Kirjahaku

Laudanum. Irish whiskey. The tried and true escape routes of bordello madam Hennessey Reed. On this occasion she suspects even their combined magic will not soothe her distress. The girl lying violated on the undertaker's table will remain dead, wounds horrifying and inexplicable, reminiscent of Indian sacrifice.Hennessey treasures the uneasy peace she has found in the remote town of Melancholy in 1880s Idaho Territory. However the discovery of three more young victims--all girls of similar age to her daughter Evie--compromises this hard-won equilibrium when she recognizes one of the girls.Usually content to tend her own business and leave others to mind theirs, Hennessey decides U.S. Marshal Rafael Cooper requires her help to search for the killer but acknowledges, if consulted, he may not necessarily agree.Although helped by an eclectic group dedicated to the barstools in her saloon, she is hindered by demons stifled by addiction and myopic hatred of Jedidiah Cannon: a man from her past she is convinced is involved in the present-day murders.So with her Bowie strapped to her calf and wolfhound Raven at her side Hennessey sets out to investigate--a one-woman stampede.

Bordello madam and amateur sleuth Hennessey Reed doesn't go looking for trouble. But trouble has an unnerving habit of coming looking for her.Melancholy, Idaho Territory, 1882. Hennessey Reed learns a reclusive family has been shot dead, bound in pairs, and dumped on the outskirts of town. Were they chosen at random, left as a warning, or, as members of a burgeoning religion, murdered because of their beliefs?Encouraged by past success as an amateur sleuth, Hennessey barrels headlong into the search for the killer. Unfortunately, a laudanum addiction and penchant for Irish whiskey can be most unhelpful when hunting a murderer. So, too, strained relations with the town marshal, a cagey Pinkerton agent, and an independent wolfhound who follows her nose, but rarely instruction.Hennessey knows present-day events are often rooted in the past. When her investigation leads her across societal boundaries and county lines, she is pitched against villains ready and willing not only to pay the ultimate price to wreak havoc and exact revenge, but also to kill whomever gets in their way.PLEASE NOTE: This book reveals plot details, and the villain, from the first Hennessey Reed mystery ONE FOR ANOTHER.