Winding Stair - by Douglas C Jones (Paperback)

About the Book

When a woman is found murdered in the backwoods of the Winding Stair Mountains, young attorney Eben Pay, newly arrived to the untamed territory, is pulled into a posse that follows a trail of blood and destruction with the hope of finding the killer.

Book Synopsis

"Winding Stair is True Grit for grown-ups... A significant and highly entertaining contribution to the popular literature of the American West."--The New York Times

Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1890, is a haven of justice presiding over thousands of square miles known as the Indian Nation, a land that harbors the most hardened criminals in the country. When a woman is found murdered, young attorney Eben Pay, newly arrived to the territory, is pulled into a posse that follows a trail of blood and destruction. Among the dead he discovers a survivor, the beautiful, traumatized Jennie Thrasher, and the question of what she witnessed hangs like a storm cloud over the investigation. From the trial to the courtroom, Winding Stair is a classic historical novel that brings to vivid life a bygone era.

Review Quotes

"Winding Stair is True Grit for grown-ups... Jones relies on none of the usual Western trappings; he eschews stereotypes... The historical research is seamless-the story never slows down to admit dull exposition. Winding Stair convinces, utterly, that this is how life must have been in that place at that time... a significant and highly entertaining contribution to the popular literature of the American West." -- The New York Times

"Stunning...excellent...superb...You'll not forget it very soon." -- Chicago Sun-Times

"A classic Western novel in the finest sense of that often abused term... spare, tough and honest." -- Houston Post

"Jones is a meticulous craftsman whose dialects, dialogues, settings, and sayings seem so 'right' and natural that one has the satisfying feeling of having read a novel without one 'false note.'" -- San Francisco Sunday Examiner

About the Author

Douglas C. Jones was a three-time winner of the Western Writers of America's Golden Spur Award, as well as the recipient of their Owen Wister Award of Lifetime Achievement. A native of Arkansas, Jones died in 1998.