All reviews copyright 1984-2011 Evelyn C. Leeper.
GUILTY ABROAD
by Peter J. Heck:
THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGLER by Peter J. Heck:
I'm not sure where Peter J. Heck got the idea for having Mark Twain be a detective, but it seems to work. The fourth and fifth books, GUILTY ABROAD and THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGLER, continue the premise, and Heck seems to portray Clemens reasonably accurately without resorting to filling the book with caricatures and familiar quotes. These are among the most enjoyable mysteries I've read (though being a big Mark Twain fan probably affects my judgment).
TOM'S LAWYER by Peter J. Heck:
[From "This Week's Reading", MT VOID, 11/07/2003]
Peter J. Heck has been writing a mystery series with Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) as the detective. The sixth and latest is TOM'S LAWYER (yes, they all have this sort of clever title). As with many of this sort of thing, the initial appeal of the premise wears off after a few volumes and one is left to judge the books solely as mysteries. Unfortunately, as mysteries they are (in my opinion) merely passable. If you're interested in Twain, I'd recommend you read one or two (the first, which introduces the narrator, was DEATH ON THE MISSISSIPPI).