Silver Lies - Softcover

The horse brayed and reared. For a moment, Joe saw mount and rider looming over him, an enormous shadow against night-dark clouds. The whip fell again. The horse pawed the air, then leaped forward with a grunt. Joe recoiled in terror. He heard, then felt a bone-crunching snap. And screamed. His leg. Intolerable pain engulfed him like a black avalanche. He tried to grab something, roll away. His fingers closed on ooze and shattered ice. The horse reared again, fighting rein and whip. Hooves plunged down, flashing past Joe's face, crushing his ribs with a sound like dry wood splintering. Joe's last scream was muffled by mud and honky-tonk music. And the piano played on.

Ann Parker earned degrees in Physics and English Literature before falling into a career as a science writer. Her ancestors include a Leadville blacksmith, a Colorado School of Mines professor, and a gandy dancer. Ann, her husband, two children, and two pet rats reside near Silicon Valley, whence they have weathered numerous high-tech boom-and-bust cycles. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and Women Writing the West. Iron Ties is second in her Silver Rush series, following Silver Lies, winner of the Willa (Cather) Literary Award for Historical Fiction and the Colorado Gold Award, and finalist for both the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award and the Spur Award for Best Novel of the West.