What do you think?
Rate this book
Tres Navarre #3
The Last King of Texas
Tres Navarre has a passion for tequila, a Ph.D. in English, and a penchant for trouble. His latest assignment puts him on a carousel-ride collision course with a killer--a one-way ticket to betrayal and death in a novel of suspense in which everyone is guilty of something.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
115 people are currently reading
2347 people want to read
About the author
Rick Riordan
373 books452k followersRick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many books, including the Percy Jackson series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
December 15, 2021
eponymous-ey sentence:
p38: By the time he died, Jeremiah was calling himself the King of the South Texas carnivals.
cement:
p45: The building made an L around a covered cement porch that overflowed with mangled bicycles and broken lawn chairs.
p48: Immediately a third shot punched through the particleboard door, a little bit higher, but Ozzie had already turned and dived full force into the cement.
p82: At the near end of the lot was a long portable building, facing in toward a cement yard fenced off by ten-foot-high chain link.
p86: In the middle of the room were three carnival rides in various states of assembly--a Super-Whirl with the multicolored base attached but the seats scattered around the cement floor like massive wobbly Easter eggs; an eight-armed Spider Rider stripped to just the hydraulic mechanisms; a miniature carousel that looked pretty much complete.
p156: Shafts of dust-moted light sliced across an old television set, a bare plywood bookshelf, a beanbag chair that had been cut open, its polyfoam guts spread across the cement floor.
p263: I got excited when my fingers twitched, involuntarily, and I could actually feel the scrape of the cement floor.
Family is everything, odd it may be.
p38: By the time he died, Jeremiah was calling himself the King of the South Texas carnivals.
cement:
p45: The building made an L around a covered cement porch that overflowed with mangled bicycles and broken lawn chairs.
p48: Immediately a third shot punched through the particleboard door, a little bit higher, but Ozzie had already turned and dived full force into the cement.
p82: At the near end of the lot was a long portable building, facing in toward a cement yard fenced off by ten-foot-high chain link.
p86: In the middle of the room were three carnival rides in various states of assembly--a Super-Whirl with the multicolored base attached but the seats scattered around the cement floor like massive wobbly Easter eggs; an eight-armed Spider Rider stripped to just the hydraulic mechanisms; a miniature carousel that looked pretty much complete.
p156: Shafts of dust-moted light sliced across an old television set, a bare plywood bookshelf, a beanbag chair that had been cut open, its polyfoam guts spread across the cement floor.
p263: I got excited when my fingers twitched, involuntarily, and I could actually feel the scrape of the cement floor.
Family is everything, odd it may be.
April 20, 2013
Tres Navarre mystery numero tres! A local university professor is murdered, and Tres agrees to take over his classes for the remainder of the semester – he DOES have a PhD in Medieval Literature, after all. Since he is now the third professor to take these classes in this school year, Tres cannot help but get involved into the investigation, especially since both his predecessors had received death threats.
Riordan writes a great mystery series featuring my home town. His scenes are vividly drawn and I love the opportunity to “visit home” through the pages of this series. I like that he includes several strong women among the recurring characters – Elainya (who heads the PI firm), and Detective Anna DeLeon. These women are resourceful, intelligent, fearless and don’t rely on men to get them out of a jam. I didn’t guess the perpetrator before Riordan’s reveal. I also like that he continued for a few chapters to wrap up some loose ends regarding these characters. Maybe he’s just setting up the sequels, but I didn’t feel manipulated.
Riordan writes a great mystery series featuring my home town. His scenes are vividly drawn and I love the opportunity to “visit home” through the pages of this series. I like that he includes several strong women among the recurring characters – Elainya (who heads the PI firm), and Detective Anna DeLeon. These women are resourceful, intelligent, fearless and don’t rely on men to get them out of a jam. I didn’t guess the perpetrator before Riordan’s reveal. I also like that he continued for a few chapters to wrap up some loose ends regarding these characters. Maybe he’s just setting up the sequels, but I didn’t feel manipulated.
February 28, 2019
One of those books that keeps you on toes till the end of the book.
