The Case of the Deadly Desperados (The P.K Pinkerton Mysteries, #1) by Caroline Lawrence

Nov 23, 2012 Barb Middleton rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, mystery

Giddyup! A western/detective story for kids with nonstop action, great characters, and nice plot twists. Pull out your imaginary pistols and enjoy this surprising book. Our hero, P.K. Pinkerton begins this tale from the bottom of a cave because he is about to be killed. He has witnessed the murder of his ma and pa who were scalped by Whittlin' Walt and his 'pards in search of a document that will make them rich. Twelve-year-old P.K. holds that document and is on the run as they hunt him down.

P.K...more Giddyup! A western/detective story for kids with nonstop action, great characters, and nice plot twists. Pull out your imaginary pistols and enjoy this surprising book. Our hero, P.K. Pinkerton begins this tale from the bottom of a cave because he is about to be killed. He has witnessed the murder of his ma and pa who were scalped by Whittlin' Walt and his 'pards in search of a document that will make them rich. Twelve-year-old P.K. holds that document and is on the run as they hunt him down.

P.K. lands in Virginia City where he meets a host of characters who help him and steal from him. While it looks like most are just varying degrees of badness, they are really helping P.K. learn to socialize and read people. P.K. has a problem. He can't decipher people's facial expressions or emotions. He is more than just too trusting and naive. While in the 1860's there was no such thing as Asperger's, it would appear that P.K. is autistic. I didn't pick up on this at first because of the humorous way it is presented and the fact that I miss details like P.K. reads people. There is an excellent NY Times review on the book.

There are some great plot twists especially at the end. I did get a little tired in the middle of P.K. making silly mistakes (if I had thought about the autistic angle then I probably wouldn't have), but they move the plot forward as he learns to socialize. The characters are interesting enough that I kept going but I did put it down just before I got to the part on Jace. Poker Face Jace is fascinating in the way he helps P.K. and it wasn't until I got to his character that I had my "ah-ha" moment and saw what the author was doing with the characters to help P.K. grow up and become more independent.

There is some adult humor that young readers are not going to get and some of the violence unnecessary, but I did laugh. At the humor not the violence... The narrator tones down or filters the cursing saying that he won't write it because it is not fit for publication or misspells the word leaving out vowels. This was on some Newbery prediction lists but it can't win because it was published in the U.K. and Lawrence doesn't live in the U.S. Rats! A terrific book.

Reading Level 5.8(less)

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Aug 24, 2012 Debbie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-recommended

The cover has a blurb from the Times that says it is "rip roaring." In other words, hilariously funny. However, what is funny to one may be something else to another...

The protagonist is known as "Pinky" (short for Pinkerton, the surname of his "original pa"). At the time of the story, Pinky is living with his "Christian ma" and pa in a small town in Nevada in 1862. He is twelve years old.

When Pinky was two, his "original pa" left Pinky and his mother to be a railroad detective. Pinky never saw...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Erin rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-teen, native-american-fiction, rubbish, yucky-did-not-finish, western

The Case of the Deadly Desperado is a TERRIBLE book that Caroline Lawrence should be ashamed of. I am not sure what was added to the story by having the protagonist be half Sioux other than the excuse to include all sorts of offensive stereotypes and racial slurs. I do not care if the use of the word “squaw” was acceptable in the 1860s – it is not an appropriate word to use in 2012, in a children’s book.

The half Native boy, Pinky, is further marginalized because he is autistic. To add another la...more The Case of the Deadly Desperado is a TERRIBLE book that Caroline Lawrence should be ashamed of. I am not sure what was added to the story by having the protagonist be half Sioux other than the excuse to include all sorts of offensive stereotypes and racial slurs. I do not care if the use of the word “squaw” was acceptable in the 1860s – it is not an appropriate word to use in 2012, in a children’s book.

The half Native boy, Pinky, is further marginalized because he is autistic. To add another layer of marginalization, he is raised by missionaries. He is also saved very early in the book by his wearing buckskin clothing instead of the canvas and cotton the other school boys are wearing. During another dramatic scene, Pinky is saved by “The Bush Trick” – his “Indian Ma” taught him about how he can become invisible hiding behind a bush.

However, my favorite scene (in the entire 50 pages I managed to read before throwing the book across the room) goes like this:

She said, “No drinkee water. It heap bad medicine.”

I said, “Beg pardon?”

She said, “Oh! You speak English. I thought you were an Indian.” (page 33)

The illiterate whore (really, she cannot read and is identified as a “Soiled Dove”) is talking down to the child because he looks Native. Is this supposed to be funny? Does every character have to be a stereotype?

