Native American Peoples - Fiction & Literature, Multicultural Detectives - Fiction, Occupations - Fiction, Police Stories
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Overview
Small-town chief of police Mitch Bushyhead returns in a case of murder, secrecy, and ancient tribal ritual. In a driving rain in the woods outside of Buckskin, while searching for his daughter and her two friends, Mitch Bushyhead finds the carcass of an illegally killed bald eagle and a dead man. Sure that the murdered man, a young game warden, was killed by the same person who shot the eagle with an arrow, Mitch eventually focuses his attention on Vian Brasfield. An otherwise respected high-school principal, Brasfield was known to be the supplier of eagle feathers for traditional dances that were growing more popular - as men like Vian discovered their Cherokee roots. But for Mitch, the investigation immediately takes a bizarre turn. Even though Vian has been spotted at a gathering of masked dancers, he cannot be found for questioning. With the disappearance of his only suspect, Bushyhead's investigation must delve into Vian's life and a swirl of small-town intrigues around it. And while he struggles to raise a daughter on his own, and to make a fledgling relationship with a woman doctor succeed, Mitch is determined not just to catch a killer, but to unmask a wrong hidden deep in Buckskin's heart.Editorials
Kirkus Reviews
Police Chief Mitch Bushyhead of Buckskin, Oklahoma (The Fire-Carrier, etc.), faces a challenging puzzle in his sleepy bailiwick when, during a rainstorm, his daughter Emily and two friends seek shelter in a cave and discover the body of Wildlife warden Arnett Walsh, shot to death. Nearby, Mitch finds a dead bald eagle (forbidden prey) and a tiny, faded photo of a woman. He questions high school principal Vian Brasfield, a part-Cherokee obsessed with his Indian heritage and rumored to have supplied eagle feathers for the ceremonial dances held regularly on his property outside town. Brasfieldþs property abuts land owned by anti-Indian, anti-government fanatic Dane Kennedy, long deserted by his wife. Daneþs son Hunter teaches at the high school; a daughter and son-in-law occupy a trailer on his land. Meantime, Brasfieldþs stoic wife Nicole seems unperturbed when her husband vanishes after a Friday night dance at the Indian ground, where he cavorted in mask and costume. His body is found days later, in a pond on Kennedyþs property. Another death, and a long-in-coming identification of the faded photo, enable Mitch to throw a light on the surprising liaison and the long-ago events that will eventually solve the case. Tidily plotted but uncompellingly motivated: another chapter in the low-keyed, slow-moving town of Buckskin, where widower Mitchþs burgeoning romance with local doctor Rhea is one of the livelier elements. Hager fans will love it.Book Details
Published
September 1, 1998
Publisher
Thorndike, Me. : Thorndike Press, 1998.
Pages
375
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780786214853