In his fourth adventurous outing (after 2002's The Ironclad Alibi), Pinkerton spy Harrison Raines and fellow detective Joseph "Boston" Leahy travel to territorial New Mexico to uncover the plans of the Confederacy in the West. Separated from his partner, Raines arrives in Sante Fe to find the hero of the Battle of Glorieta Pass mysteriously shotgunned—and Leahy accused of the crime. A new sidekick, an Indian named Tantou, offers not a single kemo sabe, but livens up every page he appears on by keeping the bumbling spy alive through the perils of the West, including a shootout in an Anasazi ruin. Once again Kilian's delightful characters propel readers through the Civil War, with much fun on the way. (Jan. 7)
