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This twentieth book in the Wind River Reservation series includes several parallel story lines, causing the reader to think deeply about the nature of family and identity. As the book opens, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden is called in to help the lawyer working with a native couple attempting to formalize the adoption of a white girl they have raised from infancy. At the same time, Father John O'Malley's (Vicky's friend and informal partner) entertains a visit from his niece, Shannon, who is writing her dissertation about a white woman who lived her entire life as an Arapaho after being abducted while still a young child. The juxtaposition of the two stories of cultural displacement enriches the reader's understanding of the motives behind the mystery of how Mary Anne Little Shield, the five-year-old living on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, came to be living as an Arapaho.
Shannon, upon arrival at Father O'Malley's church, meets James, a young man who believes he has a calling to the priesthood. As she searches for clues about the life of Lizzie Brokenhorn in the 1800s, Shannon also struggles to come to grips with her abandonment by her partner. She leans heavily upon James, for whom his developing relationship with Shannon brings doubts about the path his life will take. Vicky and Father John skirt around the issue of their deep friendship at the same time, with both reflecting upon the life choices they have made.
At the same time that Vicky is deeply involved in the adoption case, she is also attempting to help a young alcoholic Arapaho avoid serious prison time for a robbery, although the young man seems to find it nearly impossible to escape his addiction. As one might expect, the tightly connected Arapaho community means that the two cases are not altogether separate.
The Wind River Reservation and the area around Riverton are vividly portrayed, and the history is well integrated into the plot. But what raises this book above the average mystery is the depth of characterization and introspection. The plot is compelling, but it is enhanced by the questions the book raises about the role of culture vs. the role of genetics in making us who we are. I've read elsewhere that this might be the last in the series, but I certainly hope that is not the case.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, September 2016
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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