The Widowmaker

by S.J. Richard

The residents of Kanen, Colorado, thought the tumult and chaos of 1873 ended with a shot from a .44 Derringer.They were wrong.While ailing Marshal Jack O’Malley struggles to recover from a gunshot wound, a new candidate is being considered to lead the tiny town and a smooth-talking visitor from the East is showing considerable interest in feisty saloon proprietress Amanda Morgan. The Town Council is considering removing Kanen from the map, and an ebony-haired woman has arrived with a bizarre tale of lost love. That is more than enough to satisfy Kanen’s need for intrigue—until the body is discovered. A quiet, yet violent death shakes Kanen and throws open the door to a legion of new rumors, theories, and innuendo. The question on everyone’s Did one of Kanen’s residents commit the ultimate evil act? Between the trial of the century looming in the headlines and the uncertain fate of the town’s leadership, peace and quiet has never been so rare in the once sleepy town of Kanen.

481 pages, Hardcover

First published February 14, 2014

About the author

S.J. Richard is a graduate of Marist College, where she studied the art of racking up student loans and the entertaining effects of sleep deprivation. She worked for several New England newspapers while exploring the dynamics of not having a savings account and methods of living off the kindness of tolerant and pitying relatives. She won top honors from the New England Press Association in the late 1990s for her reporting and feature writing. She currently lives in Vermont.