Overview
Charlie Moon has been fighting crime—and investigating the truth behind Ute tribal myths—for ages. Now, the seven-foot rancher and part-time P.I. wants to carve out a little more time and space for himself and a very significant other, FBI Special Agent Lila Mae McTeague. Is that so wrong?
No one—himself included—ever believed the time would come for Charlie to get hitched. There’s only one problem: His beloved, belligerent aunt Daisy. She’s an aged Ute shaman whose own investigative talents rely heavily on help from the spirit world. Ever since Charlie broke the news of his engagement to her, Daisy’s been having terrifying visions of a murdered woman. Now it’s up to Charlie, Daisy, and Lila to find out what it all means—until death do they part…
Synopsis
In bestselling author James D. Doss’s latest novel, it’s up to one man to bring law and what’s going to have to pass for order back to his Colorado reservation.
“Doss does for the Utes what Tony Hillerman has done for the Navajo.”—The Denver Post
Charlie Moon has been fighting crime—and investigating the truth behind Ute tribal myths—for ages. Now, the seven-foot rancher and part-time P.I. wants to carve out a little more time and space for himself and a very significant other, FBI Special Agent Lila Mae McTeague. Is that so wrong?
“Doss has reproduced the land of the southern Colorado Utes with vivid affection.”
—Dallas Morning News
No one—himself included—ever believed the time would come for Charlie to get hitched. There’s only one problem: His beloved, belligerent aunt Daisy. She’s an aged Ute shaman whose own investigative talents rely heavily on help from the spirit world. Ever since Charlie broke the news of his engagement to her, Daisy’s been having terrifying visions of a murdered woman. Now it’s up to Charlie, Daisy, and Lila to find out what it all means—until death do they part…
“Moon mysteries still charm us with Western voices and ways.”—Rocky Mountain News
Publishers Weekly
At the start of Doss's entertaining 13th mystery to feature Ute investigator Charlie Moon (after 2007's Three Sisters), the spirit of recently murdered Chiquita Yazzi expresses concern for her teenage daughter, Nancy, as well she should, since Nancy was left alone with an abusive stepfather, Hermann Wetzel, who's about to meet the same fate as Chiquita. While Charlie prepares to pop the question to his favorite FBI agent, Lila Mae McTeague, he's also putting together a 16th birthday party for his Aunt Daisy's charge, orphan Sarah Frank. Hermann's murder disrupts the party and brings Nancy to Charlie's ranch, where she absconds with Sarah's birthday gift and goes on a rampage of vengeance. The police chief of Granite Creek, Colo., and fellow officers search high and low to apprehend Hermann's killer, but it's Daisy and Hermann's elderly landlady who team up to bring about the multifaceted solution. Lots of asides and tongue-in-cheek humor add to the fun. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
From the Publisher
“Outstanding…liberally laced with Native American lore [and] a plot that weaves and twists like a highway in the Rockies.”—Library JournalPublishers Weekly
At the start of Doss's entertaining 13th mystery to feature Ute investigator Charlie Moon (after 2007's Three Sisters), the spirit of recently murdered Chiquita Yazzi expresses concern for her teenage daughter, Nancy, as well she should, since Nancy was left alone with an abusive stepfather, Hermann Wetzel, who's about to meet the same fate as Chiquita. While Charlie prepares to pop the question to his favorite FBI agent, Lila Mae McTeague, he's also putting together a 16th birthday party for his Aunt Daisy's charge, orphan Sarah Frank. Hermann's murder disrupts the party and brings Nancy to Charlie's ranch, where she absconds with Sarah's birthday gift and goes on a rampage of vengeance. The police chief of Granite Creek, Colo., and fellow officers search high and low to apprehend Hermann's killer, but it's Daisy and Hermann's elderly landlady who team up to bring about the multifaceted solution. Lots of asides and tongue-in-cheek humor add to the fun. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
In the 13th title of Doss's outstanding Southwestern series (after Three Sisters), Charlie Moon's Aunt Daisy and her ward, Sarah, are having dreams about a murdered woman, while the Ute rancher and part-time tribal investigator dreams about getting married. As in the previous titles, nothing here ever happens in a normal, logical way. The narrator clearly is having fun as he unveils his tale, liberally laced with Native American lore, character idiosyncrasies, comedic asides, and a plot that weaves and twists like a highway in the Rockies. An overriding feature of Doss's books is humor, which sets them apart from those of Tony Hillerman and Margaret Coel. Highly recommended.
—Jo Ann Vicarel