May 24, 2022
More of a 3.5. I might lower the stars to three (Note: I just lowered to three). I’ve read most of Riordan’s youth books and wanted to see what the adult were like. As a mystery writer, he wasn’t amazing. It’s a fairly typical mystery in many ways. But he did keep a close eye on he ethics of the tangled story. I liked that part. I’ll try to pick up another title or two, if possible. Tres is a pretty decent detective and there were definitely surprises I didn’t expect. However, I would love to find out more about why he shifted to kids’ lit. Did he realize he wasn’t going to break out of the crowd writing mysteries? Recommended for mystery lovers or Riordan fans.
April 6, 2021
Mam mieszane uczucia. Męczyłam się z nią ponad dwa tygodnie. Była nudna i niestety przez ostatnie 100 stron jedynie coś się działo, co bardzo mnie zirytowało. Było od groma hiszpańskich słówek, których nie rozumiałam i nie były one przetłumaczone. Przyjemny klimat, ale główny bohater to typowy Harry Potter, który był chyba najbardziej wkurzającą postacią w książce.
September 13, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Rick Riordan really knows how to write a funny protagonist. Some of his little quips are 10/10
Rick Riordan really knows how to write a funny protagonist. Some of his little quips are 10/10
May 11, 2010
I initially read this book to compare his writing in Percy Jackson to his writing for adults. Jumping in on the third in a series would not have been my choice, but beggars in the used book industry can't be choosers. So I think I lost a few references from earlier books, but there wasn't a lot that was pertinent to the story line that I couldn't pick up in context.
And oh my word, I really did enjoy this book. Tres is an awesome character, and somewhat brings to mind what Percy Jackson could be like when he grows up: funny, fiercely loyal, smart, excellent to have at your back in a fight and always willing to believe the best of people.
I do not believe this will be my last Rick Riordan mystery.
And oh my word, I really did enjoy this book. Tres is an awesome character, and somewhat brings to mind what Percy Jackson could be like when he grows up: funny, fiercely loyal, smart, excellent to have at your back in a fight and always willing to believe the best of people.
I do not believe this will be my last Rick Riordan mystery.
March 4, 2017
Number 3 in the PI/college professor Tres Navarre series. A friend in his PI office is shot during a case; lots of rough customers. I thought this was very good, with lots of action and a likable main character.
(Rick Riordan has gone on to write many successful novels for young people. I really liked the Tres Navarre series.)
(Rick Riordan has gone on to write many successful novels for young people. I really liked the Tres Navarre series.)
March 3, 2010
Tres Navarre, Tai Che master, is good at asking questions and reading reactions. He also excells at getting beat up, hit in the face, and blown up. And when he makes a bad decision, the consquences are huge.
November 20, 2013
Starts off with a bang (literally) and continues at a very high rate of speed. Tres Navarre is a cool dude, a good friend and full of witty comments. With a good supporting cast and a good sense of place, this is a very entertaining series.
January 28, 2023
And I'm glad I continued!
If you read my review of the last book (I doubt you did, but that's okay :)), you'd know that I was slightly disappointed in the last book, for reasons even I don't even fully understand. But I can safely say that this was not the case with this book! I don't think I was ever going to NOT finish the series, but I'm glad I continued nonetheless.
This book was just as action-packed as the first one, with even more twists to boot. The stakes seem the highest they've ever been for Tres in this book as well. At least, he gets seriously hurt a couple of times in this book, which was not the case in the first two books. It's definitely not all fun and games anymore.
As a side note, I want to comment on his romantic relationships. After seeing his sleep with two women in rapid succession in both of the first two books, it was almost refreshing to see him only kiss one woman before deciding he'd better not. It shows some growth. Part of me DOES want him to find someone, but not like that. As for the fact that the same woman Tres kissed got back together with Ralph after previously hating him (hating Ralph, that is, not Tres), that seems a tad too unbelievable to me. I don't know why she'd suddenly be okay with what Ralph does. Speaking of Ralph, while I greatly enjoy his character, I don't want him to become kind of a crutch - Tres's right-hand man in the Underworld of San Antonio, the one who always gives him information or bails him out. I'm worried he'll start to become that.
