I did not read the whole book, or have I read any books in the series before.

I think this was not a book one could read as a stand alone book. I found that I was missing a lot of backstory to have any feelings for the main characters. After reading 40 % of the book I gave up. Too much happened for me to make head or tails of the story, and I think there was a lot of story in the earlier books which would have helped me in this book.

I’ve read the first book in Ann Parker’s Silver Rush Mysteries, Silver Lies set in 1879/80 in the silver-mining town of Leadville, Colarado in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. I loved it and fully intended to read more of the series. Somehow that hasn’t happened. A Dying Note is the 6th book in the series, so I have some catching up to do. I wondered if this would be a problem, but it reads very well as a standalone book.

A Dying Note is set in the autumn of 1881. Inez Stannert is still the co-owner of Leadville, Colorado’s Silver Queen saloon, but she has left Leadville and is making a new start in life in San Francisco with her young ward, Antonia Gizzi. She is managing a music store, hoping to become an equal partner with the store’s owner, Nick Donato, a celebrated local violinist. In addition to managing the store she also gives piano lessons and is in silent partnership with some of the small businesses run by women in the city.

All is going well until the body of a young man, Jamie Monroe, is found washed up on the banks of Mission Creek canal. He had been beaten to death. Jamie is one of the musicians who frequented Nick’s music store and was in love with Carmella, Nick’s sister. So Inez and Antonia are drawn into the investigation into his death.

Then some of Inez’s old acquaintances from Leadville, including Harry Gallagher, arrive in San Francisco, threatening to expose her past. Harry is looking for his son, Robert and has brought with him Wolter Roeland de Bruijn, also known as ‘Mr Brown’ who he’d employed to find Robert. He insists that Inez helps Mr Brown which results in putting them all in danger.

It’s a fast paced mystery (that actually is not that difficult to figure out) and I enjoyed very much. I also liked the setting and all the details about San Francisco in 1881 – the scenery, the layout of the city with its dangerous areas of the Barbary Coast and Chinatown, where Inez, Antonia and Mr Brown search for Robert and follow the suspects of Jamie’s murder. The details about the efforts to set up a musicians union and the work of Frank Roney (a real life figure) involved in the Seamen’s Protective Union also add a lot to the story. The characters are also well defined and I was very taken with Antonia, a teenager with an inquisitive mind and lots of daring!

In her Author’s Note at the end of the book, Ann Parker identifies what is real, based on historical facts and what is the result of her imagination, with a warning that this contains spoilers – so don’t read it until after you’ve read the book! She also gives details of the sources she used in writing her book, all of which I think is fascinating, especially for me, knowing nothing about the history of San Francisco.

I shall certainly seek out books 2 – 5 in the Silver Rush Mysteries:

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy via NetGalley.

First Sentence: Not my hands!

Inez Stannert and her ward, Antonia moved to San Francisco from Leadville, Colorado, where they live above the music store, owned by a renowned local violinist. Inez works in the shop and teaches piano including to a young musician whose badly beaten body has been found on the banks of the Mission Creek canal. Inez her life, and the secrets she’s keeping may fall apart when a friend from Leadville shows up with Wolter Roeland de Bruijn, a man who knew Antonia’s late mother, and a man looking for his son. When the link between the two young men is made, can Inez discover his killer without her reputation being destroyed?

The opening is violent and difficult to read. It is clear there is an important link, but one wonders whether the first chapter truly adds to the story or could have been omitted.

What follows is the true introduction of the protagonist, Inez, and many of the supporting characters. One thing that makes Inez particularly interesting and admirable is her determination and her business acumen. She has found a way to help other women support themselves with small women-owned businesses while building security for herself and Antonia. There is information on Antonia’s past included in the story that explains her behavior and tendency toward self-reliance. She knows what it is to be an outsider and recognizes it in others. There is also a scene of great tenderness.

There are a number of other wonderful characters who enrich the plot. Antonia’s friend Mick Lynch is a member of a large Irish family and son of the cop. John Hue is a Chinese purveyor of curiosities and repairer of stringed instruments and woodwinds. Patrick May, the young black man, loves music and just wants to play the piano. Elizabeth O’Connell, is a female Pinkerton agent. These, among others, give flavor and dimension to the story.

One is given a good look at life in this time, but it is the life of ordinary people. Yes, there are scenes at the still-fabulous Palace Hotel, but the bulk of of the story involves the working class which is a rather refreshing change. Parker also addresses the issues of attitudes toward the blacks and Chinese immigrants, and the events surrounding the attempts at unionizing musicians. Even so, there is a nod to today—“Mark me,” he continued, “there will come a time when the oppression by the moneyed powers of this country will be so great it will no longer be endured.” There is so much wonderful historical information included that adds veracity to the story. When reading historical mysteries, the Author’s Notes are always important and informative. It’s fun to learn which things are real and which were invented or changed for the purpose of the story.

