Deadly Innocent: Tragedy on the Trail to Gold

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

Deadly Innocent is the exciting story of gold seekers who chase dreams
of riches in the fabled 1860s Cariboo goldfields of British Columbia but
find devastating nightmares instead. The Rennie brothers of London,
Ontario—Will, Gilbert, and Thomas—and two of their friends team up
with a fatalistic James Carpenter with plans to journey across Canada to
the infamous El Dorado of the Cariboo. The unprepared and unsuspecting
travellers trek past landmarks (such as the Hudson’s Bay Company’s
“Big House” at Fort Edmonton) and cross paths with the famous
“Blackrobe Voyageur,” Father Lacombe, and with HBC officials “who
could swagger sitting down.”

As captivated as they are by the beauty of their surroundings, the
travellers are innocents in a harsh, unforgiving land. There are
increasing tensions among them, especially in dealing with Carpenter’s
unpredictable moods. An ominous reference to the repellent Donner
Party’s cannibalism hints at things to come.

Author and singer-songwriter Bill Gallaher’s compulsively readable
novel will appeal to a general audience.