BY KAREN BOSSICK

Hailey author Julie Weston will present a free talk on her new book “Salmon Moon: The River of No Return” at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at the Sun Valley Museum of Art in Ketchum.

The book is another in the Nellie and Moonshine series that take place in the 1920s in familiar areas like Ketchum, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and the Stanley Basin.

This one opens with Sheriff Charlie Azgo lying wounded in a derelict house on the Salmon River. When Nellie and her black Labrador retriever Moonshine board a river scow to save him, they get caught up with a gang escaping with a sack of gold.

Nellie, the sheriff, nurse Jane and Ace, a riverboat sweepman, give chase on the River of No Return, fighting rapids and encountering crusty old miners and homesteaders as they try to catch the criminals.

Weston, who expects the book to come out in late November, always researches the times, places and characters so that readers learn about the Idaho of yesteryear.

“I will be talking about my research for the book, a little about the characters for people not familiar with my books, and I plan to have a PowerPoint as part of my talk. I may also read a chapter, depending on the time,” said Weston. 

Though the talk is free, pre-registration is required at https://svmoa.org/events/.

The talk dovetails with the SVMoA’s new exhibition “Idaho Rivers, Idaho Artists,” which offers a look at Idaho rivers and streams through the eyes of artists based in the Wood River Valley, as well as those spread throughout the states.