The most notorious love letters in American history—supposedly destroyed a century ago—mysteriously reappear, and become the coveted prize in a fierce battle for possession that brings back to life the lawless world evoked in the letters themselves. Lisa Balamaro is an ambitious arts lawyer with a secret crush on her most intriguing client: former rodeo rider and reformed art forger, Tuck Mercer. In his newfound role as an expert in Old West artifacts, Tuck gains possession of the supposedly destroyed correspondence between Doc Holliday and his cousin and childhood sweetheart, Mattie—who would become Sister Mary Melanie of the Sisters of Mercy. Given the unlikelihood the letters can ever be fully authenticated, Tuck retains Lisa on behalf of the letters’ owner, Rayella Vargas, to sell them on the black market. But the buyer Tuck finds, a duplicitous judge from the Tombstone area, has other, far more menacing ideas. As Lisa works feverishly to make things right, Rayella secretly enlists her ex-marine boyfriend in a daring scheme of her own. When the judge learns he’s been blindsided, he rallies a cadre of armed men for a deadly standoff reminiscent of the moment in history that made Doc famous: The Gunfight at the OK Corral.
Author
David Corbett is the author of seven novels: The Devil’s Redhead (nominated for the Anthony and Barry Awards for Best First Novel) Done for a Dime (a New York Times Notable Book and nominated for the Macavity Award for Best Novel), Blood of Paradise (nominated for numerous awards, including the Edgar), Do They Know I’m Running (Spinetingler Award, Best Novel—Rising Star Category 2011), The Mercy of the Night, The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday (nominated for the Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery), and The Truth Against the World (June, 2023). David’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, with two stories selected for Best American Mystery Stories. In 2012, Mysterious Press/Open Road Media re-issued his four novels plus a story collection, Thirteen Confessions, in ebook format. In January 2013 Penguin published his textbook on the craft of characterization, The Art of Character (“A writer’s bible that will lead to your character’s soul.” —Elizabeth Brundage). he followed this up with The Compass of Character (Writers Digest Books). He has taught creative writing at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Project, Chuck Pahalniuk’s Litreactor, 826 Valencia, The Grotto in San Francisco, Book Passage, and at writing conference across the country. He is also a monthly contributor to Writer Unboxed, an award-winning blog dedicated to the craft and business of fiction. Before becoming a novelist, David spent fifteen years as an investigator for the San Francisco private detective agency Palladino & Sutherland, working on such high-profile civil and criminal litigations as The DeLorean Case, the Peoples Temple Trial, the Lincoln Savings & Loan Scandal, the Cotton Club Murder Case, the Michael Jackson child molestation investigation and a RICO action brought by the Teamsters against members of organized crime.
