Rating: 
Summary: Want some Margaritas and Chaucer with that?
Review: This was my first Rick Riordan/Tres Navarre book and an enticement for the rest of the series. It has vivid characterizations. It's suspenseful and it captures the unique flavour of San Antonio. The writing style is wryly sublime. I heartily recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Want some Margaritas and Chaucer with that?
Review: This was my first Rick Riordan/Tres Navarre book and an enticement for the rest of the series. It has vivid characterizations. It's suspenseful and it captures the unique flavour of San Antonio. The writing style is wryly sublime. I heartily recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Great story, brimming with Texas flavor (a good thing)
Review: When I read mystery stories, I usually turn to the classics: Holmes, Wimsey, Wolfe. But when I choose a contemporary mystery, I tend to find myself drawn to authors whose stories have a strong sense of place: Margaret Truman in Washington, D.C., for example, or J.A. Jance here in Seattle. Now, I'm pleased to say, I can add San Antonio's Rick Riordan to the list.Some of my family is in San Antonio, and it's where I went to school, so I found the setting of 'The Last King of Texas' very easy to embrace and understand. Riordan tosses out the names of local streets, landmarks, events, and personalities with an ease that may cause people unfamiliar with San Antonio a little confusion. But that shouldn't distract too much from this well crafted murder mystery. The story itself is fast paced, and while there is a lot of fightin' and shootin' going on, the scenes are not disturbingly graphic. In fact, one of my main complaints with the story is that our P.I., Tres Navarre, sometimes seemed to have the superhuman qualities of a kung fu movie hero, able to single-handedly dispatch masses of bad guys with his lightning-fast moves. That slight unbelievability, however, did not extend into the story itself -- which, through all its twists and turns, remained believable and true to life. The solution to the mystery did not suggest itself too early, and was ultimately a satisfying payoff. Navarre himself is an attractive and likeable figure, and most of the other major characters, good and evil, were fully drawn. Mark Twain famously called San Antonio 'one of America's four unique cities.' For anyone familiar with San Antonio, this novel will be an entertaining trip back. And even if you haven't been blessed with a trip to the Alamo City, you'll find yourself looking for the chips and margaritas to keep you company as you hurtle through this entertaining and exciting mystery. I will definitely be seeking out the two earlier Tres Navarre stories, the one after, and any more coming down the pike.
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