**SPOILER ALERT** As I discuss one of the twists in this book. The whole Sandra/Inez twist was interesting, if a little too out of the blue. But I don't get why, during their conversation, she talked as if she DID kill him when she's innocent. She just made herself seem suspicious to Tres. **SPOILER ALERT**
I kind of like the moments when he's teaching. I also like the nod to book two in this book with the Miranda Daniels song playing. Going back to that moment, though, he talks as though he helped them again after the events of the last book. I was confused for a bit.
Oh, and are we going to talk about how Tres mentioned killing someone in either this book or the very end of the last book, and then was not mentioned again? Or did he kill someone in the first book, and I already can't remember?
Like with book one, this book and book two were audiobook listens. I've been enjoying the narration the same each time. His Texas and Hispanic actions kind of all sound the same, but he does a great job of capturing Tres's personality.
All in all, a great read. I look forward to continuing with the series.
On to the next one!
If you read my review of the last book (I doubt you did, but that's okay :)), you'd know that I was slightly disappointed in the last book, for reasons even I don't even fully understand. But I can safely say that this was not the case with this book! I don't think I was ever going to NOT finish the series, but I'm glad I continued nonetheless.
This book was just as action-packed as the first one, with even more twists to boot. The stakes seem the highest they've ever been for Tres in this book as well. At least, he gets seriously hurt a couple of times in this book, which was not the case in the first two books. It's definitely not all fun and games anymore.
As a side note, I want to comment on his romantic relationships. After seeing his sleep with two women in rapid succession in both of the first two books, it was almost refreshing to see him only kiss one woman before deciding he'd better not. It shows some growth. Part of me DOES want him to find someone, but not like that. As for the fact that the same woman Tres kissed got back together with Ralph after previously hating him (hating Ralph, that is, not Tres), that seems a tad too unbelievable to me. I don't know why she'd suddenly be okay with what Ralph does. Speaking of Ralph, while I greatly enjoy his character, I don't want him to become kind of a crutch - Tres's right-hand man in the Underworld of San Antonio, the one who always gives him information or bails him out. I'm worried he'll start to become that.
**SPOILER ALERT** As I discuss one of the twists in this book. The whole Sandra/Inez twist was interesting, if a little too out of the blue. But I don't get why, during their conversation, she talked as if she DID kill him when she's innocent. She just made herself seem suspicious to Tres. **SPOILER ALERT**
I kind of like the moments when he's teaching. I also like the nod to book two in this book with the Miranda Daniels song playing. Going back to that moment, though, he talks as though he helped them again after the events of the last book. I was confused for a bit.
Oh, and are we going to talk about how Tres mentioned killing someone in either this book or the very end of the last book, and then was not mentioned again? Or did he kill someone in the first book, and I already can't remember?
Like with book one, this book and book two were audiobook listens. I've been enjoying the narration the same each time. His Texas and Hispanic actions kind of all sound the same, but he does a great job of capturing Tres's personality.
All in all, a great read. I look forward to continuing with the series.
On to the next one!
December 24, 2020
I listened to this audiobook. Tres Navarre has a PhD in English. He is also a private detective. In this book he is hired by the University of Texas San Antonio to take over classes for a professor who was murdered. The murdered professor was the son of a shady character who was also murdered. The man accused of murdering the father is also suspected in the murder of the son. He has been away for years and has returned to San Antonio looking for his wife, who disappeared years earlier. Tres runs afoul of the detectives from the police who are investigating the murder. He runs afoul of the remaining brother of the family. He runs afoul of a heroine dealer who wants Tres to stop looking into the connections with the murdered family and him. The murdered professor has left behind a wife and very frightened 5 year old son. Tres gets involved up to his eyeballs trying to make all the connections to figure out what happened to the professor. He tries to help the little boy who has been left fatherless. He puts himself in grave danger. One of the delights for me is the descriptions of San Antonio where I used to live. I recognize so many of the unique landmarks. I like Tres. He is a bit of a smart mouth, but he is also likable.
June 23, 2025
I rated this at a notch below average. This day and age “average” for a detective /police procedural novel isn’t saying much. Which means, I don’t know how I feel about this story.
