Magic Lance Mystery & Adventure in the New West

Description

Set in the dramatically picturesque Western mining country, Magic Lance is a novel of intrigue, romance, suspense and personal transformation. Hal Simmons weaves together the parallel tales of his two protagonists, the Indian Lucky Joe, operator of the Magic Lance Casino, and the small-time rancher Lance Burnett, as they each follow mutually exclusive visions that lead to unforeseen and violent consequences that can in the end only be resolved with the help of the other.

Lucky Joe leads a movement to purchase vast quantities of ranchland with the goal of establishing a Native American state with cash provided by profits from the Magic Lance Casino. Politicians, environmentalists, wealthy ranchers and even fellow tribal members suspicious of the motives of the land-grabbers become involved in an often-sinister web of ultimately deadly intrigue that comes to a head with the passing of the tribal governor and the resulting power vacuum. As the situation becomes more entangled, Lucky Joe’s stress level intensifies and he begins to find solace in his tribe’s old ways of the spirits. But is it too late?

Lance Burnett has two major problems, money and women. Trying to make a living as an independent rancher, he is constantly one step ahead of foreclosure. His beautiful wife Jan, a city girl bored on the ranch and tired of the struggle, leaves for town, which ultimately leaves him vulnerable to the sensually exciting Lighting McClain, the manager of the adjoining ranch belonging to multi-millionaire Big Bob McCoy. The Grey Piñon tribe wants Lance’s ranch in particular, because it contains the sacred resting area of their great ancestral leader. McCoy also covets the land to add to his vast holdings. The volatile mix of greed and passion creates a pattern of intrigue and violence, compounded by the sudden revelation that the land may contain an old mine with a rich vein of silver, marked by the mysterious Three V symbol for which the ranch was named. Strange plot twists and uncertainties keep the reader guessing while enjoying this suspenseful and engrossing novel of the modern West.

A companion to the critically-acclaimed Dealdy Gold.