The Dragon of Cripple Creek
by Troy Howell

3 out of 5 stars

When Kat falls down a mine shaft during an Old West tour in Colorado, she discovered a hidden cavern where a dragon is living on a pile of gold. She pockets a nugget of gold, but feels guilty about stealing from the dragon when he was so kind to show her the way out of the caves. Her family have called the police and rescue workers to search for her in the mines, and when they find her safe and sound, she accidentally drops the golden nugget in front of all the reporters. The story gets blown out of proportion and a new Gold Rush begins. Kat is afraid that she has put the dragon in danger, now that everyone wants a piece of the gold.

This was an interesting exploration of grief, since Kat’s mother had an accident the year before and is in a coma. The whole family is grieving and traumatized from the accident, and they are in debt from all the medical bills. Kat looks on the gold as a way to save her family, until she realizes that the greed for gold is destroying the whole town and pushing her family farther apart.

The writing is entirely too long-winded. This book could have been edited down to about half. The writing is very witty, but every scene takes too long to get to the point. The action drags out very slowly because every line of dialogue and every gesture is endlessly examined for each character’s emotions and motivations.
However, there are a few scenes between Kat and her brother that are really heart-warming and sweet. I loved Kat’s musings on what is truly valuable and worthy in life.

To see sensitive content in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-dragon-of-cripple-creek-953929