Chasing Pancho Villa
Non-series
R. L. Tecklenburg
PublishAmerica (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-60474-710-2 (1604747102)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60474-710-2 (9781604747102)
Publication Date: March 2008
List Price: $21.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): In the fall of 1917, Harrison James arrives in New Mexico to investigate the mysterious death of his brother. There he meets the beautiful Maria Washington, notorious gunrunner and revolutionary. Their romance sizzles while his list of suspects grows. James is engulfed in subterfuge and quickly drawn into a seamy underworld of gunrunning and sedition. To unravel the mystery of his brother’s death, he must outshoot bandits and outwit the Army. Traveling deep into Mexico to arm the popular revolutionary and folk hero Pancho Villa, James and Washington are betrayed by enemy agents and must fight their way back to the Rio Grande. Finally, armed with new information on his brother’s death, James risks all to unmask his killer.
Review:
Chasing Pancho
Villa, R. L. Tecklenburg's second novel, is subtitled "a
story of mystery, romance, and adventure" and it is indeed each of
these. It is a fictional account of an actual event, the raid by
Mexican revolutionary general Francisco "Pancho" Villa into the new
state of New Mexico and the unsuccessful attempt by US General John
Pershing to capture him.
Europe is at war and the US, though officially neutral, is facing an
armed conflict of its own with its neighbor to the south. The trade in
arms and ammunition is extensive and ruthless. When Mexican General
Villa accepts an arms shipment that he believes is worthless (or nearly
so), he plans an attack inside the United States. US General Pershing's
army vastly outnumbers their Mexican counterparts, yet he cannot seem
to defeat them. Pershing orders Captain Bartlett R. James to find out
who in the Army may be a spy for the enemy, and to recommend who might
be recruited in the Mexican Army to spy for the US. Before he could
complete his assignment, he was killed. Following an inquest by the
Army, his death is ruled a suicide. His brother, Harrison James, a
businessman from Chicago, doesn't believe it and makes the journey to
New Mexico to do his own investigation. Harrison discovers that the
desk clerk at his hotel, Maria Washington, had helped his brother and
she is now willing to help him as well. With her help, and that of her
brother, Harrison begins a dangerous journey that ulimately includes a
brush with a German national who supports Mexico and a surprising link
to his company in Chicago that may be involved with stolen arms.
Chasing Pancho
Villa is a fast reading, truly interesting story. The
combination of history with the fictional story is done very well and
is reminiscent of movies from the 1930s through the 1960s featuring
this very colorful character.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Chasing Pancho Villa and to the author for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Omnimystery keywords for Chasing Pancho Villa
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Location(s) referenced: New Mexico, Mexico.