#86 Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman

The setting for this is the Weird West. The Devil is in charge of the Western territory and many people that live there under his protection have a deal with him. Izzy was left in the care of the devil as part of the deal her parents had with him when they left the territory.  Working in the saloon under Marie his right hand and seeing the nature of many deals with the devil she decides on her sixteenth birthday to enter a deal with him herself. She doesn’t want the usual things that people want when approaching him about a deal. Instead she becomes his Left Hand, an agent to be seen out in the territory enforcing his will with the marshals and the residents. She is traveling with a stranger who has been offered a favor by the devil to show her the ropes of the road and he has a secret of his own.

I liked the story and the setting. The hazards of traveling by horseback blended in with the story and gave the story universe depth. I’ll be looking for the next one.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss