The Whipping Boy

May 2, 1994
Tom Freshour, the mixed-blood teenaged hero of this engaging story set in the waning days of the last century, is a product of the Choctaw Indian orphanage in the Oklahoma Territory, where he has grown up living an insular life subjected to military-style discipline and regular beatings. When he and the other boys are taken to Fort Smith, Ark., to witness a hanging--a lesson in criminal justice inflicted by the minister in charge of the orphanage--Tom is offered a job as errand boy to a hardware salesman. The minister gladly sheds responsibility for the teenager, and Tom is given to Jake Jaycox, an aging, soft-hearted drummer with whom the lad becomes fast friends. As the pair ply the trade between Oklahoma and Arkansas, Tom discovers ``civilization,'' racism and sex. Aiding in his coming of age is Samantha King, a provocative ``older'' woman who, through a bizarre mishap, becomes attached to the selling pair. Benefiting from extensive research by Morgan, a writing professor at the University of Missouri and author ( Belle Starr ), the book nicely captures the atmosphere of Indian Territory and environs nearly 100 years ago.

April 15, 1994
Set in the Oklahoma Territory in 1894, this is the story of an unlikely trio: good-natured hardware salesman Jake, a half-Indian orphan named Tom, and Samantha King, a mysterious but compelling young woman. The story unfolds slowly; at first, only Jake is fully developed, but gradually Tom's background is sketched in and Sam's history uncovered. As these two come into focus along with Jake, the novel picks up speed, and what seemed at first like a tame attempt to take over the hardware store is revealed as a sinister plot to steal thousands of acres of land from poor Indians and farmers. Can the intrepid threesome foil this plot? Suspense builds nicely, and readers who stick with the story through the slow start will have an enjoyable read enhanced by the bleakly challenging Western landscape that lends an authentic feel to this tale by the author of The Assemblers (Dutton, 1986; Harlequin, 1989. reprint). Recommended.-Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.