As you can see, there is sparkling dialogue full of intelligence and genuine quality. The fun doesn’t stop there. Lawrence subjects the Chinese to her racist wit as well. I feel confident that as the book progresses racial slurs, stereotypes and just plain bad writing continue to fill the pages.

What really gets me is the number of positive reviews I have read for this book. Why do people think this book is great? Is there no empathy for the Native American or Asian children who might be subjected to reading this type of trash written about them? Are there really so few children’s westerns that we have to elevate this one to the top ten status on Booklist? I am disappointed in the literary world for praising this book. I am even more disappointed that it was even published. Works like this do nothing to help the Native cause; they set our society back by representing this type of racist attitude as normal and acceptable. My advice would be to pass this book over completely and to keep on looking for a good western.
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Jul 09, 2012 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Case of the Deadly Desperados is a fast-paced combination of exciting, real, funny and interesting details created to immerse you in the Wild West from the start. The book begins: “My name is P.K. Pinkerton and before this day is over I will be dead. I am trapped down the deepest shaft of a Comstock silver mine with three desperados closing in on me. Until they find me, I have my pencil & these ledger sheets and a couple of candles. If I write small & fast, I might be able to write a...more The Case of the Deadly Desperados is a fast-paced combination of exciting, real, funny and interesting details created to immerse you in the Wild West from the start. The book begins: “My name is P.K. Pinkerton and before this day is over I will be dead. I am trapped down the deepest shaft of a Comstock silver mine with three desperados closing in on me. Until they find me, I have my pencil & these ledger sheets and a couple of candles. If I write small & fast, I might be able to write an account of how I came to be here. Then whoever finds my body will know the unhappy events that led to my demise.  And they will also know who done it.”
P.K. Pinkerton, who dreams of one day opening a detective agency, discovers that his adoptive parents have been scalped and murdered by an axe blow. With her dying breath, Pinky’s ma tells him the killers are after his medicine bag. She tells him to get it and hide away. Of course nothing is easy. P.K. must grab and run or get caught. There isn’t much inside the medicine bag: a button from the jacket of his real father, a detective from Chicago, a flint knife from his real ma, a Lakota Indian, and a letter promising the bearer a piece of land that may, or may not, be worth staking a claim. With the killers on his trail P.K. jumps on a stagecoach bound for Virginia City. He hopes once there he can blend in and make his plan for finding his real pa’s relatives in Chicago.
On top of being chased by Whittlin’ Walt and his gang, P.K. has one other challenge to overcome. He cannot tell when another human being is telling a lie. How will he see himself safely through the streets of the city and on his way? Virginia City is a lawless place full of gamblers, hurdy girls, saloon-keepers and gunmen, all of them on the make. There are possible allies too: Sam Clemens, the new reporter for the paper, a gambler called ‘Poker Face Jace’ who knows how to tell if someone is bluffing, a derringer-packing Soiled Dove, and a Chinese photographer’s apprentice named Ping. He’ll never escape on his own, but who can he trust?

The second book just came out - I'm off to the book store to get it.(less)

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May 28, 2012 Miss Pippi the Librarian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adolescent-audio-adventures, juvenile-fiction

P.K. Pinkerton is on the run. His adoptive parents were murdered by a gang masquerading as American Indians. He needed to escape before he was killed as well. He runs to Virginia City to find an escape, but Wittlin Walt is always right behind P.K.

Lawrence's newest mystery series is centered in the Wild West during the Silver Rush. I heard about the popularity of this book and I enjoy a good Western. It was a very pleasant surprise to find a new series. P.K. keeps running and the listener will be...more

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May 25, 2012 Penny Peck rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-ya

A real page-turner, this mystery novel is set in 1862 in Virginia City, Nevada, and is told from the point of view of a young boy P.K. Half Sioux and half white, his foster parents are murdered in the first chapter and he tries to find a way to evade the killers, and keep his inheritance. The boy also has a form of autism, but the author never uses that term; he can't "read" people's emotions or expressions. He is helped by several adults, including reporter Sam Clemens, a poker player Jace, and...more

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May 04, 2012 Chris Murray rated it 3 of 5 stars