I kept getting confused about who was who and what was what. We have our PI who is tough as nails and jumps into substitute teaching medieval classics. And a couple of chapters proving it. Did not work. The story started lame and went smoothly from there. I stayed with it until about the last dozen pages when authors of this genre recap the entire novel (almost like his rewriting his notes and outlines) in a denouement that rivals a sermon. One other thing is a bad habit by detective fiction writers is this need to describe locale.
I am not a San Antonio person so all the streets and backwaters are wasted on me. You can, I give my permission, fictionalize the town. Riordan teaches English in high school there so it might be worthwhile in explaining neighborhoods (as he does) to keep his local readers interested, which is good, but every turn across town seems a waste of words.
If you are in the market for a wild and violent mystery this is it!
###
I kept getting confused about who was who and what was what. We have our PI who is tough as nails and jumps into substitute teaching medieval classics. And a couple of chapters proving it. Did not work. The story started lame and went smoothly from there. I stayed with it until about the last dozen pages when authors of this genre recap the entire novel (almost like his rewriting his notes and outlines) in a denouement that rivals a sermon. One other thing is a bad habit by detective fiction writers is this need to describe locale.
I am not a San Antonio person so all the streets and backwaters are wasted on me. You can, I give my permission, fictionalize the town. Riordan teaches English in high school there so it might be worthwhile in explaining neighborhoods (as he does) to keep his local readers interested, which is good, but every turn across town seems a waste of words.
If you are in the market for a wild and violent mystery this is it!
###
October 29, 2022
Whew! This one leaves you hanging until the very last. Small-town cruelties lead to unimaginable tragedies. Lizzie Ouellette lived in a junkyard her entire childhood, and the torn never let her for forget it. The ironic thing was she was happy there living with her father, her books, and her imagination. But out in the town she was lonely for a friend, for companionship. Even a marriage to the town baseball hero Dwayne Cleaves didn’t help her; she was blamed for his downfall.
Lizzie owned a lake cottage given to her by her father that she fixed up better than most nearby lake houses. Lizzie had surprisingly good taste for a junkyard girl. Enter month-long Uber-rich renters Adrienne and Heath Richards, and Lizzie and Dwayne were caught in Adrienne’s web.
Identities. Who was who? Who was murdered? Who was left to tell the tale? This murder mystery is almost spooky in its sharply-shaped twists and turns that take you from the woods of Maine to a luxurious Boston townhouse. Enjoy!
Lizzie owned a lake cottage given to her by her father that she fixed up better than most nearby lake houses. Lizzie had surprisingly good taste for a junkyard girl. Enter month-long Uber-rich renters Adrienne and Heath Richards, and Lizzie and Dwayne were caught in Adrienne’s web.
Identities. Who was who? Who was murdered? Who was left to tell the tale? This murder mystery is almost spooky in its sharply-shaped twists and turns that take you from the woods of Maine to a luxurious Boston townhouse. Enjoy!
March 9, 2023
Okay, we all know Rick Riordan "now," but I had this nice pleasure of meeting him prior to the whole Percy Jackson publication, when he was a solid essentially "Texas" writer, and he visited the university where I was faculty, to give a reading of this book. So many writers who come to campus can often be these kinds of pretentious douchebags, hitting on the grad students, generally strutting around -- not Rick Riordan. Such a nice guy, charming, thoughtful... Here was someone who, after listening to him read and talking to him for awhile, you'd think "Gee, I hope this guy hits it big someday; he would deserve it." Lo and behold, he struck oil. A solid writer, a good person. I'm pleased to be sitting on my signed copy of this book.
Sorry if this review is a little bit more personal anecdote than singular book review, but I suppose I AM revealing something about him, at least.
Sorry if this review is a little bit more personal anecdote than singular book review, but I suppose I AM revealing something about him, at least.
February 10, 2025
The series is really starting to find itself at this point. Leaning into Tres's educational background fleshes him out more as a three dimensional character and the side characters all feel more real than the previous books in the series. I have enjoyed all of them, but this one held my engagement better than the first two. The women characters specifically take on more life, a big improvement on the genre standard. There is still a lot of room for improvement in this respect, but I have hope the series will continue to grow.
