The Case of the Valentine Mine — Archer Sullivan

The Case of the Valentine Mine is an epic detective mystery, set mainly in the colorful San Francisco of the late 19th century. Starting in far-away Chicago, private investigator Cyrus Hunter receives a new client who requests his help in order to: Recover a stolen map of a valuable gold mine in Nevada County, California; Determine if a deed transferring ownership of the mine is in truth a forgery; and Determine if one of the mine owners has perhaps now been murdered in San Francisco.

Masterful at unraveling murder mysteries, detective Cyrus Hunter and his faithful young assistant, Jim Maguire, begin the case by following the few leads that they have at hand in Chicago. Shortly though, and through much adventure and interlocking plot lines along the way, they find their way to San Francisco, where we follow what is happening in multiple levels of society.

As the story unfolds, we in turn witness not only the solving of one mystery, but also a close-up view of living and working conditions at various strata of society in San Francisco, a budding romance of young love, and we are exposed to the customs and ways of the Chinese community in San Francisco, including both legal and not-so-legal activities. Almost as though written for the large or small screen, every chapter finishes with a cliff-hanger ending, that compels the reader to turn the page and keep reading in order to see what happens next. An exceptional read!