Bison River Madam: a novel of valley intrigues

By Ivan Lee Weir

1937. Newly minted lawyer Peter Blackwell leaves Minneapolis in his vintage Model A Ford to establish a law practice in northern Minnesota's Red River Valley of the North. Along the way, he gives an alluring young troubadour a ride to Bison River. His fate and her's become entwined while Peter negotiates his first murder trial. Nellie Blankenship, a brothel cleaning woman, is accused of murdering the town's leading banker. Faithful to her employee, the whorehouse Madam contributes funds needed to pay for Nellie's defense. The circumstantial evidence piles up as one 'lady-of-the-night' after another testifies about Nellie's activities in the brothel. Swamped by lies, deceit and ambiguities, Peter can only argue that circumstantial evidence is a legally weak reason for sending a young widow to prison for the rest of her life. With no credible alternative murderer in sight, the highly experienced and ambitious prosecutor pursues justice supported by the ever-so-righteous Ladies for Temperance and Christian Living.
The story of the novel takes place between two world wars and in the midst of the Great Depression. It was a time when Red River Valley farming was feeding the nation with its agricultural production. Factors involving 'economy-of- size', industrialization and predatory financial entrepreneurship provide the novel's relevancy to the 'farm crises' that enveloped mid-western rural America in the recent past. Although a fictionalized legal murder mystery, the novel exhibits a realism of early twentieth century farm life that resonnates in farming communities today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DTTK8VMR
• ISBN13: 9798305883978
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"