Lots of kids play the piano, some better than others. Once in a great while one comes along whose ability shines like a torch. In "Two Pianos, One Bullet," thirteen-year-old Danny Jernigan is just such a prodigy: he's a world class pianist, traveling the world to perform with orchestras.
However, in his heart, Danny is just your standard tall, gangly junior high kid living on a small ranch outside Ranger, Texas, who plays percussion in the marching band, is mystified by girls, loves Tex-Mex food, and has a grinning acceptance of his own ability.
In "Two Pianos, One Bullet" Danny is giving a joint concert in San Antonio with a Hispanic pianist, Elena Morales, a gorgeous "older woman" (eighteen, Danny thinks), when a rifle shot just misses them. As Danny and his agent/organizer Buckingham "Bucky" Grimsby (a retired sergeant in the British Army) investigate, they find Danny's concert is smack in the middle of a nasty squabble between two inept drug gangs, and both Danny and Elena stand a good chance of being killed.
Danny uses his ability at disguises and Bucky's partial ability in several languages to protect Elena and unmask the bad dudes. Along the way readers learn about music of various kinds, the problems inherent in giving a concert, inventive ways out of other nests of hornets, the city of San Antonio, Texas ... and being a 13-year-old kid with an unusual talent.
However, in his heart, Danny is just your standard tall, gangly junior high kid living on a small ranch outside Ranger, Texas, who plays percussion in the marching band, is mystified by girls, loves Tex-Mex food, and has a grinning acceptance of his own ability.
In "Two Pianos, One Bullet" Danny is giving a joint concert in San Antonio with a Hispanic pianist, Elena Morales, a gorgeous "older woman" (eighteen, Danny thinks), when a rifle shot just misses them. As Danny and his agent/organizer Buckingham "Bucky" Grimsby (a retired sergeant in the British Army) investigate, they find Danny's concert is smack in the middle of a nasty squabble between two inept drug gangs, and both Danny and Elena stand a good chance of being killed.
Danny uses his ability at disguises and Bucky's partial ability in several languages to protect Elena and unmask the bad dudes. Along the way readers learn about music of various kinds, the problems inherent in giving a concert, inventive ways out of other nests of hornets, the city of San Antonio, Texas ... and being a 13-year-old kid with an unusual talent.
