The story Tres finds himself involved in concerns a missing demo, a demo so important that people are prepared to kill for it. The paces quickens as the missing demo leads to some more and more dire situations.

Author Rick Riordan's dialogue crackles, Tres's 'friends' are truely memorable, and his enemies uniquely sinister.

Tres is cut from the same cloth as Robert Crias 'Elvis Cole' and a long lost relative of Chandler's 'Phillip Marlow'. He's a hero with a heart of gold, a loner looking for something more.

Believe the hype this guy can write!

Highly Recommended


Starts slow, speeds up, but can't quite equal the first book   October 20, 2001
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

In this second book in Rick Riordan's Tres Navarre series, PI-in-training Tres gets off to a bad start when the person he is tailing dies before his eyes (murder? suicide?). From there, our hero finds himself pulled into the worlds of drug dealing, family politics, and -- most deadly of all -- country music.

This title, like 'The Last King of Texas' (the third book in the series) starts off with a literal bang. But I found both 'Big Red Tequila' and 'Last King' easier stories to get into than this one was. Once the story starts moving, 'Widower's Two-Step' bears all the hallmarks of the Tres Navarre series: a plot that twists and turns, lots of characters (most with complex and hidden motivations), dramatic fights and confrontations, and truckloads of South Texas character. This book also introduces the Manos Detective Agency -- the employees of which have become regular characters in the Navarre series.

Devotees of the series will definitely want to read this title. I would recommend newcomers start with the first book ('Big Red Tequila') instead of dropping into the middle of the series, like I did. But even on its own merits, this interesting and atmospheric mystery is definitely worth a read or two.


Enjoyable Read   December 20, 1999
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Award-winning author who writes well with humor and great descriptions. First time read for this author, will definitely read additional titles in this series, like the protagonist, Tres Navarre - recommended !


Award winning?   October 3, 2000
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

Riordan has created an interesting and original character in Tres Navarre, and I will trust other reviewers' claims that the local color--an important part of any private eye series--is right on the money; however, I find it difficult to believe that this book and its predecessor, Big Red Tequila, won awards for anything. The plots, as other reviewers have noted, are suspect at best, fouled by loose ends that never really get resolved. Many of the secondary characters blur together. Often Tres's motivation is difficult to fathom. And the dialogue is the weakest part of the series (if Ralph, Tres's Hispanic sidekick, said "vato" one more time, I was prepared to douse my paperback copy in gasoline and set it afire). Did this novel really enjoy the attention of a professional editor? I've read much better--how are these "awards" determined, anyway?