The Last King of Texas [Paperback]

Rick Riordan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2001

Multiple-award-winning author Rick Riordan brings back smart-mouthed Texas P.I. Tres Navarre for his most dangerous case yet. If you think the academic world is deadly dull, you're half right....

When a controversial English professor is found shot to death, Tres Navarre — P.I. and Ph.D. — is the only local academic crazy enough to accept the emergency opening at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Police assure him they already have a suspect, so while they wrap up the open-and-shut case, all Tres has to do is teach three classes, grade on a curve ... and walk in a dead man's shoes.

It should be an easy assignment — but one thing Tres doesn't do is easy. When the evidence in the case starts looking a little too perfect, when the killing doesn't stop, Tres takes on some extracurricular research into the heart of an assassin — and lands in a high-stakes game of gangster honor on the darkest streets of San Antonio's West Side....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For his first two novels featuring PI Tres Navarre, Rick Riordan garnered the Anthony, Shamus, and Edgar Awards--a trio that few seasoned Mystery careerists can claim. In this third, equally entertaining installment, Riordan casts Navarre according to the other piece of his quirky skill set: his Ph.D. in English literature from UC Berkeley.

While the worst-case scenario envisioned by most professors at the University of Texas at San Antonio probably involves lost essays or a failed tenure bid, recently the medievalists at UTSA have wound up deader than their favorite language. At first, the deaths seemed like accidents. Dr. Theodore Haimer was forced to take an early retirement when his remarks about "the damn coddled Mexicans at UTSA" found their way into the Express-News. Shortly thereafter, the old man was discovered deceased, his head in a bowl of Apple Jacks, the result of an apparent heart attack. His successor, the young Dr. Aaron Brandon, continued to receive the vituperation and death threats that had followed his predecessor to the grave. Then, halfway into the semester, Brandon was also found dead--murdered. Now, Tres Nevarre is the only man crazy enough to fill the vacant chair of Chaucer studies and murder avoidance at the amiable institution. His first day on the job is the clincher: an exploding package leaves him both scarred and excited for the only academic job he's ever found that rivals Indiana Jones's.

Riordan's style blends the hipness of Elmore Leonard with the sardonic humor of Janet Evanovich. And like Evanovich, Riordan draws on the colorful character of his locale--in his case the twangy chili con carnage of San Antonio academic life--to pepper his narrative with a mixture of medieval literature, Tex-Mex dialogue, and Sherlock Holmesian puzzles. While there aren't many more awards for Riordan to conquer, The Last King of Texas will certainly win him some more loyal fans. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In a terrific sequel to The Widower's Two-Step, which won the 1999 Edgar for Best Original Paperback, the third Tres Navarre mystery finds the academic-turned-PI reluctant to accept a chair in medieval studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a chair whose last two tenants have met with violent deaths. But when a bomb goes off in the dean's office nearly killing him and two others, he instantly accepts the assignment. Tres quickly finds out that the second victim's father, Jeremiah Brandon, a ruthless amusement-park ride manufacturer known as the "King of the Carnivals," was also murdered years before. The prime suspect then was Jeremiah's former employee, gang member Zeta Sanchez, who believed that the predatory Jeremiah was sleeping with his wife, but Sanchez was never apprehended. Suddenly it is reported that, after years on the run (and in a Mexican jail), he has been spotted in the region. Tagging along with the San Antonio police, Tres finds himself in the middle of a violent shoot-out during which Sanchez is arrested; now he is also the number one suspect in the murder of Jeremiah's son. Not surprisingly, Sanchez vigorously protests his innocence. All this happens in just the first 40 pages of this fast-paced and highly entertaining novel, as Tres finds himself drawn into the complex vortex of the Brandon family's ugly past. With the help of beautiful yet tough homicide detective Ana DeLeon (a potential romantic interest) and other, less than savory, friends from the wrong side of the law, the wisecracking Tres untangles an intricate web of murderous family rivalries, missing persons and heroin traffic--all the while evoking with bright color the interplay of San Antonio's Latino and Anglo cultures and the joys of Tex-Mex cuisine. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (April 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553579916
• ISBN-13: 978-0553579918
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus. He is also the author of the multi-award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults.

For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. In 2002, Saint Mary's Hall honored him with the school's first Master Teacher Award.

While teaching full time, Riordan began writing mystery novels for grownups. His Tres Navarre series went on to win the top three national awards in the mystery genre - the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. Riordan turned to children's fiction when he started The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story for his oldest son.

Today over 30 million copies of his Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus books are in print in the United States, and rights have been sold into more than 35 countries. Rick is also the author of The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, another #1 New York Times bestseller. In 2011, Rick received the Children's Choice Book Award for Author of the Year.

Rick Riordan now writes full-time. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and two sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tomorrow's superstar has written another winner, December 30, 1999

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last King of Texas (Hardcover)

Dr. Theodore Haimer was forced into retirement after making a racial slur. Soon after, he died from a heart attack. His replacement as an English professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio was Dr. Aaron Brandon. He received several threatening letters. In his first semester at the school, someone murdered Aaron. The administration offers the teaching seat to Tres Navarre. Besides English literature credentials, Tres has the additional experience of working for a private investigator. Tres accepts the position after a home made bomb addressed to Aaron blows up in the office.

The head of the Brandon murder investigation, San Antonio police detective Ana DeLeon, demands that Tres do no sleuthing. The police think Aaron's murder is personal and tied to the killing of his father several years ago. Tres, PI boss Erainya Manos also wants him to stay out of the investigation. The university has hired her agency to look into the threatening letters. She wants Tres to teach while another of her operatives, George Berton, uncover the facts. Tres may know his English literature well enough to teach three classes, but he also cannot stay on the sidelines, especially since he potentially could be victim number three.

The third Tres Navarre mystery is an entertaining tale that provides insight into the lead protagonist and several of the repeat supporting cast. The enjoyable story line is filled with action and colorful characters that provide insight into San Antonio. The subplots nicely tie back to the main story line. As with his two previous Navarre novels (see BIG RED TEQUILLA and THE WIDOWER'S TWO-STEP) Rick Riordan writes an enjoyable novel that provides readers with much pleasure.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, brimming with Texas flavor (a good thing), July 16, 2001

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last King of Texas (Paperback)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent crime/drama laced with humor, August 14, 2000

By 

M. Cox (Stewartstown PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last King of Texas (Hardcover)

This is the first Rick Riordan book I've read and I look forward to reading his previous 'Tres Nevarre' novels. I liken Riordan's style to that of a Texan Carl Hiaasen. While Hiaasen weighs heavier on humor, Riordan weaves a fast-action murder mystery with sarcastic wit throughout. I believe anyone would enjoy this novel, unless their idea of fun is curling up to a tech manual.