Books by J V L Bell

Territory of Colorado, 1864. Millie and Dom Drouillard return with more murder, mayhem, and misadventures in J.v.L. Bell’s latest novel, Denver City Justice.The newlyweds are barely settled into wedded bliss when their neighbor the Widow Ferris is found dead with an icicle piercing her cold heart. Suspects abound—Widow Ferris has been blackmailing most of the upstanding citizens of Idaho Springs, including its sheriff. Millie’s new husband Dom soon becomes the main suspect and is hauled off to jail for a taste of Denver City justice.Can Millie arrive in Denver City in time? Joined by an unusual ensemble of proper matrons, her best friend Mary—a free black woman—and Idaho Springs’ “fancy girl,” Millie heads to Denver City willing to do anything to keep Dom from swinging from the end of a rope. Denver City Justice is a historical novel, rich in frontier lore, interesting Colorado history, and endearingly quirky characters.

A recipe for true love or murder? Ingredients: one Southern belle, one Colorado gold miner, a wife wanted classified, and a fainting goat. Let simmer.What’s a Southern belle to do in 1863? Wife-wanted ads are always risky business, but Millie Virginia never imagined she’d survive the perilous trip across the Great Plains to find her intended husband in a pine box. Was he killed in an accident? Or murdered for his gold mine? Stuck in the mining town of Idaho Springs, Colorado territory, without friends or means, Millie is beleaguered by undesirable suitors and threatened by an unknown assailant. Her troubles escalate when the brother of her dead fiancé, Dominic Drouillard, unexpectedly turns up.Dom is an ill-mannered mountain man who invades Millie’s log cabin, insists that his brother was murdered, and refuses to leave until he finds the killer. Compelled to join forces with her erstwhile brother-in-law, Millie discovers the search for Colorado gold is perilous, especially with a murderer on their trail.The Lucky Hat Mine interlaces the tale of a feisty heroine with frontier legend and lore making for an arousing historical murder mystery.