Eugene DiCesaris

Vali Benson’s wonderful novel, “Blood and Silver,” will remind people of the heartache and struggle that so characterized the lives of ordinary people in the old American West. Her story, set in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1880, gently, yet, poignantly, spotlights the dehumanizing world of prostitution through the eyes of twelve year old Carissa Beaumont—a young girl desperately attempting to free her mother, Lisette, from the drug- induced slavery imposed on her by a cold and ruthless madam. Assisted by her friend Mai-Lin—and a rival madam who rules the section of town the locals refer to as “Hoptown”—Carissa works unendingly to wean her mother from the dependence of opium, while also searching for a way to liberate her from the world”s “oldest profession.” A gripping page- turner that easily earns a five star rating.