Summary:
Twelve-year-old P.K. Pinkerton is on the run after discovering his foster parents murdered and scalped in their cabin. He quickly realizes the dastardly deed was done by none other than “Whittlin Walt” and his two henchmen, among the most feared criminals in and around Virginia City in 1862. They now are pursuing him, seeking a piece of paper that could make them very rich. P.K. is half Sioux and half white and quick to admit being plagued by his “Thorn:” his inability to read people’s e...more Summary:
Twelve-year-old P.K. Pinkerton is on the run after discovering his foster parents murdered and scalped in their cabin. He quickly realizes the dastardly deed was done by none other than “Whittlin Walt” and his two henchmen, among the most feared criminals in and around Virginia City in 1862. They now are pursuing him, seeking a piece of paper that could make them very rich. P.K. is half Sioux and half white and quick to admit being plagued by his “Thorn:” his inability to read people’s expressions or show emotion himself and his aversion to being touched. He narrowly escapes the criminals in his small town of Temperance and sneaks onto a stagecoach headed for Virginia City. There he discovers a lawless place, full of smoky saloons, hurdy girls and “soiled doves,” Celestials, opium dens, gamblers, and of course miners. Shots ring out day and night and P.K. comes to realize it’s a place where “people want to kiss you or kill you.” Numerous betrayals, adventures and misadventures carry this fast-paced tale along, but there is more than adventure here as P.K. gradually begins to learn how to read people and use his extraordinary calculation skills and his ability to remember things to his advantage. P.K. himself tells the story by writing it down on ledger pages he finds while trapped in a silver mine, awaiting his death

My Comments:
I wanted to like this book because it is a Western. It was good but not great. There is a nice set up for a sequel with PK staying in Virginia City to become a private detective like his famous uncle and not so famous father. This is a very authentic Wild West book with shooting, killings, scalping, soiled doves (they define them as women who work in a saloon), opium dens, etc. so this book may not be is for everyone. Characters speak in “westernese.” There is also lots of action with will make this an attractive book for boys. At the beginning of the book, there are some nicely drawn old fashioned maps of Virginia City. Each chapter starts with a small western graphic and faded looking paper. At the end of the book there is a glossary of western terms. Characters with Asperger’s Syndrome are really hot in YA literature these days – they even make it into the Old West! P.K. has a photographic memory and is great with figures, but does not like to be touched, and cannot read emotions well. It is his “Thorn”. Best for boys, grades 5 – junior high?
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Mar 31, 2012 Pamela Kramer rated it 5 of 5 stars

‘The Case of the Deadly Desperados’ by Caroline Lawrence is a book that is both different and cleverly written for middle grade readers.

The year is 1862, and a half-Indian (the term Native American wasn’t in use back then) boy, P. K. Pinkerton, finds his foster parents cruelly murdered upon his return from school in the small Nevada town of Temperance, founded by his foster father, a pastor. He escapes to Virginia City, a notorious mining town in Nevada.

The story is preposterous and extraordinar...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Kim McGee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Yee Haw! Caroline Lawrence has given us a rip-roaring look into the old West that will make every kid out there rootin for the good guys! PK Pinkerton comes home on his 12th birthday to discover that his foster parents have been slain by some evil desperados looking for treasure that P.K. has hidden. He barely gets away from the outlaws by hopping a stagecoach that drops him off in the city of sin - Virginia City where he must try to decide who he can trust and get back what could be a deed to t...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Peg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, disabilities, for-fun, historical-fiction, highly-recommended, survival, kids_fiction

Twelve-year-old P.K. Pinkerton is on the run after discovering his foster parents murdered and scalped in their cabin. He quickly realizes the dastardly deed was done by none other than “Whittlin Walt” and his two henchmen, among the most feared criminals in and around Virginia City in 1862. They now are pursuing him, seeking a piece of paper that could make them very rich. P.K. is half Sioux and half white and quick to admit being plagued by his “Thorn:” his inability to read people’s expressio...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

PK "Pinky" is being hounded by desperadoes in the Silver-mining mountains of 1960's Nevada. The lively tale is the first in a new series by Lawrence who has been writing mysteries for youth audiences for years. I checked out the first series, Roman Mysteries, and so I expected that while Pinky begins in a dark tunnel, hunted down by Whittlin' Walt and soon to meet his doom.... the story would work out. This is told in flashback style and recounts the few short days building up to the dark, minin...more

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May 29, 2012 Kazzy Stallwood rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-adore

P.K Pinkerton comes home on his birthday to find that his foster Ma & Pa have been cruelly slaughtered and scalped by a group of Desperados prentending to be American Indians and are after the valuable letter in his leather medicine pouch.

