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   Jim Harris March 20, 2024 at 12:40 pm | Permalink | Reply

   I find this hard to believe but since 1983, I have been a fan of author WILLIAM MARTIN. At that time, I was employed by a book publisher and we published BACK BAY, his first Peter Fallon adventure. I have just finished book 6 in the Peter Fallon Adventure Series entitled BOUND FOR GOLD.
   I thank Mr. Martin for sending me a copy of the book. We had not “spoken” to each other in nearly 40 years. I read and reviewed DECEMBER ’41 last year on the recommendation of a trusted source (not the author). It is a stand-alone story that does not feature Peter Fallon. That book rekindled my interest in Mr. Martin’s writing skills. I sent him a copy of my review and he sent me this book. Thank you for the great entertainment and information you provide your readers.
   Who is Peter Fallon, you may ask? If you have not read these, now at least, six books, Fallon is a book dealer in Boston who specializes in rare and historic books, manuscripts and the like. His services include finding lost or missing items, appraising personal libraries for estates and getting into mysteries involving the same. The books usually involve two stories – the history behind the missing item and the modern-day adventure of finding it.
   The story opens with a chilling look at the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 in the city of San Francisco (northern California, west coast of the United States). An elderly James Spencer, from the Boston “Spencers” (of Massachusetts, northeast coast of the U.S.) awakes to the rumble and roar of the disaster as it is happening. He gathers his butler/chauffeur, Mickey Chang, and drives to his office to rescue his Gold Rush Journals. He has written seven books that cover his life story from 1848 Boston to 1906. Mr. Martin’s brilliant writing will allow you to experience the rocking and rolling and the ensuing panic of a major earthquake event.
   Flash forward to the present day in Boston. Peter gets a phone message from his son LJ a lawyer in San Francisco. LJ needs to meet with Peter for a client. Little does Peter know where this eventful meeting will lead him. LJ’s client is the estate of a descendant of James Spencer. The codicil of that woman’s last will and testament includes a provision to find and reunite all seven volumes of Spencer’s journal to settle the estate. Secondarily, Peter is to appraise the value of the books in the family’s ancestral home in San Francisco. The magnificent house had survived, unscathed, the 1906 earthquake and fire.
   The story from this point forward bounces back and forth between the period of1848-1852 and the present. In the former, the eventful life of James Spencer is unfolded from his trip around South America to California (a nine-month journey). On his arrival in San Francisco, trouble begins within the company with whom James had set sail. The gold fields of central California beckon. The reader will learn a lot about the many ways of gold mining from the earliest days to the present day. Described as well is the lifestyle of these soldiers of fortune. Extremely interesting by the way. An eclectic group of people populates the Spencer story including dispossessed Mexican families, prostitutes, law enforcement officers and gangsters. Readers will watch as gold corrupts even the most civilized of humans.
   Meanwhile, in the present-day part of the story, the Fallon’s encounter winemaking (and rivals) brothers, a vicious Chinese Tong intent in capturing gold fields in California and an F.B.I. agent. Along with the Fallon’s is Peter’s long-time, on again off again lady friend Evangeline Carrington (from another well-to-do Boston family). She is a travel and wine writer for a national magazine.
   I love books about books, about bookselling and about libraries. If you are a fan of historical fiction, this novel is for you. If you like great storytelling, this is a book for you. If you like great characterization, this is for you. I am not alone in this assessment. The Providence Journal has said, “William Martin solidifies his claim as king of the historical thriller in the glittering BOUND FOR GOLD…” I agree with this assessment 100%. My VERY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
   GO! BUY! READ! NOW!