I grew up in a family that loved westerns, so reading one is always a treat. Here is a fascinating glimpse into the heyday of this mountain city complete with saloons, cardsharps, gunfights, civil war veterans and the dawn of the railroad age. The West as a frontier is on the verge of becoming history, but it is hard not to be caught up in the excitement of a time when so much was new and exciting. It was this that drew my attention and kept the pages turning rather than the story, which moves at a rather desultory pace more akin to a mule with a heavy wagon than a speeding stagecoach. As with Silver Lies, this is not really a book that needs its 400+ pages, and tends to sag rather when there is nothing new and old ground is being re-trodden to no useful purpose. This aside, the leading characters were well-drawn and absorbing in the first book and continue to be so, people with long pasts whatever their age and multi-faceted personalities. Maybe they - and the thrilling city of Leadville - might be reappearing in another (slightly shorter) book rather sooner than three years hence.