Crown of Dust

By Mary Volmer

A powerful story of friendship, love and betrayal, from a fantastic new voice.

In a high mountain valley, a group of disparate characters have set up a rudimentary community, held together by the formidable Emaline, hostess of the wayside inn. It is there that Alex, on the run from something, concealed under a false identity, finds refuge but that arrival brings dramatic change to Motherlode.

In the small settlement, no one asks questions about where you have come from or who you are. They all know each other's virtues and vices: the rules are few and their own justice swift, an Eden of a sort. But then Alex, who has discovered fellowship for the first time, finds a large gold nugget and with that one lucky strike, gold fever hits, everyone becomes a gold digger and outsiders of all kinds pour in. Houses, stores and streets replace the tents and mud paths. Wives, preachers, lawmen come to town and try to impose their order, their form of society on what they perceive as a lawless, godless community…and the past catches up with Alex.

So will the community betray their Golden Boy? Will Alex's true identity be discovered? Will the prejudice now present in the town be able to destroy Emaline and the rich spirit of her inn? Can Motherlode survive its gold rush?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Aug 20, 2009
• ISBN: 9780007343522

Mary Volmer

Mary Volmer was born in Grass Valley, California and lives in the San Francisco Bay area. She studied at Saint Mary’s College, California where she is presently lecturing. She also completed a Masters degree at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth. This is her first novel.

Reviews for Crown of Dust

[anaraguard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh, Mary Volmer, what have you done to me? Two sleepless nights because once I picked up your first novel," Crown of Dust", I had trouble setting it aside. And even when I had laid it to rest on my nightstand, your characters continued to roam around inside my mind with their weighty secrets and their perilous endeavors in Motherlode. Gold fever created this town: raised its canvas roofs, created the thirsts slaked in Emaline's bar and bed, brought together the ragged band of drifters, grifters, drunks and dreamers. Holes dug with pickaxe and shovel in search of gold were always prone to cave in, threatened further by the hasty blasts set off upstream. Another kind of explosion was set to devastate the lives of secretive Alex, haunted David, stalwart Jed, and Emaline, who was the queen of Motherlode, its own mother, its very heart. And now, I can't wait to dive into "Reliance, Illinois" to see what you have made of this prairie town and its residents.

[wascanalib · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Volmer has great descriptive powers and easily paints a picture of the California Gold Rush, with only the very last page appearing somewhat trite and predictable.