Ravenmocker

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This entertaining series launch introduces Molly Bearpaw, 28, an investigator for the Native American Advocacy League, a fictional agency of the Oklahoma Cherokees that protects their civil rights. After Abner Mouse dies at the Country Haven Nursing Home in Tahlequah, the Cherokee capital, his son Woodrow asks Bearpaw to find out if the death was caused by a ravenmocker--a feared Cherokee witch in the form of a raven that sucks out the life force from the bodies of the enfeebled patients. But an autopsy says Abner was a victim of botulism. Soon a similar death occurs in the nursing home, though no trace of the bacteria can be found on the premises. Were the deaths simply accidents covered up by nervous staff members, or were they caused by something more sinister? With the help of D. J. Kennedy, deputy sheriff and her sometime lover, Bearpaw uncovers a conspiracy involving land grabs and toxic waste dumps--circumstances that seem as improbable at first as the concept of a ravenmocker. Of Cherokee descent, Hager ( Ghostland ) is comfortable with tribal lore and culture. She captures the rhythms of life in Tahlequah and creates in Bearpaw a charming and intelligent--albeit reluctant--detective. (Dec.)

Library Journal

Molly Bearpaw, another first-time detective, investigates varying complaints for the Native American Advocacy League in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. When a Cherokee man dies of food poisoning in a local nursing home, she attempts to discover the source of the tainted food. Working with sometime sheriff's department boyfriend D.J., Bearpaw repeatedly interrogates victims' relatives in order to pin down clues establishing motive and means. Rural gossip and intrigue contribute to a minimally entertaining title.

Donna Seaman

Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is Cherokee country and home to the Native American Advocacy League, which consists of a young, slender woman named Molly Bearpaw, who pretty much makes up her job as she goes along. Woodrow Mouse, distraught over his grandfather's suspicious death at a nearby nursing home, asks Molly to witness the autopsy. He fears that a ravenmocker, a type of witch, may have killed his He was going to be difficult." grandfather. Molly reluctantly agrees, but the medical examiner rules out magic in favor of botulism. Then another nursing home resident dies, and Molly finds herself involved in a baffling murder case in which even the identity of the real victim remains unclear. She's spunky, fond of coffee, and afraid of love. The sheriff is handsome and smitten, and the nursing home residents and assorted suspects are intriguing and humorous. The plot, gradually homing in on the illegal dumping of toxic waste on property owned by one of the old folks, is clever and benefits from the almost off-handed use of Cherokee culture. Entertaining and different, this is the first in a promising series featuring the admirable Molly Bearpaw.