P.K. Travels to Virginia to escape the Desperados who are now hot on his trail. His journey through the city will see him being double crossed by people he thinks he can trust, people he can trust who help him along the way, and learning many things about l...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Phair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-historical-fiction, western-setting

I mourned the end of Lawrence's Roman Mysteries series so was thrilled to see her start this new one. The Westerns seem to be aimed at a slightly older audience being much longer although the protagonist is still relatively young- 11/12yo. There is considerable period appropriate violence and as usual Lawrence does not shy away from the seamier aspects of her historical settings.

P.K. is an interesting character with the added twist that he (she??- we're never quite sure) suffers from his "Tho...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Originally posted at the Book Monkey blog: http://bookmonkeyscribbles.wordpress.com

Caroline Lawrence is most well-known for her very popular series The Roman Mysteries. Lawrence has now swapped Ancient Rome for the Wild West in her new novel The Case of the Deadly Desperados, the first in her new series The Western Mysteries, published on 2nd June 2011 by Orion. This is actually the first title I’ve read byLawrence but I can tell you now it certainly won’t be my last!

I won’t go into too much det...more Originally posted at the Book Monkey blog: http://bookmonkeyscribbles.wordpress.com

Caroline Lawrence is most well-known for her very popular series The Roman Mysteries. Lawrence has now swapped Ancient Rome for the Wild West in her new novel The Case of the Deadly Desperados, the first in her new series The Western Mysteries, published on 2nd June 2011 by Orion. This is actually the first title I’ve read byLawrence but I can tell you now it certainly won’t be my last!

I won’t go into too much detail over the plot as if you’ve read the blurb above, you already know it. What I love about this novel is the way that this is exactly how I would imagine the Wild West to be, and Lawrence manages to make you feel like you are right there in the middle of it all, with your hoop skirt on and your pistol never far from your hand! It is clear that Lawrencehas dedicated a lot of time to careful research when writing this novel and it has definitely paid off. There are so many little details, from the misspellings in the language to reflect the time period, to the real-life characters included in the story, that help shape this novel into a great piece of story-telling. One of my favourite characters has to be Sam Clemens (the real name Huckleberry Fin author Mark Twain). We see Sam living inVirginia City working as a reporter, exactly as he did in real life. It’s fascinating to get this tiny window into what his life must have been like back then, before he became one of the most famous American authors in history.

Of course the best character of all has to be P. K. Pinkerton, the young half-Indian boy whose foster parents have been murdered by a bunch of desperados. What is most interesting about P.K. is the very subtle hints of him having autism. He doesn’t like to be touched by other people, and he has a lot of trouble deciphering when people are being genuine in their facial expressions or not, and in understanding their emotions. It is never said outright that this is what P.K. has, but of course back in those days they probably didn’t know this illness existed! There are also other questions which must be asked regarding P.K. later on in the novel, which I have to admit I simply didn’t see coming at all, but I will not spoil it for you! I think it’s important to start the novel without knowing certain potential ‘spoilers’.

Poker Face Jace has to be my next favourite character, and not just because I love his name (which I really do!). He is such a brilliant character. As with most people P.K. meets inVirginia City, we must be suspicious of him. When P.K. first encounters him, Poker Face Jace definitely seems like on of the bad guys, set on bringing harm to P.K. But eventually Jace shows his softer side and helps P.K. distinguish between when a person is lying and when they’re not. This proves to be more invaluable to P.K. than he ever thought possible, and in the end I looked upon Jace as an almost father figure for P.K.

Many things get in the way of P.K. and his mission to get his letter (the deeds to some land with a silver mine) to the recording office, so he can have enough money to find his uncle, who runs a detective agency.Virginia Cityin 1862 is a very tough place to live. Everyone is looking out only for themselves – even those we think may be nice at first, those who P.K. chooses to trust. It is a harsh lesson for P.K. to learn that he must grow up fast if he chooses to stay inVirginia City. Not everyone is as kind as they seem, and there’s certainly a shortage of the Christian morals P.K. has been brought up with.

This is authentic Western storytelling at its very best. Caroline Lawrence has created a wonderful piece of storytelling here, and I hope every teenage out there jumps on the bandwagon and gives it a go! I honestly can’t fault it and I’m already very excited for book two in the series. I can see many further developments happening already – with regards to P.K.’s family, his friends such as Poker Face Jace, and I’m crossing my fingers for some good old fashioned cowboy and Indian action!

