Death on the Mississippi — Peter J. Heck

"Lovers of historical mysteries should rush out for a copy of Death on the Mississippi, the delightfully droll debut of Wentworth Cabot, newly hired secretary to the celebrated author Mark Twain. Twain lights up the pages as he gives his lectures, mourns his impecunious state with disarming honesty, tells a fantastic tale of hidden gold to his young clerk, and generally suffers fools none too gladly. Cabot is alternately dismayed, baffled, and awestruck by his new boss's behavior as they set out on a riverboat lecture series in the company of a New York cop and, most probably, the killer the cop seeks. There's a good plot, a bevy of suspects, lots of Twain lore, and even a travelogue of life on the Mississippi in the 1890's. Death on the Mississippi is thoroughly entertaining."
--Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine