Lucky Luke versus the Pinkertons by Daniel Pennac

Why read the book?

Pinkerton, head of his famous detective agency, is making arrests by the bushel and calling himself the man who will replace Lucky Luke. Luke discovers that the plot against Lincoln in Baltimore, which Pinkerton claims to have foiled, is a rumour the detective spread himself to win the president's trust and grow his power.

Pinkerton's harsh methods soon jail so many people for so little that the prisons overflow, forcing the release of older inmates, the Daltons among them. The brothers storm the agency and take Pinkerton hostage, and Luke comes out of forced retirement to stop them, burning the agency's files and freeing the innocent.

Favourite quote

What I Loved

Pennac and Benacquista give the story real bite, turning Pinkerton's rise into a sharp jab at surveillance and the man who locks up everyone to look busy.

Achdé draws it with affection for the old style, and the irony of Luke saving the very prisons that hold his old foes is delicious. The history is woven in with a light hand.

Key Takeaway

A lawman who arrests everyone arrests no one worth arresting, and freedom is the thing worth guarding.

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