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A small black woman and an Indian carpenter form a conspiracy against an enticing blond performer for the Shining Light saloon, in a vivid tale set against the backdrop of the ramshackle, half-built San Francisco during the Gold Rush. 15,000 first printing.

YA-- Holland paints vivid word pictures of a tumultuous, violent, and unique time and place in U. S. history--San Francisco at the beginning of the 1849 Gold Rush. All types of people converge here, by the overland route or the Isthmus of Panama, both of which were arduous. Cutthroats, army deserters, preachers, miners, Mormons, con men and women, prostitutes, and Native Americans--are all ready to start over. Among them are Frances Hardhardt, an escaped slave whose goal is to control white men as she has been controlled; Daisy, a voluptuous singer who is Frances's protegee and tool; and Mitya, an Aleut Indian with a troubled past whose talent as a builder creates the central locale of the book, the Shining Light Saloon. That arena becomes the glue that binds people and story together. Holland's characters are finely drawn and develop slowly, which will urge readers on. This novel is an excellent choice for those seeking multicultural material; the historical facts give food for thought and insight into motives relating to that particular time, and that particular place.
- Debbie Hyman, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Holland's 18th novel (after The Bear Flag ) creates a vivid montage of San Francisco in its wild beginnings. The aptly named Frances Hardheart, an escaped slave with a quick wit, a sharp tongue and a knack for using people, has founded the Shining Light, a haven for non-whites. With her protegee, the beautiful and white Daisy Duncan, she sets up a stage show and bar, enlisting the aid of such likable characters as good-natured, white Gil Marcus and taciturn, Indian Mitya. Frances, aka Mammy, soon extends her influence to the city's rising political and social elite. Daisy, Gil and Mitya battle corrupt politicians and struggle to assert their independence from Mammy in one-on-one scenes that reveal the intricacies of their personalities and relationships. Crowd scenes, meanwhile, mirror the tumultuous growth of the city. Holland's grasp of history is neatly matched by her skills as a storyteller.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Holland (The Bear Flag, 1990, etc.) returns to pioneer California for her 20th fictional mix of history, blistering action, and romance--set this time in San Francisco, aborning in grit, violence, and an explosive mingle of races and allegiances after the war with Mexico. Among those intent on justice (pursued with knives more than with talk), loyalty, and love is a ragtag group of the homeless and despised. Frances ``Mammy'' Hardhardt, a tiny, fierce, black former brothel cook, is owner and founder of the bar Shining Light in the city where lush, blond Daisy had been sent by the uncle who abused her. Arriving in San Francisco, Frances takes charge, and with the help of would-be writer Gil Marcus, property is secured. Beautiful Daisy sings; Mitya, the half-Aleut, Northwest coast Indian, cast out by his own people, constructs a solid building from an old ship; black Josh oversees the labor, while Laban paints murals. Throughout, Frances's shrewdness and Mitya's knife and Gil's political savvy weather terrors to come: a gross competing bar- owner is out to douse the Shining Light; there are attempts to ``crimp'' (shanghai) Mitya; so-called Regulators--Mexican War volunteers from New York--aim to loot, smash, and govern; and, worst of all, the Vigilantes, also grabbing for power, arrest innocent and guilty alike and execute men by the score. The Vigilante leader is the man Frances had picked out for Daisy. Meanwhile, there's violence aplenty, plus a super-brave, last- minute ploy by Gil, before two lovers and a sick and bitter exile leave the Shining Light--its feuds, searing hatreds, and iron friendships. Holland conveys easily the noise, dust, and bumble of street crowds in the brand-new seacoast city to background a juicy tale of dark action and bright hopes. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Holland chooses historical San Franciso as the setting for her 18th novel. Like the heroine in her last novel, The Bear Flag ( LJ 6/15/90), the heroine here is a competent, ambitious woman who arrives in California with nothing. Setting out to raise herself and those around her to new levels of wealth and power, Frances Hardheart epitomizes the dream of California, where the past is forgotten and life begins anew. What makes this book more interesting than others of the genre is that the principal characters are drawn from the lowest rungs of 19th-century American society--Africans and Native Americans. The plot's credibility runs a little thin at times, but Holland captures the lawlessness of early San Francisco with style and imagination and tells a story both engaging and romantic. This will be popular with Holland's fans and other historical fiction lovers.
- C. Christopher Pavek, National Economic Research As socs . Lib., Washington, D . C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.