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Apr 03, 2013 Debbie Graham rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think that Caroline Lawrence has lived in England too long to realize that the US demands higher standards of respect, even while trying to depict an era realistically. Pros: unusual, exciting plot twists, (fairly violent, watch out!) interesting stock western characters,as well as interesting 'aspergerish' type character
Cons; if you are going to use the word squaw AND have a glossary, you have to include it and explain its evolution. A couple of pages to describe the historical context would...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Bruce rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Whittlin’ Walt and his sleazy sidekicks Dub and Boz have just axe-murdered P. K. “Pinky” Pinkerton’s foster parents. Now the twelve-year-old’s on the run from them with a medicine bag containing the deed to a “monster silver vein” that could make the bearer the richest person in the Nevada territory.

This is a Western with plenty of action, adventure, guns, and narrow escapes, it doesn’t get around to any detection until the firth disc, but subsequent entries in the series may feature a bit more...more

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May 08, 2013 Lett' rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ma chronique sur le blog

Ce livre, je ne m’y attendais pas du tout, mais il était vraiment bon ! Ok, c’est beaucoup plus pour des enfants mais voilà quoi, j’ai su l’apprécier à sa juste valeur. C’était tout à fait ce qu’il me fallait au moment où je l’ai lu. Mais attention, c’est un peu trop jeunesse, mais de la bonne.

Avant même de le commencer, j’étais très critique en me disant “je vais l’abandonner, c’est sur !”. Il s’est avéré que j’avais tout à fait tort et que ce livre était une petite peti...more ma chronique sur le blog

Ce livre, je ne m’y attendais pas du tout, mais il était vraiment bon ! Ok, c’est beaucoup plus pour des enfants mais voilà quoi, j’ai su l’apprécier à sa juste valeur. C’était tout à fait ce qu’il me fallait au moment où je l’ai lu. Mais attention, c’est un peu trop jeunesse, mais de la bonne.

Avant même de le commencer, j’étais très critique en me disant “je vais l’abandonner, c’est sur !”. Il s’est avéré que j’avais tout à fait tort et que ce livre était une petite petite légère mais très divertissante. Comme quoi, il ne faut pas se baser sur des préjugés. La preuve est cette chronique très positive alors qu’elle devait (selon moi, avant de le lire) être une chronique méchante (que d’ailleurs, je n’ai pas fait depuis longtemps, que se passe-t-il ?!).

Mais bon, dès le début, les premières pages, les premiers chapitres n’ont fait que réfuter cette idée pour me créer une idée assez positive de l’histoire. En effet, elle m’a rappelé les dessins-animés de Westerns où il y a des courses-poursuites, des fugitifs, de l’argent, des armes, bref un peu de tout ça pour faire ce livre qui s’avère très très amusant. Il m’a diverti au possible, l’histoire n’avais rien à dire, on ne manquait pas du tout d’action. C’était d’ailleurs tout ce que je voulais, une bonne lecture.

Malgré son aspect un petit peu superficiel, j’ai aussi découvert une sorte de morale derrière toutes ces actions répétés, je ne saurais l’exprimer ici (pour des raisons pratique puisque je ne veux pas vous spoiler et je ne sais pas comment le dire!). Mais toutefois la fin nous fait dire des petites choses, un peu banales, mais bon, c’était pas du Kant, et même ça, pour le public concerné, c’est déjà assez bien je trouve. Donc, si vous avez des enfants (je ne sais pas pour l’âge, demandez à quelqu’un d’autres hein!.

A part la morale qui le rend bien plus profond, j’aimerais aussi dire que les personnages ne sont en rien creux, ils ont tous une flamme qui les fait vivre et on croient vraiment qu’ils vivent, et ça, sérieusement, c’est génial ! Je ne m’attendais pas à de tels personnages dans un livre jeunesse.

P.K. notre personnage principal est très sympathique, on l’apprécie petit à petit mais au final, il s’avère être un ami virtuel génial ! [façon de le dire, je précise] Il est toutefois un peu naïf, et ça nous fait drôle de voir à quelle point il fait confiance aux gens dans tout points de vue. Mais bon, ce que j’ai bien plus aimé, c’était de voir qu’il changeait grâce à chacun qui résolvent ses problèmes. Ca fait un peu un genre de récit d’initiation vraiment sympa.

Durant toute ma lecture, il est une chose que je me suis demandé. Cette histoire, l’auteur, l’a-t-elle vraiment trouvé dans son grenier ? Elle a écrit ça au début du prologue, mais je ne sais pas, je l’espère que c’est vrai ! Puisque au final, c’était une lecture vraiment sympa.

