Title: The Pinkerton and the Wizard
Author: Harvey Hetrick
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1-6632-0089-1
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 131
Reviewed by: Candace L. Barr
Pacific Book Review
Author Harvey Hetrick’s The Pinkerton and the Wizard takes a legendary character through time and space and turns him into a crime fighter. After being led into a trap by the sorceress Morgana, Merlin Pendragon and his wife travel from medieval England to late 19th century Philadelphia. Among the people they meet is Adam Blake, a Pinkerton detective who has recently lost his best friend while trying to thwart a train robbery. The two end up working together on a case which involves one of the wizard’s possessions.
Adam takes a job at his uncle’s circus while recovering from his loss and the end of his engagement to his friend’s twin sister. There, he succumbs to a serious injury, and Merlin secretly uses his magic to assist with the recovery. When Merlin starts having visions of the future, he uses the psychic connection created between him and Adam to relay messages. After acting on one of these messages, Adam gets back into detective work and goes on a case for the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. Someone has been stealing artifacts headed for the museum from the shipyard, and among those artifacts is Merlin’s healing cup. What Adam and Merlin don’t know is these thefts are part of a larger web of crimes and intrigue extending back to the Civil War. Adam brings his investigative know-how, and Merlin contributes his knowledge of magic, myth, and legend.
Hetrick packs a lot of plot into a small number of pages. The story has many moving parts, from ancient magic, to the current case, to the various schemes, and they all fit together seamlessly. There are plenty of action scenes as Adam and his crew take on an unscrupulous enemy, but they are not gratuitously violent. The story is not a whodunnit, and there is no big reveal at the end, but the gradual unfurling of the story is interesting to experience as it happens.
All readers, especially lovers of crime and mystery, should find some enjoyment in the novel. Overall, the book is a quick, enjoyable read that will keep you turning the pages.
