P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man: P.K. Pinkerton, Book 2

Not as gory as Deadly Desperados, P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man still has plenty of violence, from the murder P.K.'s trying to solve to ongoing clashes among local gunslingers. Several characters meet violent ends, some being shot and others crushed by wagons, and P.K. describes their bodies. P.K. tries to keep the promise he made to his dying foster mom that he'd never kill a man. His adult friend Poker Face Jace recalls occasions when he's killed men in wartime, and the Civil War's repercussions affect many characters.

Although the "soiled doves" (prostitutes) who first appeared in Book 1 are essential to the story here, as P.K. befriends many of them while searching for the murderer of another, Book 2 has less nudge-nudge-wink-wink about their activities and more development of them as nuanced characters. P.K., in male and female costume, is pursued by girls and boys who want to kiss him, but the kisses he actually receives are gestures of thanks from people he's helped. A scene of slapstick gunplay involving P.K. in a bathtub furthers questions about P.K.'s true gender.

A Bible-quoting kid of the 19th century, P.K. uses no profanity and censors it when writing down the swearing of others, including "h-ll!" and "dam" or "d-mn." A recurring joke involves wordplay on "pee"/"pea." A crucial conversation takes place through the wall of a privy.

Although there's less explicit substance abuse than in the first book (for example, no scenes of women passed out in opium dens), adult characters drink, often to excess, and smoke. P.K. does neither, but he has a tobacco collection that's crucial to solving the murder.

Parents need to know that P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man is the second volume in Caroline Lawrence's mystery series set in Civil War-era Virginia City, Nev. Twelve-year-old autistic hero/narrator P.K. Pinkerton ("I may be half Lakota but I am one hundred percent Methodist") gets his (or possibly her) first case as a detective, as 10-year-old lady's maid Martha hires him to solve the murder of her late mistress, the prostitute Short Sally, before the murderer finds and kills her, too. As in The Case of the Deadly Desperados, P.K.'s soon fleeing bad guys, donning multiple disguises, and chatting with such colorful characters as young Sam Clemens (who would become author Mark Twain), the local madam and her girls, the new minister in town, and an unusual horse in his quest for the truth. The second volume tones down some of Book 1's violence and gore in favor of developing the characters and getting on with the story, but there's still Wild West-style drunkenness, gambling, and mayhem, with untimely deaths by gunplay or accident. A recent catastrophic battle of the Civil War plays a crucial role. There's no profanity (following the conventions of the day, P.K. describes adults as exclaiming "h-ll!"). Both boys and girls still want to kiss P.K., but the kisses he receives come from gratitude, not romance. The book includes a scene of a minstrel show.