Voilà j’ai terminé de parler de mon livre, et comme vous pouvez le voir il n’y a aucun défauts précisés puisque ce livre est vraiment sympa, mais ce n’est pas un coup de cœur puisque léger et jeunesse. Je vous le conseille à vous et à vos enfants (vos cousins, vos neveux…) de le lire, personnellement, je vais essayer de me prendre la suite qui m’intéresse. (Oui, j’aime PK et ses histoires de folie)(less)

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Jul 31, 2012 Tami rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, juvenile-mystery-adventure

The Case of the Deadly Desperados is the first in a new Western Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence. The year is 1862 and our main character P.K. (Pinky) Pinkerton has just turned 12 years old two days before we meet him. Pinky tells us the first part of his story as he writes it deep in one of the Comstock silver mines of the Nevada mountains where is is sure he will die.

On the afternoon of his twelfth birthday Pinky comes home to discover his foster parents have been attacked and scalped. Hi...more The Case of the Deadly Desperados is the first in a new Western Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence. The year is 1862 and our main character P.K. (Pinky) Pinkerton has just turned 12 years old two days before we meet him. Pinky tells us the first part of his story as he writes it deep in one of the Comstock silver mines of the Nevada mountains where is is sure he will die.

On the afternoon of his twelfth birthday Pinky comes home to discover his foster parents have been attacked and scalped. His foster father is already dead but his foster mother lives a few minutes after he discovers her. She lives long enough to tell him she and her husband were not attacked by Indians but by white men disguised as Indians and to take the medicine bag given him by his biological mother and run for safety. She makes him promise her: (1) he will never take another life--not even of those who committed this crime; (2) he will forgive those who committed this act;(3) he will not gamble; and (4) he will not drink hard liquor. Pinky promises. Immediately following his promise, the desperados who killed his foster parents come back.

Pinky realizes the killers were after the paper his biological mother gave to him which deeds the bearer a great deal of land in the mountains of the silver-rich Comstock mines. Pinky flees the tiny town of Temperance for the Big City but is pursued by the Desperados. Pinky soon discovers that the man who is chasing him is none other than Whittlin' Walt--one of the most dangerous and feared killers in the West.

Pinky is determined to sell his claim in order to book passage on a stagecoach to Chicago. Now that he has no family he intends to go to the Pinkerton Detective Agency run by his biological uncle and ask for a job. Pinky has two big obstacles: (1) he is half-Caucasian and half-Lacota Indian which sets him up for mistreatment and discrimination in the 19th Century Old West; and (2)his inability to read other people--he has trouble judging when others are sincere and when they are deceiving him. This particular obstacle results in several missteps that bring Pinky repeatedly into mortal danger.

The story is fast-paced with one cliffhanger after another. Pinky is genuine, smart, funny and good-hearted. He is a hero for whom it is easy to cheer. I thoroughly enjoyed Pinky's tale. If you like adventure and mystery then The Case of the Deadly Desperados is for you!

NOTE: Parents and teachers be aware that--although not frequent--there is historically appropriate language in the story that we now acknowledge as offensive, as well as a scene in an opium house. All language and scenes are handled appropriately but may require discussion with young readers for definition and to specify context.
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Jan 25, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

P.K. Pinkerton, who is half Native American, sees his foster parents killed in a small western town in 1862. The criminals are masquerading as Indians, but are in fact the deadly outlaw Whittlin’ Walt and his partners who are looking for a deed that P.K. got from his birth parents. P.K. manages to escape to the next town, where he encounters Belle, an “actress”, who helps him escape Walt but steals the deed. Assisted by a Chinese laundry boy, Ping, and two newspaper reporters, P.K. manages to el...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Vivienne Serendipity Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

Caroline Lawrence is extremely well known for writing The Roman Mysteries which has helped lots of children embrace the Romans and find a love of history at the same time. Caroline has now embarked on a new journey and has presented us with the first book in The Western Mysteries series, which takes us back to the Wild West of America, Virginia City in 1862 to be precise.

Up until reading this book, my only real knowledge of the Wild West was through the last film in the Back to the Future trilog...more Caroline Lawrence is extremely well known for writing The Roman Mysteries which has helped lots of children embrace the Romans and find a love of history at the same time. Caroline has now embarked on a new journey and has presented us with the first book in The Western Mysteries series, which takes us back to the Wild West of America, Virginia City in 1862 to be precise.

