Ash Child

Jane Dickinson

Best reason to read: Bowen's take on the rural West and his wonderful characters...
—Denver Rocky Mountain News

Publishers Weekly

This compelling series, set in a contemporary Wild West where little old ladies come into the saloon, order red beers and go home and shoot at meddlesome strangers, offers another success. Gabriel Du Pre (last seen in 2001's Cruzatte and Maria) is back, not in the best of health but as curious and stubborn as ever. An old woman, Maddy Collins (she of the red beers), is beaten to death, and when Du Pre looks into it, he's knocked on the head as well. Two teenagers, good kids who've chosen bad friends, jump out as obvious suspects. The two disappear, which seems to confirm their guilt. With the Montana weather dry and hot, the threat of fire hangs over the area, creating nearly unbearable suspense. Beyond basic safety measures, there's nothing that can be done to guarantee that the Wolf Mountains and all the nearby houses will not go up in flames. Sure enough, fire breaks out. The discovery of the two teenagers' bodies on a burned hill makes it tragically clear that they weren't guilty. As fires spread, the fear of arson spurs Du Pre to further danger in an effort to find the truth. Du Pre's beloved, Madelaine, confers with the wise old Benetsee as Du Pre goes up against the Forest Service. There's a wonderful drawl to the pace here: though there's plenty of action, there's also time to enjoy the laconic, highly nuanced language and to catch up on the interwoven history of these folks in the case of the mysterious, powerful Benetsee, a history may travel back centuries. It's a pleasure to read a story that was clearly written with pleasure. (Apr. 15) FYI: The third and fourth books in the series, Wolf No Wolf and Notches, are being combined in a simultaneous trade paperback edition ($14.95; ISBN -28963-4). Bowen is also the author of Kelly and the Three-Toed Horse (Forecasts, Feb. 26, 2001) and other titles in his Yellowstone Kelly historical series. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

"Cowboys," a Montana woman says early in Gabriel Du Pre's ninth adventure (Cruzatte and Maria, 2001, etc.), "have the smarts of anvils." But she says it more or less lovingly, and the fact is-as anyone in tiny Toussaint, way up in the high country, will tell you-that whenever a tough knot needs unraveling, you send for Du Pre, that quintessential cowboy and master unraveler. And if he's not busy expertly fiddling or philosophizing or imbibing his favorite tipple, "the whisky ditch," he'll tackle the toughest puzzle. Like the mystery surrounding poor old Maddy Collins. Who'd want to take a hatchet to a woman near 90, leave her bloody and lifeless on the floor of her remote cabin, and not bother to look for the $800 she had stashed in a bureau drawer? The case involves an awful lot of suspects-many of whose motives, unfortunately, are more obscure than good mystery-mongering requires-and an awful lot of burning trees. The dry season has descended on the area just west of Toussaint in a way that portends massive forest fires, some already burning ferociously. Were they started intentionally? Is Maddy's murder somehow connected to them? Who is that enigmatic good guy so indistinguishable from a bad guy? Count on anvil-headed Du Pre to figure it all out. Quirky dialogue, flamboyant people, the usual Du Pre fun. Bowen fans are doubtless inured by now to plots that go up in smoke.