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Synopsis
On the windswept plains of Wyoming's Wind River Reservation, Arapahos have gathered for the Ethete powwow, a time to reaffirm the balance and harmony in life. But balance and harmony quickly give way to fear and confusion when respected tribal chairman Harvey Castle is found murdered at the powwow camp, and the evidence points to the chairman's nephew. Father John O'Malley, S.J., pastor of St. Francis Mission, and Vicky Holden, Arapaho attorney, do not believe that Anthony Castle - one of the most promising young people on the reservation - is capable of murder. Together they set out to find the real criminal and clear Anthony's name. The trail that Father John and Vicky follow winds across the high plains of the Wind River Reservation into Arapaho homes and community centers and the fraud-infested world of Indian oil and land deals. Eventually it leads to the past - the Old Time - when the Arapahos were forced to leave their homes on the central plains and relocate on the reservation. It is through the horrendous crimes committed then that Father John and Vicky discover the motive for the murder of the tribal chairman a century later. But as they close in on the killer, they become the next targets ...
Publishers Weekly
Murder is only one element in this debut mystery, which also takes on interracial romance, the exploitation of Indian lands and the political ambitions of a former county commissioner who's also a gubernatorial candidate. Father John O'Malley has been banished from Boston to the dirt-poor mission at Wyoming's Wind River Reservation to recover from his alcoholism. When the tribal chairman is killed, an obnoxious FBI agent arrests the chairman's nephew. In an effort to help, Father John joins forces with Vicky Holden, a feisty, 40-something Arapaho attorney for whom he stoically suffers an unpriestly attraction. Into this modestly suspenseful tale, Coel (Chief Lefthand) weaves often insightful commentary about Arapaho culture, bigotry and the widespread alcoholism among Western tribes. Likable, well-drawn characters and a lively pace mark this novel-which appears poised for a sequel-for Hillerman fans. (May)