I do so enjoy my time spent with Inez and her adventures in Leadville, CO. This book is actually set a little south of Leadville in Manitou which is at the foot of Pikes Peak. She is there to see her son, William, who is visiting with Inez's sister Harmony and her husband Jonathan. During the stagecoach ride from Leadville to Manitou another passenger dies, apparently from a heart attack but Inez is puzzled that he died so quickly after drinking one of the tonics or "nostrums" that are mixed by the local doctor and given to those suffering from weak lungs and consumption, better known today as tuberculosis. This particular tonic was intended for the dead man's wife and Inez is immediately suspicious that the wife was the intended victim. Thus, she is on the hunt for what is rotten in the Mountain Springs House.

While trying to re-establish a relationship with her almost 2-year-old son, deal with the "risen from the dead" husband, and the cast of characters surrounding the Hotel keeps Inez busy and also in danger.

There is a lot of marvelous history in all of Ann Parker's books but this one has a wealth of information on the early days of medicine and the hunt for cures to diseases like consumption.

I can't wait for the next in the series. ( )

This was my first in the Silver Rush mysteries, but it stands alone fine. Inez Stannert's husband, Mark, disappeared one year ago. In the time since then, Inez made the difficult choice to send her young son, William, to stay with her sister, Harmony, back East because his health was suffering in the high altitude. She has worked on piecing her life together since then.

The book opens as she is about to get her absent husband declared dead so she can move on with her personal life. She is traveling with her friend Susan, from Leadville to Manitou Springs to meet with her family and reunite with her son. During the long rough stage coach ride, fellow passenger Edward Pace dies after taking a tonic from Dr. Prochazka.

Inez and her family are staying at the fictional Manitou Springs House. The hotel intends to be an upscale hotel but also is cashing in on the throngs of people who come to Manitou for the mineral waters and healing. For the Manitou Springs House, this means having Dr. Prochazka as part of the hotel, tending to Tuberculosis patients. Edward Pace's widow asks Inez to investigate, believing that her husband was poisoned. Apparently Mr. Pace was interested in investing into the hotel while his wife was convincing him there was something amiss.

Inez has plenty of drama going on personally while she tackles investigating a death that only herself and the widow believe was a murder. Inez shows how tough western women were, and how they challenged society mores. Inez has reached a point where she knows what she wants and is about to grab the brass ring, only to have it yanked away. She comes out fighting, literally at times. From what I learned about Colorado history growing up, she is a realistic rendition of what many of the women who helped tame these parts were like. This book doesn't feature many of the standard secondary characters much, since the bulk of the story does not happen in Leadville. I would like to get to know the Leadville cast better.

Miss Parker did an excellent job with the history and sense of place. Since Manitou Springs is essentially my backyard, and only a few minutes drive for me, all of the scenery and even some of the buildings in the story, I grew up with. I felt like I was being transported back in time with the deft historical portrayal. The tuberculosis treatment centers in the storyline are a large part of the history in this area. Even at our University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the old Dwire Hall was a TB treatment center. I was afraid that I would not like the portrayal of local history and sights, but I had nothing to fear.

The plot is realistic since tuberculosis treatment really was a big business here, catering to middle and upper classes. The shady goings on at an upscale treatment center was well done. The personal life drama often took center stage and those were the parts that I skipped through. Some personal issues as a subplot are one thing, but there were times when Inez's personal problems nearly became the central plot, which I think slowed the pacing.

The climax was well done I felt, bringing to head all the snooping and suspicions to a dramatic show down. The wrap-up smoothed some of the drama, but promised that some issues would still be worked out in the next book.

Overall, this is a solid historical mystery with seamless period detail integrated with a tough female character. I loved it!

4th in Silver Rush Mysteries

Main Characters: Inez Stannert, part owner of Silver Queen Saloon

Setting: 1880s, Manitou Springs, Colorado

Obtained Through: Library ( )

History/Mystery Club Pick ( )

First Line: Inez Stannert had nowhere to run.

It's the summer of 1880, and many people diagnosed with consumption (tuberculosis), are arriving at Manitou, Colorado, to chase the elusive cure. Inez Stannert isn't one of them. Part-owner of the Silver Queen Saloon in Leadville, she's traveling to Manitou to reunite with her young son and her beloved sister.

The journey by stagecoach is far from pleasant, and it turns lethal when businessman Edward Pace dies in front of the others inside the coach. Once they've arrived in the hotel, Pace's distraught widow asks Inez to look into her husband's death. Since something about it didn't seem right to Inez, she agrees. She's barely begun when she starts to uncover all sorts of shady business deals involving those hoping to profit from miracle cures to the desperate and the dying. Although she'd rather do without it, Inez realizes that she's going to need the help of a man just recently returned from an eighteen-month unexplained absence-- her own husband.

I've been a fan of Ann Parker's "Silver Rush" mysteries since the very first one, Silver Lies. I love the mining towns of the Old West, so Leadville, Colorado, is a perfect setting for an historical mystery series. Parker can put so much detail in her books, and it never comes across as a history lesson, or as preaching. In fact, Mercury's Rise may make a few readers cringe due to the characters' attitudes and behaviors towards those ill with tuberculosis, but Parker knows not to infect her nineteenth-century characters with twenty-first-century knowledge.

Although the plot is an involving one that kept me guessing, and I loved the Old West setting, Ann Parker's characters are what keep me reading and keep me coming back for each new book. Inez Stannert is a strong, independent woman who isn't always right and who doesn't always make the right decisions. Like most humans, she does the best she can with what she's got. She has a husband to deal with whom she believed was dead. She has a young son who's been raised by her sister and doesn't recognize her. And she has infuriating, interfering family members from back East who want to dictate her life for her.

There's a lot of meat on the bones of a Silver Rush mystery by Ann Parker. I intend to savor each bite, and I hope you'll join me at the feast. ( )

I’m very interested in the spa and holistic cure phenomenon that has overtaken this country periodically over the last couple of centuries so, when I saw Ann Parker’s new book Mercury’s Rise, my curiosity was peaked. This is the 4th novel in the Silver Rush mystery series; however, it stands quite well on its own. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=2203 ( )