Silver
City by
Jeff Guinn is a fascinating historical western that blends
action and adventure with factual information. He is not a
stranger to westerns, having written two other novels in this
series and a non-fiction book about the shootout at the O.K.
Corral.
In this story revenge and vengeance take center stage. Readers
might remember that the male lead, Cash McLendon is on the
run, as he tries to hide from a murderous thug, Killer Boots.
His former employer, a powerful St. Louis businessman, wrongly
blames him for the death of his drug-addicted daughter. In
addition, Cash is attempting to win over Gabrielle Tirrito,
the woman he initially wanted to wed but spurned when he was
pressured to marry into wealth and prestige. After being seen
as a reluctant hero of the epic Indian battle at Adobe Walls,
he has journeyed to Mountain View in the Arizona Territory
with one goal: to convince Gabrielle Tirrito that he is a
changed man and win her back from schoolteacher Joe Saint.
Killer Boots, aka Patrick Brautigan kidnaps Gabrielle to force
Cash to trade himself for the love of his life. He, his good
friend Major Mulkins, and his rival for Gabrielle Joe Saint
hit the trail in pursuit of Killer Boots, hoping to make a
trade before it’s too late.
The book has very well developed characters. Gabrielle is
seen as a tough, intelligent, and independent. Cash is an
opportunist, caring, who grows in character with each book.
Joe Saint is resentful, manipulative, who uses guilt to get
his way, and spineless. The antagonist Killer Boots is fierce,
frightening, without any moral code. He subdues his victims
using overwhelming intimidation, both psychologically and
physically. There is also the terrain, which in many ways
is a character as well. It plays a role with the overwhelming
dust, mountain range, and floods. Readers get a sense of the
setting, feeling as if they were there, while getting a flavor
of what the Arizona frontier was like.
The provinces displayed are mining towns where prospectors
were able to hike into the nearby mountains to find silver
and gold. Guinn describes Silver City as “a
seedy hell hole run by a corrupt sheriff. Towns that sprung
up around mineral strikes either aspired to sophistication
or descend into anarchy. I hoped I provided real historical
context that contrasted Mountain View and Silver City. Mountain
View was a sophisticated town that had bowling alleys, ice
cream parlors, and eventually libraries. There was also Clantonville
where Newman, Ike, and Finn tried to establish a town controlled
by them. They are typical of a group of individuals who came
into the frontier to make their own fortune.”
Guinn furthermore pointed out how “the women throughout
the frontier are the ones who actually made the settlements
something more than bare subsistence. The men brought in the
economic system while the women brought in the culture and
lifestyle. In this book Gabrielle is working at a hotel at
the same time she is helping to organize a library system
for the community. In the first book, Glorious, the character
Sydney Chow provided laundry services, but also much needed
medical care. By the way she is not gone and will be heard
from again.”
Readers will enjoy an action packed book, but also enjoy how
the author intertwines into the plot the Western history,
culture, and influences. These books of western fiction are
based on real history that gives readers a feel for the frontier.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Buffalo
Trail
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