Silver Rush Mystery Books In Order

Publication Order of Silver Rush Mysteries Books

The Silver Rush Mystery series is a popular mystery series written by one of the bestselling American author named Ann Parker. This series consists of 5 books in total, which were released between the years 2003 and 2016. Each and every book of the series is set in Colorado. Author Parker has introduced the chief protagonist in all the books as Inez Stannert, who is described as the owner of a saloon in Leadville, Colorado. The events in the books take place during the late 19th century. Inez Stannert is shown as a straight talking, poker playing, and gun toting shop owner of the saloon called as Silver Queen. She is the heroine of this excellent mystery series, which marked the beginning of the writing career of author Parker. The series opens at the time of the silver boom in 1879 in the wintry Leadville town. Inez Stannert is a married woman, but her husband left her and disappeared without any trace around 6 months ago. She has a partner in her saloon in the form of Abe Jackson. He is a black man having a free status and this dismays most of the prejudiced and the uptight populace of Leadville.

The readers come across the first mystery in the series when Abe and Inez come across a frozen dead body in the alley behind their saloon. The two are still trying to overcome from the damage caused due to a recent brawl near the saloon, and are shocked to see that the body is of their friend’s, the precious metal assayer named Joe Rose. It was known about Joe that he was addicted to gambling and kept a secret that was very nasty. Because of the death of Joe Rose, Inez Stannert and Abe Jackson are put at odds with several people, including a suitor, a crooked attorney, an infamous woman, and a strange and mysterious man who comes into the town as a new minister. Author Parker has made use of the historical facts & figures of Colorado from the 1870s for telling this book’s gripping tale about greed, love, and murder. She has described a case full of convincing and larger than life characters that also includes brief appearances from several prominent characters as well. Overall, Inez Stannert appears to be a woman who is pretty much ahead of the time, which makes her a welcome inclusion to this genre.

An initial book written and published in this mystery series by author Parker is entitled ‘Mercury’s Rise’. It was released by the Poisoned Pen publication in the year 2011. Author Parker has set the plot in Manitou Springs, Colorado, United States. At the start of the novel, it is shown that a number of people visit the health resort in Manitou in the summer of 1880. The resort is located near the Pike’s Peak and most of the visitors come there to get cured naturally from tuberculosis. Inez Stannert also visits the fast-rising resort, but she has a different reason for her visit. After remaining separated from her son for a long time, she has got the chance to reunite with her at the same resort. Her son’s name is William, who lives in the care of Inez’s sister named Harmony. It has also been a very long time since she met with her sister and Inez sees the visit to the popular as a good opportunity to meet with her sister too after so long. However, things do not turn out as Inez had thought. During her journey, she faces a lot of difficulties. In a horrifying incident, she witnesses the mysterious death of a businessman from East Coast named Edward Pace. The death is also witnessed by the children and wife of Edward Pace. Just as all of them reach the hotel, the widow of Edward Pace begs Inez Stannert to help her with the investigation of the circumstances that led to the untimely death of her husband. Inez agrees to help her out as she too wants to find some answers related to the death. As she begins to investigate and dig deeper, Inez Stannert goes on to uncover a few shady dealings of business by the ones involved in the making profits from the bonanza of the medicinal waters and its miraculous remedies. Inez Stannert also learns about the also hopes that the medical practitioners give to the dying and desperate people. However, what seems most shocking of all is the deception that is about to predate a Civil War. Just as Inez Stannert is trying to work out her personal problems as well as deal with Edward Pace’s death investigation, she comes across her husband named Mark Stannert, who reappears mysteriously after he had gone missing for a year and a half. This makes the things even more complicated in Inez’s life.

Another well known book published in this series is titled ‘When Gold Buys’. The Poisoned Press released this book too in 2016. Author Parker has mentioned the central characters in this novel as Inez Stannert, Drina Gizzi, Mr. Brown, Antonia, Reverand Sands, and Mark Stannert. The book opens by showing autumn in the regions near Rocky Mountains in 1880. There are snow and frost everywhere in the silver rush town. The ones who are desperate to become rich try their luck by indulging in business deals involving precious metals. And the rest who want spiritual relief take the help of oculists and fortune tellers. One such soothsayer is Drina Gizzi, who waits patiently for her benefactor named Mr. Brown. Later, Drina is discovered dead, strangled with a set of gold and silver corset laces. No one bothers to care for the murder of Drina Gizzi, except the ones who discover her dead body, including Drina’s daughter Antonia, her lover named Reverand Sands, and Inez Stannert. The mystery continues further when the Drina’s body vanishes suddenly. Antonia and Inez join hands to seek out the killer of Drina. During the course of their investigation, they unravel disturbing evidences related to long held grievances, underground resurrectionists, and white hot revenge. In the meantime, Mark Stannert tries to drive them apart as he wants to win at any cost. He gambles with his plans to convince Inez to abandon the thought of divorce. Inez wonders whether she will be able to serve justice and make the culprits pay for their crime as the case is increasingly getting complicated with the passing of each new day. Along with the mystery behind Drina’s murder, Inez Stannert and Antonia Sands also try to find Mr. Brown, who has gone missing without any trace since the day Drina Gizzi got murdered.