The Man Who Killed Shakespeare — Ken Hodgson

Like many small towns during the Great Depression, Shakespeare, New Mexico, was ready to die...It just needed the right man to help it along. A man like sleazy con artist, Sam Ranscom.

Fleeing California from a grand jury indictment and a hitman hired by an irate investor who is out for more than simple revenge, Sam arrives in the tiny town of Shakespeare to try his hand at running a mining stock swindle.

Hundreds of broke and out of work men latch onto Sam's touted pledge to open a big silver mine like a drowning person to a life preserver. Lett Halsy, an experienced miner who has just inherited the only bar in town, is hired by Sam to employ only a few men and begin opening a long-caved shaft.

Unexpectedly, the small amount of work uncovers a very rich vein of both gold and silver, This turn of events totally confounds Ransom, who never imagined having a legitimate mining operation result from his attempt to impress investors by digging a hole.

Just as unexpectedly, Lett finds himself falling in love with Delight Jones, the last whore in Shakespeare. Trouble arises when the rich ore body turns out to be enclosed in rock as rotten and unstable as Sam Ranscom, creating a potentially deadly situation.

Then the hit man arrives in Shakespeare. . .