Winding Stair — Douglas C. Jones

“Winding Stair is True Grit for grown-ups... A significant and highly entertaining contribution to the popular literature of the American West.” -- The New York Times
 
Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1890, is a haven of justice presiding over thousands of square miles known as the Indian Nation, a land that harbors the most hardened criminals in the country. When a woman is found murdered, young attorney Eben Pay, newly arrived to the territory, is pulled into a posse that follows a trail of blood and destruction. Among the dead he discovers a survivor, the beautiful, traumatized Jennie Thrasher, and the question of what she witnessed hangs like a storm cloud over the investigation. From the trial to the courtroom, Winding Stair is a classic historical novel that brings to vivid life a bygone era.