The Wood River Valley before it was Sun Valley!

Nellie Burns, photographer, leaves Chicago in the early 1920s to find adventure and a career in the West.  She lands in Ketchum, Idaho, armed with her large format camera.  After photographing moonshadows on snow, she stumbles onto a not quite deserted house and a black dog she names Moonshine.  She also discovers and photographs a dead body.  When the body disappears and her negatives are stolen, she joins the chase to solve the mystery and find her negatives.  Rosy, a one-eyed miner, reluctantly guides her in the search.  Moonshine joins in as Nellie’s guardian.

A Basque sheriff crosses words and actions with Nellie.  A sheep rancher with a particular dislike of Rosy and the sheriff charges Nellie with interference.  The last Chinese residents in town suspect Nellie herself of murder.  Nellie’s impulsive nature brings her to a second body, a near drowning, an explosion in a darkroom, and terror in a mine.

Moonshadows is a taut and enigmatic historical mystery with passionate characters, each hiding a secret.  Set against wintry small towns and back country Idaho, Nellie’s and Moonshine’s explorations reveal a web of revenge, opium addiction, obsessive love and loss, and a haunting story of devotion.

Finalist in the May Sarton Literary Award - Story Circle Network

Idaho Author Award for Best Cover!