Ann Parker Books In Order

Publication Order of Abigail Summers Cozy Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Silver Rush Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Ann Parker is an award-winning author that is best known for her historical mystery novels set in Colorado in the 1800s.

+Biography

Ann Parker’s parents came from Colorado, Denver. That is where they were born and raised. However, they did not meet until they moved to New York. Ann and her siblings were born after her parents eventually relocated to California.

Colorado is central to Ann Parker’s books and that is because of the connection she nurtured with it. It all began when she was young. Even though they lived in California, the family often travelled to Colorado in order to visit their relatives, the grandparents in particular.

This usually happened over the holidays. Ann was pretty close to Inez Stannert Parker, her maternal grandmother. The two often spoke about Inez’s life as a young woman in Denver.

However, it wasn’t until a family reunion in the 1990s that Ann Parker’s Uncle Walt told her that Inez was raised in Leadville. Ann had never heard of Leadville and her granny had never mentioned it either.

Her uncle spoke of it with fondness, describing it as an amazing mining town with a rich and varied history. Ann was especially interested in Leadville’s Silver Rush, and her uncle Walt encouraged her to look into the matter because he knew she was thinking about writing novels and would benefit from setting her story in Leadville.

Ann Parker remembers exploring Leadville’s history in 1998. She remembers the year because it marked the advent of the dotcom explosion. Young men and women from all over the country began pouring into California, certain that they could make millions by simply starting an e-company.

The trend reminded Ann Parker of the Silver Rush of Leadville that she was reading about; it seemed to her that times were simply repeating, and she was inspired to write her first book ‘Silver Lies’.

Ann’s protagonist goes by the name of Inez Stannert, which, interestingly enough, is Ann’s grandmother’s name. Ann thought it necessary to honor the woman through whom she came to encounter Leadville.

Ann has admitted to emphasizing Inez’s nature as an independent woman, one that was atypical of those times because she was a financially powerful individual who could stand on her own.

In researching her novels, Ann starts by reading any newspapers she can find that were published in the time period she has set her sights upon. She will also explore history books and accounts restricted to specific time periods and years with the aim of identifying interesting occurrences around which she can base her books.

For instance, the idea for ‘Leaden Skies’ began with a story Ann Parker read about Ulysses S. Grant’s visit to Leadville in 1880. Ann’s goal in each situation is to find elements of intrigue, situations that stand out.

Where basic research fails her, Ann will talk to experts that are well versed in those time periods. For Ann, the research process is no different from the writing process. Once she starts, she does not want to be interrupted, at least until she attains satisfaction in her search.

Ann’s studios nature is nothing surprising. After all, she went to the University of California, Berkley where she attained Physics and English literature degrees. Ann typically does all her fictional writing at night.

By day, she is a science writer. That is where she makes her living from. Ann is a member of various literary organizations from the Western Writers of America to the Sisters in Crime, not to mention the Mystery Writers of America.

+Silver Lies

Inez Stannert has a seemingly ordinary past, this excluding her elopement with a gambling man that recently disappeared. Inez has enough to worry about as the owner of a saloon. Finding Joe Rose, a precious metals assayer, dead in the muck behind said saloon only complicates matters.

Abe Jackson, Inez’ business partner, is quick to dismiss Joe’s death as an accident. However, Inez cannot ignore the fact that Joe, a loving husband and father, was found with a token for a nearby brothel.

Inez isn’t too keen on taking a closer look at the issue, but Joe’s wife doesn’t give her much choice when she asks her to settle Joe’s affairs. Before long, Inez is uncovering secrets that should have stayed buried.

Silver Lies is a great first book from Ann Parker. The book is set in the 1870s in Leadville. Inez, the protagonist, owns a salon, assisted by her missing husband’s partner. Ann does a great job of bringing life in Leadville to life. She has a way of making readers feel like they have lived in an actual mining town before.

Inez looks like a simple woman, but it is made clear that there might be more to her than meets the eye. She clearly has a shady past, though little about her life is revealed. In fact, almost every notable character in this book seems to have something to hide. And that only makes one hungry to read Ann Parker’s other books, if only to peel back the layers of the characters in Silver Lies.

+Iron Ties

The Denver and Rio Grande has come to Leadville, and the president of the United States is making an appearance as part of the celebrations. Inez Stannert isn’t so sure of how she should respond.

There is bound to be some lawlessness in Leadville soon, and Inez doesn’t know if her business and her family can survive the chaos.

The second book in Ann Parker’s Leadville-based novels revolves around Susan Carothers, a photographer and Inez’s friend who is caught up in an explosion. Everyone is determined to rule it an accident, but Inez isn’t so sure.

But she is hardly in the best situation to explore the matter further, not after she stumbles upon a woman she once saw with her husband, who has been missing for a year.

Almost as distracting is the fact that Reverend Sands, the man with whom Inez is having an intimate relationship, is determined to take things with her to the next level. The railroad is coming, and it is bringing with it the ghosts of the past, not to mention many a grudge left over from the civil war.

5 Responses to “Ann Parker”

1. Carolyn Farley: 3 months ago

   The Secret in the Wall was fantastic!!
   Hope I can find more of your books.

   Reply
2. Lorraine Orr: 2 years ago

   I recommending The Secret In The Wall for our Denver based bookclub. Should your previous books in the series be read first or can each book read as a stand alone? Thank you.

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     They are best to be read in order. In saying that, looking at various reviews online, many people said that this was the first book they read and they really enjoyed it – and it just led them to wanting to start the series from the beginning. So I don’t think it’s a big deal if they haven’t all been read beforehand.

     Reply
3. Dennis W Williams: 3 years ago

   My wife suggested this series to me since I enjoy reading westerns and mystery’s and historical novels and have enjoyed reading these. I am getting ready to start the last in the series and was wondering if you are going to continue writing the books.

   Reply
4. Pat Kumbera: 4 years ago

   Ann, Love, love, love your master-pieces! I am 86yrs old and an avid reader and have all your books. Can’t’wait for the next one. P.S. Mike Kumbera is my wonderful son; Livermore CA

   Reply