Up until reading this book, my only real knowledge of the Wild West was through the last film in the Back to the Future trilogy. So I was extremely pleased to be given so much more information about that time period within this book. Caroline Lawrence has obviously researched the Wild West meticulously as the attention to detail is unbelievable. Caroline Lawrence knows what she is talking about. I felt like I had stepped instantly back into Virginia City, right into the middle of a gun fight. I could almost hear the gun shots from the Double Deringer.

The narrator for the story is P.K. Pinkerton. Don't ask me whether the character was a boy or girl, because quite frankly I am not quite sure. The author twisted the plot backwards and forwards with this mystery leaving me confused (on purpose I believe) as to the sex of the narrator. I think it is a boy, so I will call him that for now, but who knows. All I do know is the narrator was 12 years old, was half Indian and half America and that his mother had died, leaving him with a set of foster parents. He is also a very brave child to come up against such deadly character so fearlessly as he does.

I am certain that P.K. Pinkerton is slightly autistic, by his inability to decipher people's emotions and his quickness with numbers. However, the author never makes that public knowledge, so I could be wrong. Although in that era, they wouldn't have have had a medical term for the condition. The book begins with Pinkerton's 12th birthday, where he arrives home to find his foster parents dying, after being brutally attacked by Whittlin Walt, a rather nasty character who appeared on Wanted posters around the town. He is desperate for an item that he believes P.K. to own and will stop at nothing to get it. P.K. quickly leaves his home in search of a safer haven in Virginia City. However he will not be going alone, as Whittlin Walt is quickly on his trail. He will kill P.K to get what he wants.

You have to feel sorry for P.K. as his dangerous journey, the constant hiding and his attempts at double crossing Whittlin Walt, leave you feeling breathless. There is no time for him to stop and rest. Every time he thinks he has done the right thing, someone comes along and double crosses him, creating a fast paced thrilling ride.

I was extremely excited to see Sam Clemens hiding amongst the pages. Sam Clemens was better known by his pen name of Mark Twain, and appears within the story as a reporter, which he actually was before he became a writer and provided us with such characters as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He is brilliant portrayed within the story and it felt like I had found my own golden nugget whilst reading the book.

This book is extremely detailed and keeps you on your toes the whole way through. The chapters are short, sharp and each one is finished off with an excellent cliff hanger. All the characters come alive, each one solid and easy to remember, with their own back story being provided in snippets here and there. There is even a glossary at the back to help you grasp the Western language used within the book. Caroline Lawrence is leading the way in Western fiction while everyone else is left trailing behind. This book has quenched my first for Western fiction and I look forward to the next installment in the series.(less)

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Dec 30, 2012 Cathi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-professionally

“My name is P.K. Pinkerton and before this day is over I will be dead.” The first sentence of this story in print is one come-on. But hearing it read, with a dead-on, dead-pan western accent that continues to relate one astonishing event after another, is enough to entice a listener to enjoyment of the entire journaling account of the adventures of 12-year old P.K. Pinkerton as soon as possible. Recently orphaned for a second time, P.K. writes while stuck in bottom of a mine shaft, awaiting the...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own-print, signed, for-review-read, read-in-2011, favorites, british-author

In the first book in her new Western Mysteries series Caroline Lawrence takes us back in time to Virginia City in 1862. We follow the story of P.K Pinkerton who is being chased by a gang of desperados, they already killed and scalped his foster parents and he is next on their list. I say HIS foster parents but throughout the entire book we're never quite sure if P.K is actually a boy or a girl. The author has done a fantastic job of keeping P.K's gender a secret, he adopts numerous disguises thr...more In the first book in her new Western Mysteries series Caroline Lawrence takes us back in time to Virginia City in 1862. We follow the story of P.K Pinkerton who is being chased by a gang of desperados, they already killed and scalped his foster parents and he is next on their list. I say HIS foster parents but throughout the entire book we're never quite sure if P.K is actually a boy or a girl. The author has done a fantastic job of keeping P.K's gender a secret, he adopts numerous disguises throughout the story and I was constantly changing my mind about whether he is a boy or a girl. Either way he was a character I loved and I can't wait to get my hands on the

I'm sure P.K. is autistic, the way he thinks reminds me a lot of Christopher, the main character in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Both characters are extremely intelligent but have trouble understanding facial expressions, don't like to be touched and aren't comfortable when their routines are changed. Of course there would have been no way of identifying autism back in the Wild West so this is never confirmed but I would be very surprised if it wasn't true. P.K. finds it very hard to work out who is telling him the truth which makes it very difficult for him to decide who to trust and leads to him getting into trouble on more than one occasion.

