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jhadler's review against another edition
5.0
This was the first Margaret Coel book I had read, and I immediately loved the main characters, Vicky Holden, attorney, and Father O'Malley, priest and former alcoholic. Their friendship and way of working together is both complex and powerful. And they always solve the mystery.
cascaderose's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first book of the Wind River series that I have read. Living in Lander added interest to my reading, being able to visualize the setting so well. The characters are well developed. I did figure whodunnit and why during the guilty character's first scene so the rest of the mystery was seeing how Father John and Vicky figured it out.
tlwick's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a huge fan of Native American fiction, but had a hard time getting into this one. I found the storyline predictable and the characters only mildly interesting.
jcbmathcat's review against another edition
4.0
Members of our mystery book club each read a book in Margaret Coel's Wind River Reservation series. If this book is any indication, they can be read as stand-alones; however, references were made to past events that may be better understood if the books are read in order.
Father O'Malley receives an answering machine message that indicates the presence of bodies at the site of the Bates Battle of 1874 when Shoshone warriors led Captain Bates' cavalry to Arapaho grounds. The Arapahos were massacred and the Arapaho nation was finished. Father O'Malley finds the bodies of three Shoshone college students, posed to mimic bodies of Arapaho killed in the battle.
Meanwhile, attorney Vicky Holden represents Frankie Montana, an Arapaho who had been involved in an altercation with the three dead Shoshone men.
Someone is trying to start a war between the Arapaho and Shoshone.
I will definitely read more of Margaret Coel's Wind River Reservation books!
****Spoiler****
I did figure out the who and why by the time I reached the end of page 81.
Father O'Malley receives an answering machine message that indicates the presence of bodies at the site of the Bates Battle of 1874 when Shoshone warriors led Captain Bates' cavalry to Arapaho grounds. The Arapahos were massacred and the Arapaho nation was finished. Father O'Malley finds the bodies of three Shoshone college students, posed to mimic bodies of Arapaho killed in the battle.
Meanwhile, attorney Vicky Holden represents Frankie Montana, an Arapaho who had been involved in an altercation with the three dead Shoshone men.
Someone is trying to start a war between the Arapaho and Shoshone.
I will definitely read more of Margaret Coel's Wind River Reservation books!
****Spoiler****
I did figure out the who and why by the time I reached the end of page 81.
psalmcat's review against another edition
3.0
As always, interesting backstory, but the mystery was pretty obvious. Also--and I say this every time--Vicki and Father John need to get their stuff sorted out.
museoffire's review
2.0
Another entry for the "eh" shelf. While there's nothing exactly wrong with this very traditional mystery wherein the priest at a Native American reservation in the midwest solves a murder with a local native american lawyer, there was nothing especially astounding about it either.
We're kind of dropped into the middle of the story which I never mind but is pretty problematic for the first book in a series. We're told an awful lot about the town we're in, the people who live there, and the plight of Native Americans in modern America but we're never really shown a thing.
Much is made over a very blah attraction between the priest and the lawyer and the cops are on the trail of a violently psychotic local tough who the lawyer is convinced didn't do it as was I since the murderer is incredibly obviously introduced on like page 10.
I confess I'm a little baffled by the popularity of this series or this author. This is a very correctly plotted cookie cutter mystery with no passion, no substance and thusly no interest at all for me.
We're kind of dropped into the middle of the story which I never mind but is pretty problematic for the first book in a series. We're told an awful lot about the town we're in, the people who live there, and the plight of Native Americans in modern America but we're never really shown a thing.
Much is made over a very blah attraction between the priest and the lawyer and the cops are on the trail of a violently psychotic local tough who the lawyer is convinced didn't do it as was I since the murderer is incredibly obviously introduced on like page 10.
I confess I'm a little baffled by the popularity of this series or this author. This is a very correctly plotted cookie cutter mystery with no passion, no substance and thusly no interest at all for me.
julieputty's review
4.0
Coel's books don't offer pat answers and glorified looks at Indian culture. Instead, the characters are real, though often thrust into unreal situations. If you are a fan of Tony Hillerman, consider trying these books.
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