The Outcast of Poker Flat is a novel by Ken Bruen, set in the fictional town of Poker Flat, California, in the 1930s. The novel’s characters include Doc Rockwell, a retired doctor who runs a small general store and saloon; Sheriff Harry Houdini; and Evelyn Rockwell, Doc’s wife.
One night in 1935, Evelyn Rockwell is alone in the store when she is attacked by an unknown assailant. She manages to shoot her attacker, but he dies before he can reach her.
The next day, Doc Rockwell finds the body and immediately recognizes it as that of his wife. He tells Sheriff Houdini about his wife’s death, and the sheriff begins investigating.
As the investigation progresses, it becomes clear that Evelyn Rockwell was not the only victim of her husband’s killer. Doc Rockwell had been having an affair with another woman, Lila Mason, and Lila had been having an affair with Harry Houdini.
When Lila finds out about her husband’s affair, she comes to Poker Flat to try to kill him. But before she can do so, Harry Houdini kills her.
The killer is never found out, and Evelyn Rockwell’s death remains a mystery to this day. Some believe that Doc Rockwell killed his wife himself because of the affair she was having; others believe that Lila Mason killed Evelyn Rockwell because she knew about her husband’s affair and wanted to revenge herself.
However, no matter who killed Evelyn Rockwell, her death remains a tragic mystery that has haunted the town of Poker Flat for more than seventy years.