September 9, 2018
A marked improvement from the previous books in the series, less Tres bumbling into trouble and making stupid comments that would get anyone else punched. This book was more gritty than the other books, visceral even in some sections. The ending really ruined it just because part of it made no sense. Like the whole book leads one way and boom, the ending is like, what happened? Definitely a good read, just not perfect.
December 25, 2023
I am headed to San Antonio in two days and I am hoping that the restaurant recommendations in this book are still good. Both the restaurants he mentioned are still doing great business many years after the book was published.
Tres is an old softie. He figures out who the bad guys are and is willing to kill a few if necessary, but he still babysits for his boss’s son. This time he is also an English professor.
Tres is an old softie. He figures out who the bad guys are and is willing to kill a few if necessary, but he still babysits for his boss’s son. This time he is also an English professor.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2024
A very entertaining thriller with a well thought out and thought-provoking mystery dealing with all sorts of complicated topics. Tres Navarre is a sarcastic with a straight face, making all of the right and wrong decisions deliberately.
The mystery was handled quite well, with lots of twists and turns, red herrings, and drama. The resolution was climactic and satisfying, leaving me feeling like there weren't any loose ends to be tied up.
The mystery was handled quite well, with lots of twists and turns, red herrings, and drama. The resolution was climactic and satisfying, leaving me feeling like there weren't any loose ends to be tied up.
June 20, 2025
A serviceable next entry in the Tres Navarre series, though the premise here (which is mostly rooted in pretty traditional criminal underworld tropes) was less interesting to me than earlier entries in the series.
As an academic, I enjoyed the bits about Navarre teaching at UTSA, though the idea of his using a lecturer position as a cover, and the university going along with it all, strained credulity.
As an academic, I enjoyed the bits about Navarre teaching at UTSA, though the idea of his using a lecturer position as a cover, and the university going along with it all, strained credulity.
October 31, 2017
I never realised that Rick Riordan (who I adore as a young adult author) was also a great mystery/PI writer as well. Enjoyed the dialogue, the character development, the plot. All good stuff here. I probably should have started at book one though, easy enough to read as a stand alone, but I think there was some history that I need to go investigate!
April 1, 2019
I like Riordan's adult mystery novels even better than his junior fiction books - even those are what most people know about him as an author. Tres Navarre is multi-dimensional detective and all the characters are interesting. Good plotting and the added benefit of learning about the area close to where I'm living.
November 30, 2020
I'm glad I stuck with Riordan's Tres Navarre series after not finishing #2. This one worked much better for me. Still more violence than I like in my mysteries, but more tightly plotted and the characters more intricately developed. The regulars are deepened and the key figures in the mystery quite satisfactorily mysterious. All in all, an enjoyable trip to San Antonio.
July 31, 2021
I enjoyed the settling for the book, San Antonio. The references to the landscape, landmarks, and food items were enjoyable. I also enjoyed the author’s description of the characters. He used a subtle humor in his descriptions which made the book fun. There was too much bad language, but the language did fit the criminal characters in the story.
March 12, 2023
Poor Tres does not have a lot of luck going his way in this book! He gets hurt offer, it is a surprise he makes it through the book! He gets a good job at UTSA that allows him to still continue his private sleuthing. He seems a bit unfocused regarding that teaching job, but with all that is going on solving the mystery, it is a surprise that he can focus on the job at all!
September 21, 2017
The Tres Navarre series is consistently good - I enjoyed the characters, trying to avoid a spoiler, but there was one I was hoping wouldn't turn out bad. Fourth title in the series checked out, ready for commute read.
January 1, 2018
I LOVE the Tres Navarre mysteries!!! As a native of San Antonio these stories trigger so many memories of places I've been, food I have eaten, and things I have experienced. It's been a long time since I've been "home", but Rick Riordan takes me back and I always enjoy the visit.
May 24, 2017
Plenty of action drives the plot of this novel, but I loved it for the setting in San Antonio and for the skillful development of characters of diverse ages and backgrounds.
July 18, 2017
The best Tres Navarre book so far!
February 1, 2018
Enjoyed this one a lot
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews