bought it for me in the US and brought it back after their trip. And finally, finally I could read this book. And I wasn't disappointed. I was thoroughly enjoying getting back to the Leadville of the 1880s and meeting Inez Stannert again, together with some of the characters of the first four books of the series and some new ones, of course.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo

It was obvious that the author did a lot of reseach for this book. Really enjoyed the plot and can't wait to read the next book in the series

[Donna Baier-Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! the author dies a brilliant job recreating late 19th century Leadville and the colorful characters who roamed it's teeming streets. Inez is a strong female protagonist, spunky, good-hearted, smart...and able to make her way through some rough territory, both domestically with the men in and out of her life and in the rough-and-tumble neighborhood around the ominously-named Stillborn Alley. I'm afraid I've read two of Parker's five novels out of order, but What Gold Buys makes me want to go back to #1 and start over. highly recommend.

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Sentence: It was hard to find somewhere close by the crowded silver mining boomtown to practice killing a man, but Antonia was nothing if not determined

Inez Stannert and her husband, Mark, are back in Leadville. The wife of their friend and partner in the Silver Queen Saloon is due to deliver their first child but is distressed by the words of fortune-teller Drina Gizzi. Drina’s child, Antonia, has been posing as a boy, Tony, to get work but Inez isn’t fooled. When Drina’s mother is murdered, and her body disappears the question is whether she is still alive, or was she stolen by a resurrection man? Inez is determined to keep Antonia safe and help find the killer.

Stories that are more than one note are so much more interesting, and Parker has given us a full symphony. That there are multiple threads doesn’t cause the plot to be confusing. It, instead, creates a rich, multi-dimensional cloth. Sorry for the mixed metaphors; blame enthusiasm. However, it’s not often a book opens with the planning of a murder, and you find yourself rooting for the potential killer.

Parker does a very good job of bringing readers, new and previous, up to speed on the characters and the state of life in Leadville. The numerous relationships, with their conflicts and complications, make this a fascinating story. We truly see life as it was during this time; not of the wealthy, but of the scrappers and survivors, those who have made their own way, from Inez down to the kids on the street. One can’t help but admire the “newsies.” They are the ragtag kids—some orphaned, some not—who sell broadsheets and work the clean-up jobs, but how help one another survive.

Although all the characters are effective, it is to Inez and Antonia we gravitate. Inez is intelligent, independent, strong and capable, and we see those same attributes in Antonia. They’ve learned the hard way that they need to depend on themselves, and friends, to get by. Inez also knows, and accepts, who she is, without underestimating herself or women in general.

Where some books may include descriptions of food, as Inez owns a saloon, we learn more about alcohol. One will now know the ingredients of a hot Scotch whisky sling. Yet food wasn’t always cheese biscuits or poor fare—“We’d start with soup, fresh oysters in chicken broth….Then, baked trout, turkey and quail pie, prairie chicken on roast, green peas. Potatoes, lobster, nuts, coffee and pound cake.” And that’s just dinner for two. And then, there are the details about the clothing of the time, which is quite fascinating.

Beyond all the well-researched period details is a very well-written story of relationships, gamblers and philanders, of spiritualists and murder. There is very good suspense which builds well throughout the story.

“What Gold Buys” is an excellent historical mystery with a very exciting climax and an intriguing ending which leaves readers wanting to know what happens next.

WHAT GOLD BUYS (Hist Mys-Inez Stannart-Leadville, CO-1880) – Ex
Parker, Ann – 5th in series
Poisoned Pen Press – Sept 2016

[Denise Barney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Book #5 in Ann Parker's "Silver Rush Mysteries." And a whole lot happens in this novel, over the space of a week!

Inez Stannert has returned to Leadville, CO, with her wayward husband, Mark. They have a tentative "truce": Inez will refrain from pursuing a divorce for one year, allowing Mark to show her he has reformed and still loves her.

However, this leaves Inez's relationship with the Reverend Justice Sands somewhat ambiguous as well as Inez's financial dealings with Mrs. "Frisco Flo" Sweet, owner of one of the local brothels.

As Inez and Mark disembark from the train, they run into a group known as "The Lost Lads of London." At the beginning of the month, the Lads receive a remittance from home. Their custom is to give their return tickets to Inez for safekeeping while they spend the rest on wine, women, and song.

Abe Jackson, a third owner in the "Silver Queen Saloon" with Inez and Mark, does not come to the station to meet them. He is at home, waiting for the arrival of his first child with his very pregnant wife, Angel. When Inez visits, Doc Cramer is there, turning away visitors who come bearing potions to help speed along the birth. One of the unwanted visitors is Madame Drina Gizzi, a fortuneteller and seer, who lives in Stillborn Alley with her 12-y.o. daughter, Antonia.

To help make ends meet, Antonia has disguised herself as a boy and is a "newsie," selling papers for the Independent. She's known as "Tony Deuce," because her eyes are two different colors. Tony and Drina weren't always poor--they used to have the patronage of a "Mr. Brown," and Drina swears that he will return for them. Tony is skeptical. She has a gun with the initials "WPB," and she has decided to find Mr. Brown and shoot him.

Wouldn't you know--one of the Lads is named Percy Brown and Tony takes a shot at him in the Silver Queen.

Tony flees; Inez follows her to Stillborn Alley. Inez hears a scream and follows the sound to a shack where Tony is wailing and her mother lies dead on the bed.

Ms. Parker does an amazing job weaving together a fine cast of characters: another doctor, a newspaper editor, an undertaker and his wife, New Orleans voodoo, the Lads, the local lady photographer, and other citizens of Leadville. I didn't guess "who done it," and the ending had a couple of twists that were very satisfying.

Oh--and the Epilogue! What a way to leave me hanging, Ann!

I was able to attend the book launch for "What Gold Buys" and listen to Ms. Parker describe her writing process along with her "partner in crime," Camille Minichino. Not a reading, but a Q&A at Towne Center Books in Pleasanton. (A great little bookstore, by the way!)

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Ann Parker's Silver Rush mysteries since the very first one, Silver Lies. Parker brings a mining boomtown to boisterous life-- to the point where you can picture yourself amazed at the noise while dodging horse-drawn freight wagons and trying not to lose one of your boots in the mud.

Parker has created a main character with a very unconventional lifestyle. Inez Stannert owns a saloon. She's trying to get a divorce from her charming con man husband who abandoned her for almost two years. She's also having an affair with another man. This is complication enough, but Inez also manages to solve murders at the same time. Needless to say, she is a strong woman, and it's interesting to see how other characters view her throughout What Gold Buys.

But Inez is not the only person trying to forge a decent life for herself. For me, the character of young Antonia was the best in the book. She doesn't believe in the mumbo jumbo that her mother spouts in order to earn money. She doesn't believe Mr. Brown ever intended to join them in Leadville, but just in case he does show himself, Antonia has plans for him. This little girl has gotten the short end of the stick her whole life, but she's got enough gumption to share with a dozen other children. I loved her.

The guilty parties are relatively easy to spot in What Gold Buys, but that's really not the focus of the mystery. It's the How, and the Who Did What that's not so easy to deduce.

Ann Parker's Silver Rush series is perfect for you if you love old mining towns, historical mysteries, and a strong female main character. It is possible to read What Gold Buys without reading the rest of the books in the series, but don't be surprised if you find yourself tracking down the others.

[Vanessa Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Silver Lies book I have read not listened to and I sorely missed Potter’s rendition of Inez Stannart. I enjoy how Parker pads her cast with a combination of repeating characters, new characters, and characters that had been mentioned in the previous book. It’s a well thought out ploy as each book has a fresh cast of characters to add diversity to the story as well as much needed familiar faces. In this installment I enjoyed the addition of Antonia Gizzi and her mother as well as the creepy doctor and undertaker duo. I also enjoyed how angry Mark made Inez. His new found presence in these books was not a change I was happy about but after finishing up the final novel in Leadville I was content that the scoundrel gets his comeuppance. I’m listening to the final book now and am curious how Parker plans on wrapping up Inez’s story.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inez Stannert and her husband Mark return to Leadville with an agreement: they will run the Silver Queen saloon together, with their partner Abe Jackson, and Inez will stop the divorce proceedings she had initiated after Mark's disappearance. But things change quickly, starting with the murder and disappearance of a soothsayer, Drina Gizzi. More deaths follow, and Inez is concerned about the safety of Drina's daughter, Antonia, who has been working as a newsboy. Together Inez and Tony put together the clues that lead to the murderer, but not before they find themselves in mortal danger. An excellent book in an excellent series, this gives the reader a view of an interesting time in American history from several points of view. Recommended.

[Adrian McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the series (so far). Great characters, great historical detail, great plotting. So many mysteries start strong but get tiresome through the middle but you slog through for the chance of a payoff. That's not the case with What Gold Buys. The story sizzles from the first chapters right through the climax and keeps you turning pages through the denouement. Parker is not afraid to put her characters in realistically messy relationships and situations. She really brings them alive, and you'll find yourself really caring about what will happen to them. All those great characters really help drive the story without detracting from the mystery itself. Great fun.

[Martin Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hit a lot of my favorite topics: historical mysteries, characters I care about, an intricate plot. It wasn't fast moving at first - until the murder and then it had a relentless pace. I liked the taut suspense. It didn't matter that it was the fifth book in a series I hadn't read before, I felt right at home. I am looking forward to the next in the series.