Very much enjoyed this first person account of a turn of the century Arizona border mining town, and a 'retired' prostitute's efforts at redemption and fitting into what was a very strict social structure. And what made this fascinating, was it was from the perspective of the much younger brother of her male partner. The story is too confusing to recount in this review, but suffice it say that it flows simply and beautifully in the relatively short book. A wonderful character portrait of a strong determined woman in a very hostile environment..yielding when essential but never accepting defeat. Sparse and lean and just right in text and story.....the way a good book should be! Thank you Conrad RIchter.... ( )

Conrad Richter has a way of totally immersing the reader in the time and circumstances of the past, and he does so again fairly well with Tacey Cromwell. Portions of the narrative that take place in the poor section of town reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. However, unlike most of the other books I've read by this author I was not entirely engaged and felt that the ending was a little hurried, lacked closure. I'd still recommend this but have no plans for a reread. ( )