The Oregonian alone voiced complaints, including an objection to liberties taken with real-life characters. Howarth and Matthews paint a vivid, visceral portrait of the Old West, bringing to life America's enduring struggles with diversity and racial tension. Building a novel around actual events can be tricky, but these first-time novelists carry it off with aplomb, seamlessly interweaving fact and fiction to fill in the historical gaps. The subsequent capture and trial of the killers illustrate that how the West was won was neither simple nor fair to minorities.Ī fascinating account that's equally effective as mystery, Western history and character study ( Las Vegas Review-Journal), this gripping, complex novel captivated the critics with its moving story, engaging characters, and stark, evocative writing. The plot soon evolves into an insightful look at how Chinese immigrants and American Indians became the targets of rage and violence. The three track a murderous crew through remote canyons and towns. Lee Loi, an ambitious investigator, and Grace Sundown, a Métis mountain guide who shares a past with Vincent, join the hunt.

The Sam Yup Company, a Chinese labor exchange, hires Vincent to find the culprits. After police judge Joe Vincent and his 10-year-old daughter, Nell, find a body while fishing, more brutally mutilated bodies turn up along the Snake River. The 1887 massacre of more than 30 Chinese gold miners in a remote area of the Idaho territory provides the real-life foundation for this engrossing look at racial prejudice and the settling of the West, the first novel from Hand (the pen name for William Howarth and Anne Matthews). A dazzling new novel for fans of Leif Enger, Lisa See, and Ivan Doig. This American tragedy was long suppressed and the victims nearly forgotten Deep Creek teams history and imagination to illuminate how and why, in a seamless, fast-moving tale of courage and redemption, loss and love.

As they track the killers across the Pacific Northwest, through haunted canyons and city streets, each must put aside lies and old grievances to survive a quest that will change them forever.ĭeep Creek is a historical thriller inspired by actual events and people: the 1887 massacre of Chinese miners in remote and beautiful Hells Canyon, the middle-aged judge who went after their slayers, and the sham race-murder trial that followed.

Soon he journeys up the wild Snake River with Lee Loi, an ambitious young company investigator, and Grace Sundown, a métis mountain guide with too many secrets. Their San Francisco employer hires Idaho lawman Joe Vincent to solve the case. The final toll: over 30 Chinese gold miners brutally murdered. A small-town judge takes his young daughter fishing, and she catches a man. A WORLD-WEARY LAWMAN, A BEAUTIFUL AND HAUNTED METIS TRACKER, AND A YOUNG CHINESE INVESTIGATOR SET OUT TO SOLVE A HIDEOUS CRIME ON THE BANKS OF THE SNAKE RIVER.

Deep creek novel