“A Dying Note” includes very good plot twists, a surprising ending, and a promise of continuing associations in the future.

A DYING NOTE (Hist Mys-Inez Stannert-San Francisco, CA- 1881) – G+
Parker, Ann – 6th in series
Poisoned Pen Press – April 2018

It's always a pleasure to watch a series grow from strength to strength, and this is exactly what I've seen happen with Ann Parker's Silver Rush series. There's always some fascinating historical snippets to learn, a fantastic setting, an engrossing mystery to solve, and a strong, intelligent main character to cheer on. Inez Stannert has not had an easy life, and she's needed every bit of her intelligence and determination to survive and to succeed.

What makes A Dying Note even more interesting is the addition of young Antonia Gizzi to the cast of characters. Antonia's short life has been even more difficult--she and her mother were abandoned by her father, and as her mother lay dying, Antonia had to learn how to live on the streets of Leadville. This little girl is sharp as a tack and, as my grandfather would say, as independent as a hog on ice. I loved Antonia's ability to answer questions truthfully without actually telling the honest truth. That takes a lot of skill. She's used to making her own decisions, and she doesn't trust anyone but Inez. Inez is probably the only person strong enough to deal with Antonia, and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what happens next.

The pace of A Dying Note is excellent, and the scenes in which various characters are being followed through the streets of San Francisco are downright nerve-wracking. Even though the whodunit is relatively easy to deduce, learning all the hows and whys and getting the person out into the open is fun. This series is for all fans of historical mysteries, and if you haven't given it a try yet, I suggest you start at the beginning with Silver Lies. You've got some good reading ahead of you!

A Dying Note is the sixth book in the Silver Rush series.

With this book we now find Inez Stannert and her ward, Antonia Gizzi, living in San Francisco. Inez is working D&S House of Music and Curiosities where she is the manager and gives music lesson. The founder and Inez’s partner, Nick Donato is a well-respected businessman and accomplished musician and spends a good part of his time seeking employment for musicians who frequent his establishment. The story centers around one of these musicians, Jamie Monroe. Monroe hopes to secure steady employment so he and Carmella Donato, Nick’s sister, can get married.

One day Inez is shocked to see Mrs. “Frisco Flo” Sweet, a madam and business partner of Inez from Leadville enter the music store. She learns from Frisco Flo that Harry Gallagher, a rich silver mine owner, has made her come with him to help look for his son. Gallagher has also engaged Wolter deBruin to aid in the search. Gallagher has threatened both them to ruin their businesses and reputations.

Then an unidentified body is discovered and with information that Flo has provided Inez knows that the body is that of Jamie Monroe, but is really Robert Gallagher, Harry’s son. Inez decides to keep this information from Gallagher for as long she can, hoping to learn who the killer is before telling Gallagher, thereby saving their businesses and reputations.

This is a wonderful historical series. The author has done a great job of researching, plotting and telling an interesting and exciting story and also providing an interesting and believable cast of characters.

Also included is a rather extensive list of references to learn more about the late 1800’s in San Francisco.

I will definitely be watching for the next book in this exciting series to see what adventures Inez and Antonia will have.

A Dying Note by Ann Parker is #6 of the series Silver Rush Mysteries, but is completely stand alone. I know I want to get my hands on the rest of the series, however. This is a good read, fast paced and flowing, with folks you can be comfortable with and a story that involves you in this life and death entrigue. It takes place in San Francisco in 1881 - 1882 and you know right away that you want to stay out of Barbary Coast and Mission Bay but San Francisco is already the Queen City of the western world. As a silent protagonist, we have the attempts in this fair city to establish unions of all sorts, including one geared for musicians, the second or third attempt to unionize San Francisco's music makers and entertainers. Colorado transplant and music store manager as well as silent partner of several female owned local businesses, protagonist Inez Stannert tells this tale from her perspective but her ward, Fifth grader Antonia Gizzi, steals the show from early on. You have to love 'Tony's' spunk and lack of fear. The remaining cast are for the most part music makers - pianists and violinists and every sort of woodwinds imaginable, mostly young men trying to make a place for themselves in the tapestry that is San Francisco by the sea. The Murder of James "Jamie" Monroe on the docks of Mission Bay is a shock to all in the small enclave that is the San Francisco music industry. Inez takes the death of this much admired young pianist personally and begins digging into Union organizers, Jamie's past, and that of his contemporaries in a bid to solve this murder. And there will be, despite her many efforts, a great deal of 'help' from Antonia.

