The Case of the Deadly Desperados (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Case of the Deadly Desperados Elizabeth Bush Lawrence, Caroline . The Case of the Deadly Desperados. Putnam, 2012. [288p]. (Western Mysteries) ISBN 978-0-399-25633-2 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-8. Mystery writer Lawrence shifts her sleuthing from the Roman Empire to much closer to home-Virginia City, Montana in the 1860s. The opening novel in her Western Mysteries series is off to a promising start with a truly hiss-worthy villain and an eccentric young private-eye-in-the-making who is-dare we venture so bold a statement?-unique in the world of fictional adolescent investigators. Whittlin' Walt, the titular desperado, who dabbles in dismemberment before dispatching his victims, has just scalped and slain the foster parents of twelve-year-old P. K. (Pinky) Pinkerton, a half-white, half-Lakota boy who holds a coveted deed to an entire region of silver mines. Pinky hightails it to Virginia City, where he attempts to hide out long enough to register his claim, cash in the money, and make his way to Chicago, where he wants to join the detective whom he believes to be his father. But hiding out isn't easy when an opium-addicted "soiled dove" (the genteelism of the time for a prostitute) swindles you, the son of a Chinese laundryman will only help for the money, reporter Sam Clemens blows your cover, and Whittlin' Walt has his henchmen staked out around the registry office. And Pinky, a savant who cannot "read" the emotions of others or express his own, is generally his own worst enemy, trusting the literal utterances of everyone he meets until Poker Face Jace takes him under his wing and teaches Pinky how to ignore words and interpret body language. Wild chases, wilder disguises, goofy humor, wordplay, a delightfully gruesome end for Whittlin' Walt, and a strong hint of episodes to come all provide a passel of good readin'. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois