Life on the Arizona frontier in the 1880s has been rough for Frieda Goldson, but her worst travail involves her 14-year-old sister, Ida, in this, the third volume of Rochlin's Desert Dwellers Trilogy. Ida went off with friends on a trip through the desert, but fun turns to tragedy when her friends are murdered, and she disappears with the killer. When Ida is finally found, Frieda, who has been seriously depressed, hardly recognizes her: she is more wild animal than her beloved sister and is also pregnant by the murderer. Her marriage at an impasse, Frieda leaves her children and husband behind when she accompanies Ida to Prescott, where she must face trial as an accomplice. When they receive no help from the Jewish community, Frieda realizes how much she misses her family. Rochlin offers a fascinating tale of the Old West from a Jewish perspective that is not often found in books, while her expertise in early Arizona life will appeal to all western aficionados. Patty Engelmann
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