This is the sixth novel in Martin's Peter Fallon series. It once again features Boston-based rare-book dealer Fallon and his partner, Evengeline Carrington. In BOUND FOR GOLD, they are heading to California in search of a journal by James Spencer, who worked for a mining company during the Gold Rush.

While this is part of a series, each of Martin's Fallon novels can stand on its own. BOUND FOR GOLD is another excellent example of Martin's approach to historical fiction and biblio-mystery. It's a substantial, engaging, and satisfying read. An author I've always wanted to read more by, and I hope to do so soon.

Recommended.

Once again, William Martin has started off a book that engages from the beginning. Back & forth, between the gold rush era in California to present day, the story winds around & around, until coming together full circle. I enjoyed reading the latest Peter Fallon novel & look forward to the next. I would recommend this book for readers of historical fiction.

Rarely does a book come along that has me as emotionally involved as Bound for Gold. William Martin opens his novel with the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed much of San Francisco. James Spencer, a wealthy merchant, is desperate to get through to his office to retrieve the seven journals that document his journey from Boston as a member of the Sagamore Mining Company to search for gold to the position that he now holds.

In the present Peter Fallon, a rare books dealer from Boston, is asked to come to San Francisco to do an evaluation on the library of books that belong to the Spencer estate. Spencer’s last great-granddaughter recently died. In her will she specified that the estate not be liquified until Spencer’s seven journals, distributed among his descendants, were re-united. There are those that believe that re-uniting the journals could start a new gold rush and are reluctant to give up their copies to preserve the land.

While Fallon’s search leads to encounters with the FBI and the Chinese mobs, it is the contents of the journals themselves that fascinated me. The perilous sail from Boston to California started with the men of the mining company in good spirits anticipating the fortunes to be made but months at sea and confronting the conditions when they land in California creates irreversible divisions among the men. The brutal conditions, prejudices and hostility that they encounter are recorded in the journals and news dispatches that Spencer sent to Boston.

Martin also populates his novel with memorable characters. Spencer stakes his claim with Michael Flynn, a free-spirited Irishman whose love for a Chinese woman leads to tragedy, and Cletis, the army veteran who is often the voice of reason and holds them all together. There is also a strong female character in Janina, the woman who Spencer left behind in Boston. She makes her own way to California and stands by Spencer’s side as he builds his business. Theirs is a story that you will hate to see end and one that will stay with you long after you finish reading.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor/Forge books for providing a copy of this book In exchange for my honest review.

Another in a series where a Rare Book Collector and his girlfriend track down a set of mysterious journals and get caught up in trouble.
Think of Clive Cussler without the boats or Steve Berry and you will have some idea of who will appreciate these books. This time they are searching for some lost journals of a gold prospector in the early days of the California Gold Rush and solving the mystery could just mean finding the second Gold Rush. William Martin gives you a modern-day thriller with a solid historical Western. The characters are witty and the action is fast-paced. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Bound for Gold is historical adventure that takes the reader on a sea voyage, through multiple time periods, an earthquake, and to the California Gold Rush. Thrills, suspense, non stop adventures, gold fields, San Francisco, China Town, sex slaves, told by journals from the 1850‘s California. My only criticism was some of the characters language and behavior was perhaps a little too realistic at times. William Martin has long been one of my favorite authors and I have enjoyed and recommend every book he has written. My thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for making this book available to me to read and review.

This book was a bit out of my usual set of "must read" genres, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it! The characters were well-drawn and the plot completely feasible. Dialog hit all the right notes, too. This is a very interesting tale and well worth the time to read it. Recommended!

I am in love with this new (well, new to me) author! My kids have always loved immersion stories, where we fully experience a time or place and learn so much from it while reading a story. This is like one of those books, but for adults. (And my oldest student is already reading it!) There are two stories intertwined...the present-day mystery / action-adventure and the Gold Rush-era historical action-adventure. I learned so much about the Gold Rush that I never knew (and history is our thing around here) while reading this book. We'll be going through Mr. Martin's older books to see what else we can learn through living history, too!

A fascinating mix of history and mystery! The characters and the setting bring history to life while, at the same time, providing a compelling present day story.

I have read a couple of William Martin's books in the past and after finishing this one I plan to go back and read some more.

A wonderfully written historical fiction of the California Gold Rush era, the men and women who gambled all for the elusive pull of easy wealth in a territory that was anything but easy. The past and the present co-mingle as rare book dealer, Peter Fallon journeys back to that time via journals left by a man who lived it. One question kept going through my mind as I read this...Do we ever learn from history? Think God for good, caring, compassionate people.

Highly recommended!