Solomon Spring

by Michelle Black

Book Overview

The healing waters of the Solomon Spring hold no miracle cure for murder... - A child custody battle turns deadly on a windswept winter prairie in 1878. - A man begins a quixotic search for lost love... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1929705069
• ISBN13: 9781929705061
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Wintersun Press
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Western United States - 1878

Twice married Eden Murdoch links up with a long lost ex-lover, Brad Randall, in their mutual concern over the plight of the Northern Cheyenne. Solomon Spring is an ancient spiritual Native American pilgrimage site; Eden's attachment to it stems from her years among the Cheyenne as wife of its medicine man, Hanging Road. Eden, however, has a knack for making enemies, and soon both she and Brad are accused of a crime neither committed. This is an excellent way to learn about the Northern Cheyennes' relocation to the Indian Territory, and their failed attempt to return to their northern homelands. Also well portrayed is the hard scrabble life on Kansas' windy winter prairie, the rough-and-ready frontier justice, and society's disapprobation toward a woman like Eden who does not follow the accepted norms for white women of her class. If there is a fault, it is the story's unrelenting series of disasters. As soon as Eden overcomes one hurtle, another immediately follows. This reviewer leans toward slower paced plots which allow for a truer sense of time and place. That said, this second book featuring Eden Murdoch gives us complex characters who live adventuresome lives in the turbulent Victorian American West. It is the second in the Eden Murdoch series.

Lovable heroes, despicable villians, interesting times...

This was my first exposure to a book by this author, and I was very pleased. The story covers a period of time interesting to me and in an area near my home. The heroes are good people with normal character flaws, and the villians are the kind of people you can easily hate. The story is tied in to real times and real events. The author is obviously very familiar with the Cheyenne Indians and the frontier during the latter 1800's. A spellbinding book.

great work of historical fiction

In 1879, Brad Randall, the Commissioner for Indian Affairs feels ineffectual in his post because he knows how the Indians are being treated and is in no position to help them. When he finds out his wife is cheating on him with his assistant, he leaves her and journeys out west, hoping to help the Native-Americans. He also wants to find Eden Murdoch who he has not seen or heard from in ten years to tell her the son she thought died is very much alive.When the two ex-lovers meet, Eden is in jail protecting the fact that the Indians are no longer allowed near Solomon Spring, a sacred site to many tribes. He gets her out of jail and takes her to see her son who is not pleased to see her because her husband, Lawrence Murdoch has found him first and fed him lies about her. When Lawrence is found dead, Brad confesses to his murder but the only one who doesn't believe him is Eden who intends to find the real killer before her lover hangs.SOLOMON SPRING is a great work of historical fiction and an equally good historical mystery. Through the characters eyes we are able to see the plight of the Indians and their courage in the face of adversity. The romance between the two protagonists is quite good but takes a back seat to the who-done it. Michelle Black is a talented writer who will appeal to readers of mystery, romance and history.Harriet Klausner