Trouble in Mariposa

About the Book

All kinds of men showed up in the gold fields of California in the early 1850’s; some good, some bad, some worse. The worst type, Australian convicts from San Francisco called Sydney Ducks, arrived in Mariposa, a new town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, bringing their particular kind of brutality and villainy. To add to the gold miners’ distress, the California bandit, Juaquin Murrieta had begun attacking anyone with a white skin. From Monterey, U.S. Marshal Matt Janzene rode to stop the trouble. Once in Mariposa, he discovered that his sister Susan was in the middle of the violence with vital information he needed. Before they can meet, her cabin explodes with her inside. Soon afterwards, Janzene receives a mysterious note indicating that she is still alive, but in bad trouble. How can she have survived the explosion? Can she still help him? Do the Sydney Ducks want her dead? Janzene goes to find Susan, but is ambushed by the Sydney Ducks and his body is swept away down Mariposa Creek by its swift springtime currents. But the Sydney Ducks underestimate Matt Janzene. He is too tough to kill and too dangerous to mess with. They soon find out why.

About the Author

For over fifteen years, Steve Hailes has been writing technical manuals and training materials for Fortune 100 companies. His works, including Windows Help Systems have been purchased by millions of people. His technical writing skills are matched by his love for writing fiction. His western history novels have remained on the best selling list of audio books by Books in Motion for the past five years. Trouble in Mariposa is the second in a series of The Gold Rush Chronicles which includes five novels about varying real life dramas taking place in California during the Gold Rush. (The first book, The Vengeance Trail, is available from iuniverse.) Mr. Hailes is a graduate of the University of Utah with a degree in English and most of his class work for a Master's Degree in Comparative Literature. Mr. Hailes lives south of Silicon Valley in San Jose with his wife, children, computers and his growing library of western history. He frequently visits the places where his novels occur.