Reilly’s Luck

by Louis L’Amour

First published 1970

Amazon

4.5(3,165)

Val Darrant is four years old when his mother abandons him during a snowstorm. He survives because he is found by Will Reilly, a gambler, traveller and self-educated gentleman who becomes the only dependable parent Val knows. For the next decade they move between western boomtowns and European cities, with Reilly teaching the boy how to read people, handle himself and remain independent in places where luck can change quickly.

Reilly’s death in a burst of gunfire leaves Val alone and determined to understand what really happened. The search takes him back through the secrets of Reilly’s past and towards the mother he has every reason to avoid. The novel combines western adventure with a coming-of-age story, following a boy whose education has come from movement, gambling and observation rather than conventional family life.