Official Review: Death Valley Scotty by Robert Carter
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- Latest Review: "Death Valley Scotty" by Robert Carter
Official Review: Death Valley Scotty by Robert Carter
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Death Valley Scotty" by Robert Carter.]
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Death Valley Scotty is a historical fiction novel written by Robert Carter. Carter has many published works to date, all of which take place during a significant time period in history, such as the Civil War, the development of the East India Company, and the time of pirates commanding the Caribbean. Death Valley Scotty takes place at the turn of the 20th century in the Wild West and is based on the true life of Walter E. Scott, a charming conman with a larger than life personality.
The novel begins with Scott, Scotty as he is known to his friends, crossing through the sweltering Death Valley desert in California when he comes across a dehydrated sheep dog, a pair of dead horses, and the corpse of a Mr. Jeremiah Wilson. While not surprised to find someone that did not survive the demanding haul across the stifling desert, Scotty is quite taken aback by what he finds in the deceased man's jacket pocket...a rock sparkling with gold. He quickly devises a plan to make himself rich, but when the plan starts to unravel, the clever Scotty is forced to develop con after con to keep his facade going.
Scotty is a character with both good and bad qualities. He is charming, charismatic, and knows how to win a room over. He is that person that instantly becomes the center of attention and can keep everyone entertained with his fascinating stories. He is generous with "his" money, always showing his friends a good time. He is actually quite intelligent and cunning in order to keep his plan from unraveling. Along the way he also helps others find their true selves.
On the other hand, Scotty is a conman that swindled others out of thousands of dollars. He is rather comfortable with lying to others, including those who are supposed to be close to him. Many times throughout the story Scotty is desperate to do anything to keep up his pretense of being a millionaire. I often found it difficult to like Scotty, as I found it frustrating that he would sacrifice relationships because he would not admit to his lies.
I am rating Death Valley Scotty a 3 out of 4 stars. The book was well written with many twists but did have a few scattered typos throughout. It seemed to portray Walter E. Scott quite accurately based on the information I could find about him. The only reason that I am not giving it a 4 is that at times it just couldn't hold my attention. Perhaps that was just because I tend to have difficulty liking stories where the main characters who you are supposed to be cheering for lie, cheat, and break the law (think mob movies like The Godfather). I think others may be able to get past that and really enjoy the book about a character that even though flawed, ultimately learns that true richness is not measured in the amount of money one has, but in friendships and lives one touches.
***
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The novel begins with Scott, Scotty as he is known to his friends, crossing through the sweltering Death Valley desert in California when he comes across a dehydrated sheep dog, a pair of dead horses, and the corpse of a Mr. Jeremiah Wilson. While not surprised to find someone that did not survive the demanding haul across the stifling desert, Scotty is quite taken aback by what he finds in the deceased man's jacket pocket...a rock sparkling with gold. He quickly devises a plan to make himself rich, but when the plan starts to unravel, the clever Scotty is forced to develop con after con to keep his facade going.
Scotty is a character with both good and bad qualities. He is charming, charismatic, and knows how to win a room over. He is that person that instantly becomes the center of attention and can keep everyone entertained with his fascinating stories. He is generous with "his" money, always showing his friends a good time. He is actually quite intelligent and cunning in order to keep his plan from unraveling. Along the way he also helps others find their true selves.
On the other hand, Scotty is a conman that swindled others out of thousands of dollars. He is rather comfortable with lying to others, including those who are supposed to be close to him. Many times throughout the story Scotty is desperate to do anything to keep up his pretense of being a millionaire. I often found it difficult to like Scotty, as I found it frustrating that he would sacrifice relationships because he would not admit to his lies.
I am rating Death Valley Scotty a 3 out of 4 stars. The book was well written with many twists but did have a few scattered typos throughout. It seemed to portray Walter E. Scott quite accurately based on the information I could find about him. The only reason that I am not giving it a 4 is that at times it just couldn't hold my attention. Perhaps that was just because I tend to have difficulty liking stories where the main characters who you are supposed to be cheering for lie, cheat, and break the law (think mob movies like The Godfather). I think others may be able to get past that and really enjoy the book about a character that even though flawed, ultimately learns that true richness is not measured in the amount of money one has, but in friendships and lives one touches.
***
Buy "Death Valley Scotty" on Amazon
Buy "Death Valley Scotty" on Barnes and Noble
Latest Review: "Death Valley Scotty" by Robert Carter
