Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 05/01/2025 *Starred Review* When Belle King (alias Alice Springer or The Seamstress) gives herself up to the lawmen of Dodge City, no one can believe it. Still, she is insistent that she hang for the murders correctly attributed to her. But what starts as an open-and-shut case becomes a circus when her ex-husband—a man she knows she killed—returns as a federal marshal, fighting to clear her name. However, nothing is as it seems. With one of the world’s biggest diamonds at stake, everyone who can get close to Belle wants to know where she’s hidden the treasure before her untimely end. But Belle is more interested in the truth—confessing the details of her dust-coated, blood-soaked life full of murder and treasure, shifting alliances, and flat-out double crosses—all with her in the center fighting to keep her soul. Herrman has created a rare kind of book: a twist-filled murder mystery dressed up in leather boots, spurs, and a cowboy hat. She does not shirk on the details, with language and violence befitting the Wild West; gunplay and mistreatment of women in that age are central to the plot, but neither is gratuitous. The writing is compelling and visceral, with a multitude of colorful, complex characters, including the ferocious, canny protagonist. For readers who enjoy a propulsive narrative, this is a special one indeed. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.