And then we have Flo Sweet, the blast from the past who leaves her high class bordello in Leadville, CO in the hands of her 'girls' to add her two cents worth of advice and distraction to the murder investigation in San Francisco. She is accompanied by another Colorado protagonist, Harry Gallagher, owner of the Silver Mountain Mine in Leadville, and the father of missing Robert H. Gallagher, a young man involved in organizing a union for his father's miners, who fled Colorado to avoid an arranged marriage to the daughter of another mine owner, Phillip Poole. Rumor has it Robert wanted a chance to make music his life's work and San Francisco looked like a good fit. Poole also shows up in San Francisco after the suicide of his daughter. He is just looking for revenge.

I loved this historical look at the city of San Francisco, and the people, places, clothing, businesses, transportation, education, and entertainment available at this time in the international melting pot known as the city by the sea. The Author's Note in the back - spoilers, don't read until last - gives us several web sites to mine for San Francisco information, then and now, as well as an extensive glossary of reading material that covers this era of California history. Thanks!

I received a free electronic copy of this western historical novel from Netgalley, Ann Parker, and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Inez Stannert returns in A DYING NOTE, the sixth novel in the Silver Rush series by Ann Parker. The novel will be published April 3rd, 2018 by Poisoned Pen Press. For those of you who are unlike me and haven’t read the five previous novels in the Silver Rush series, those novels are: SILVER LIES (2006), IRON TIES (2006), LEADEN SKIES (2009), MERCURY’S RISE (2011), and WHAT GOLD BUYS (2016). If you haven’t read any of these novels, I highly suggest that you do as they are all wonderful novels. The Silver Rush series are historical mysteries set in the 1880s.

A DYING NOTE is quite different from the previous novels in the Silver Rush series. Yes, Inez Stannert is still the main character. And, yes, she finds herself in another situation where she needs to sort out a mystery and find a killer. What is different is that Inez and her young ward, Antonia Gizzi, have left the sometimes-wild mining town of Leadville, Colorado, where she was co-owner of the Silver Queen Saloon and had a stake in an upscale brothel. Unlike all of the other Silver Rush novels that take place in Colorado (four in Leadville and one in Manitou Springs), A DYING NOTE takes place in the more subdued, and much larger city of San Francisco, California. It is now 1881 – a full year has passed since the end of WHAT GOLD BUYS – and Inez and Antonia have relocated to San Francisco to restart their lives. Inez has to be careful to hide her past or else her job at the music store – and her new life as well as Antonia’s – could be placed into jeopardy. Inez can’t imagine that her employer would be overly receptive to the fact that she is a divorced woman who has killed a couple people (never in cold blood) and has a somewhat unsavory history. Inez’s employer is Nico Donato, a famous violinist in San Francisco. Turns out that he also has some unsavory incidents in his past.

While different from the previous novels in the Silver Rush series, A DYING NOTE was just as enjoyable. Getting to see Inez in a situation that is quite different from her life in the rough-and-tumble Leadville was interesting. Though, I do have to admit, I did miss Leadville and her cast of various and unique characters. Not to worry though, two of the more notorious citizens of Leadville show up in San Francisco. Florence Sweet – better known as Frisco Flo back in Leadville – is the madam of the upscale brothel that Inez is part-owner of. Frisco Flo was brought to San Francisco by Harry Gallagher. Harry is one of the richest men in Leadville and owns many of the silver mines in the area. He is also one of Inez’s past lovers. Harry and Flo, along with private detective W.R. de Bruijn, came in San Francisco to find Harry’s son who fled Leadville on the eve of his arranged marriage. Inez is swept up in the search for Robert Gallagher – mainly because Harry threatens to reveal her past. Inez manages to find Robert; unfortunately she finds him in the morgue. Inez. Frisco Flo, and de Bruijn work together to find out what happened to Robert and track down his killer. Antonia also gets involved in the investigation, and it is her participation that really adds something to the novel. Antonia is such an engaging and likeable character.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed A DYING NOTE. It was very well-written and plotted out. Ann Parker really brought San Francisco of the early 1880s to life. The characters – old and new – were all fully developed and interesting. I’m already looking forward to the next novel in the Silver Rush series.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and found it enjoyable. I had reviewed the first book Silver Lies also and really loved it. This one was good reading also but the mystery was very complex.

Great attention had to be paid, as to who was the designated detective for which part of the complex chain of events. I am fairly sure that Inez Stannert, still co-owner of Leadville Colorado's Silver Queen saloon, was in actuality the mastermind of keeping the peace in this San Francisco neighborhood.

Other strong personalities or interested parties involved, sometimes along with Inez and sometimes flying solo were Frisco Flo ( Mrs. Sweet) a madam from Leadville and a partner in various dubious businesses with Inez. W.R. de Bruijn had multiple roles to perform in the very complex set of circumstances, one of which was to interact with Inez Stannert's ward Antonia.

I think that Antonia Gizzi herself will be investigating herself before long. It will be so interesting to see how she comes along. She was a delightful fresh character. Preorder now for the April 3rd date and spend the time reading the previous volumes.