The Deadly Stingaree

April 1891, as the dusty frontier city of San Diego recovers from a collapsing real estate bubble, residents look forward to the arrival of Benjamin Harrison, the first US president to visit their city. Little do they suspect that some of their citizens are planning an attack on the president and his train.

Fourteen-year-old Johnny Cong, an enterprising orphan of mixed parentage, lives in the Stingaree district of the city, a degenerate slum where he ekes out a living driving a donkey cart. Johnny believes in the American Dream, but when a mysterious Norwegian named John Sigerson hires him as a guide, he must navigate a dangerous path between loyalty and treason.

Equal parts spy thriller, western, coming-of-age story, and Sherlockian intrigue, The Deadly Stingaree tells the remarkable story of this young man and his notable friends—a notorious gunslinger, a former Buffalo soldier, a crusading female attorney, and the world’s greatest detective—who saved the president and the union that day.

Is it fact, fiction, or some devious combination of both?

⭐Kipling’s Kim meets Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia at the O.K. Corral. A singular and smart Wild West mystery. — Jolie Tunnell, author of The Idyllwild Mystery Series

⭐A well-researched and richly detailed adventure set in 1891 San Diego. Highly recommended to Sherlockian readers and mystery lovers who enjoy authentic history with their mystery. — Jeri Westerson, author of the Sherlockian series An Irregular Detective Mystery

⭐The Deadly Stingaree provides a thrilling peek into a country on the precipice of the 20th century, when Old West heroes hung up their spurs to become respected businessmen, and range wars gave way to foreign intrigues, all seen through the eyes of a precocious Chinese orphan. A great read for fans of history and mysteries alike. — Martin Roy Hill, author of Codename Parsifal

⭐A Chinese orphan, a Buffalo soldier, and a mysterious Norwegian explorer unravel historical intrigues as complex and convoluted as the maze of the interconnected brothels and saloons in San Diego’s infamous Stingaree district. Studded like a pair of cowboy boots with historical details and colorful characters, The Deadly Stingaree paints a vivid picture of the California-Mexico border region in 1891. — Cornelia Feye, award winning author of the Vega & Greg Stern mystery series