From Publishers Weekly
A young woman inherits a remote ghost town in the Colorado Rockies and uncovers a mysterious connection to a distant mining ancestor in this lightly entertaining first novel. When her Aunt Grady leaves the entire ghost town of Leap Year to Darcy Close, she moves there and soon comes to love the peculiar place and her unusual neighbors whose bumper stickers read: "There are no rules above 10,000 feet." It's not long before she develops a relationship with Evan Allender, an attractive sometime carpenter and full-time hippie with two children. Through details in Aunt Grady's letter, Darcy begins to discover something of their common ancestor, Conor McAllister, who came to the Tenmile Canyon a century ago when the area bustled with gold and silver mines. Darcy's first-person account runs parallel with Conor's third-person story of seduction and treachery. In the flashback portions, Conor is horrified when he discovers that his beloved, Elodie Kelly, murdered her husband. As Darcy unearths Conor and Elodie's story, she is involved in a mine excavation that brings her unexpected riches. Black almost spoils the tale with her canned ending; but, despite digressions into the lives and thoughts of minor characters and too many serendipitous coincidences, she manages to fashion a mildly romantic western mystery. (Oct.) FYI: This first fiction title issued by Wolf Moon Press had a limited distribution in the Rocky Mountain states in 1996. It won the Colorado Independent Publisher Award for Fiction in 1997.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
Both storylines hold the attention in a vise grip. Masterfully delivered for a first novel. Michelle Black has penned a winner. ~ Romance Communications
NEVER COME DOWN is a contemporary romance, a historical romance, a mystery, and a really good read. Darcy Close inherits a ghost town, Leap Year, in the Colorado mountains from a great-aunt. And with it she inherits a mystery, a family secret, and a mystery. As Darcy-s love story evolves, so does another romance, one that happened a hundred years before-the love story of Conor McAllister and Elodie Kelly (and that romance is the historical part of NEVER COME DOWN and the beginnings of the mystery). The two romances provide an interesting contrast between the times, but more than that, they made for an astounding read. Highly Recommended! ~Under the Covers Book Reviews
Clearly, this book does not fit into any specific category, but that-s exactly what makes it a great read. It keeps the reader slightly off-balance, dishes up the unexpected. The characters are definitely different, well-realized, and totally eccentric-but they fit the plot, the setting, and the theme of NEVER COME DOWN. Said theme being : THERE ARE NO RULES ABOVE 10,000 FEET, a bumper sticker slogan that begins the book and is very evident in both tales. 4-1/2 Shooting Stars! ~The Word Museum
