The Pearl of Ruby City - Hardcover

Harris, Jana

3.73

11 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312193157 ISBN 13: 9780312193157

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1998

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In Ruby City, a frontier mining camp in 1890s Washington State, Pearl Ryan, a young woman who takes in laundry to save money for nursing school, must find out who is responsible for a series of poisoning murders before the secrets of her own past are revealed. A first novel.

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About the Author:

Jana Harris teaches creative writing at the University of Washington.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The authors second novel (Alaska, 1980) is set in Ruby City, a Washington State mining town, in 1893. Young Pearl Ryan has fled there, escaping the false charge back in New York that she stole her employers diamond necklace. In Ruby City she runs the Laundry by the Lake, helped by Mary Reddawn, a Siwash Indian, and Marys husband, Chin. Saving her earnings for medical school Pearl also assists Doc Stringfellow when the need arises. Theyve been unable to save much-loved Mayor Shaky MacDonald from what the doctor has diagnosed as typhoid. His death is quickly followed by that of Jake Pardee, owner of the gambling hall and Trading Post, killed by a shot in the back. The mayors close friend Dutch Wilhelm is the next to sicken and die, with more mysterious deaths to follow. Pearl is determined to find out whats behind it all, and she succeeds, even as she discovers the betrayals of her own past. Harriss choppy narrative, packed with local color, determinedly eccentric characters, and nasty confrontations, never achieves flow or focus. Best enjoyed by fans of the Old West. -- Copyright �1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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