THE FOURTH PERSPECTIVE North Atlantic Books/Frog, Ltd. Hardcover: September 2006 ISBN 1-5839-4162-2 Now Available! Few events in America capture the nation's imagination like those that push the envelope of a new frontier. The building of the transcontinental railroad in post Civil War America, that culminated with the driving of the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, was such an event. The construction of that railroad was testament to powerful personalities, the indomitable human spirit, engineering marvels and human toil. Three historical photographs of the actual Golden Spike ceremony arose from the event—one by Alfred A. Hart, a second by Charles R. Savage, and the most famous photo, "East Meets West—The Joining of the Rails," by Andrew J. Russell. These priceless pieces of historical art now hang in the National Archives and the Central and Union Pacific Railroad museums. For almost the entire one hundred and thirty-seven year period since the Golden Spike ceremony, there have been rumblings in academic circles, talk among museum curators, and whispers and innuendos circulated in collector's circles, intimating that a fourth Golden Spike ceremony photograph exists. When a young Nicaraguan immigrant on a student visa appears in CJ Floyd's recently opened Denver antique and western collectables store—a store eons removed from CJ's former bail bonding and bounty hunting life—toting a rare book on Montana medicine, CJ uses the last cash he has in the world to purchase the book. A book that turns out to contain a lot more than the dry mundane history of the medical profession in Nineteenth Century Montana, and a book that for many years had the famous fourth Golden Spike ceremony photograph strapped with fishing wire to its end boards. When the young student, sans book and photograph, is found murdered in an alley a few blocks from CJ's store, a police investigation pegs CJ as a suspect and CJ must turn to his former bail bonding partner, Flora Jean Benson, and his band of rough cut urban cowboys and comrades in arms, to investigate the killing themselves. As they investigate, CJ drops through the dark side of a strange historical looking glass that has him following eccentric power brokers, museum curators, art dealers and collectors, and small minded academics down a trail of greed and corruption in their search for a jackpot day in the sun. All the while, CJ must also out maneuver his psychopathic and ever present, former Rhodes Scholar nemesis, and Olympic swimming champion, Celeste Deep Stream, who is out to extract revenge on CJ for causing the death of her twin brother. The Fourth Perspective is a swift moving full dress treatment of the last great American railroad construction project and its priceless photographic history, and a pivotal novel for CJ Floyd. Clad in his trademark Stetson, his river boat gambler's vest and with an ever present cheroot clenched between his teeth, CJ, in The Fourth Perspective take's readers on an action filled tale of the old and new American west, a tale that is filled with action and intrigue. Read the first three chapters. Click here to download the PDF. Buy the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, BookSense, or an independent mystery bookstore. PRAISE "Greer layers on the complexity up to the very end, drawing deeply on Old West history and the many facets of African-American life in cowboy country to develop rich characters and plot lines."     —Publishers Weekly "[A] great, convoluted mystery, possibly Greer's best in his CJ Floyd series—it's an absorbing read filled with surprises."     —The Denver Post "[There is] lots of investigating by a bevy of interesting characters, and the African American community in Denver is a refreshingly different setting. This is a series to watch."     —Library Journal "The addition of Flora Jean in the previous book and CJ's attempt to leave bail bonding has added freshness to the series and complexity to the characters, and CJ's numerous friends and contacts are all colorful characters in their own right. Greer has mastered "street lingo" and his characters' voices are true. THE FOURTH PERSPECTIVE entertains with interesting characters and a good puzzle. It should please Greer's current fans and attract new ones."     —The Boulder Daily Camera "[A] tale so titillating it will keep the reader turning the pages until the very end. Greer fills this novel with fast-paced action, danger, and plenty of intrigue. I found that I enjoyed every character in this novel (even the villains) and I cannot wait until the next installment in the C.J. Floyd mystery series."     —Book-Remarks.com "Greer's C.J. Floyd's series remains one of my favorite truisms in Crime Fiction. Write where and who you know and the book will enthrall your reader. Greer has taken a Colorado Bounty hunter to places, which are, without exception a pleasure. THE FOURTH PERSPECTIVE is as layered and complex as its predecessors. Greer takes his reader on a ride into a past that many readers may not know. Even if you do, Colorado's history is woven so into the plot, it is a great moment in the Floyd series. While other regional series are only now getting into the world schematic Greer has taken us there with his last three novels and is now going back into the past while exploring C.J.'s many relationships with series regulars. It makes THE FOURTH PERSPECTIVE special."     —Ruth Jordan, CrimeSpree Magazine "Pull up a seat, perch on the edge and start reading THE FOURTH PERSPECTIVE. If you're a mystery maven, you're going to love it."     —The Bookworm Sez