The Wild West is a harsh and violent place where everyone is out for themselves and most people will only help you if they're going to get something out of it. Caroline Lawrence has captured the atmosphere perfectly and it feels like you are walking through Virginia City beside P.K. with the desperados not far behind. We are introduced to a wide range of side characters, some of whom will surprise you completely and I'm looking forward to finding out more about them in future installments of the series.

If you're looking for something a bit different and fancy going on a Western adventure look no further than The Case of the Deadly Desperados. The story is fast paced with short chapters and an incredibly easy book to fly through in one sitting, I'm sure even the most reluctant reader would enjoy it. This may have been the first book I've read by Caroline Lawrence but it definitely won't be the last and I'm looking forward to checking out her Roman Mysteries series in the not to distant future.(less)

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Sep 07, 2012 Jillymom rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book, even though it had some hair-raising parts to it. (Literally, given that the protagonist's foster parents were scalped by desperados, trying to lay blame on Indians.) P.K. has Asperger syndrome (perhaps) and also certainly at least a form of prosopagnosia. P.K. is also smart as a whip with savant math abilities and a photographic memory. A number of reviewers have been highly incensed by the"racist" views of the Westerners of the 1860's and doubt that the book is funny. I am o...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Eeman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: unit-4

I'm really glad I chose to read this book. The plot and story writing was really good. This book was a change from what I usually red, but it was a nice change. I liked how the author chose to tell the story, by making the main character have it right down his story on ledger lines. This also kept me very interested until the end, because I wanted to know how he got trapped in a mountain. I learned many things from this book, like learning how to read a person. My favorite part of the book was t...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Brenda Kahn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, humorous, western

What can hook a young reader faster than learning that the narrator of this story is holed up deep underground, in a mine awaiting his death at the hands of Whittlin' Walt? This is a page-turner all right, but it's also quite funny, sometimes unintentionally so because Pinky has trouble reading people and doesn't always show the proper emotion, so is often misread himself. My only problem with the book is wondering who the audience is. It seems marketed for middle grade, but there's a fair amoun...more

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May 30, 2012 Hayley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, adventure, disability, funny, elementary, historical, middleschool, realistic, series

We listened to this on a recent road trip, where we, providentially, went to Virginia City where this book is set. I loved the voice and the wide range of unusual characters (I loved Whittlin' Walt, who whittles bits off his victims while reciting Walt Whitman!). I felt it was just a tad long (maybe one too many characters are being set up for the series?) and I was a little surprised at some of the content given that the audiobook was 'suitable for 8-12 year olds'. Overall, though, this was a v...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Jenn Estepp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: it-s-funny-because-it-s-funny, kidlit

If you ever watched Deadwood and thought, "It's good, but I wish it were funnier. And that the hero was a twelve-year old, half-Native kid with Asperger's tendencies." then this is pretty much the perfect book for you. And I mean that in the best possible way, because I do love myself some Deadwood. And this? I enjoyed it ever so much. Like, actually glad it's going to be a series because I want more adventures with this crew, so much and I say things like that very rarely. Just really fun (but...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Lukav rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-for-mrs-morgan

In The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence, P.K. Pinkerton's parents are murdered by the infamous Whittling Walt and his band of desperados who want a deed to silver rich land near Virginia City which P.K. has. P.K. goes to Virginia City to get away from the outlaws, but he is found there. Walt relentlessly pursues P.K. until he is forced to run into a mine to get way from the outlaws.

The Case of the Deadly Desperados is the first of a series. The book is set in in Virginia City...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

First in the Western Mysteries series, Pinky Pinkerton goes on the run after finding his foster parents scalped. Pinky hops a stagecoach to Virginia City, where he encounters adults and tries to decide who to trust. Pinky has a "thorn," which is his inability to read people or show emotion of his own. Fast paced, a likeable character and historical fiction (1862) make this lots of fun to read. I will suggest it to 5th/6th grade. A touch of Wild West violence and language may upset the highly sen...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kidsbooks, mysteries

As someone who shies away from all things western I only gave this a try because I am a HUGE fan of Caroline Lawrence's Roman Mysteries series. I was really surprised and pleased with how fresh and fun this book was and I'm now really looking forward to the rest of the series! Pinky is a half-Sioux boy who comes home on his birthday to find his foster parents scalped and dying. His foster mother warns Pinky to run with the Indian medicine bag Pinky was given by his birth mother--this is what the...more

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The Case of the Deadly Desperados (The P.K Pinkerton Mysteries #1)

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