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"Murder on the Red Cliff Rez" is the fifth novel for the author, a Cherokee from North Carolina currently living on the reservation on which the mystery is set. Red Cliff Reservation is indeed in northern Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior. Karen Charboneau is better known as "Tracker" because of her tracking abilities. She has come home to the reservation from the Twin Cities where she attended art school and is still getting her life together. She occasionally helps the police whenever someone is lost in the forests surrounding the reservation; however, this time the person needing tracking is her mentor, Benny, who taught her tracking skills when she was a child. She cannot believe that he is responsible for the murder of which he is accused. To further complicate matters, she has to work with her former fiancÈ, David Lameraux, whom she would rather not see at all. Throw in a county deputy sheriff, a young white man from downstate who's totally unprepared for the way things are done on the "rez" and his fat, lazy boss and you have a recipe for a fast-paced and witty book. The characters are all engaging and most of them are truly unique. Life on the reservation is well described in full details as the action heats up and changes course from pursuing Benny to investigating a ring of tree rustlers. The author's knowledge of the reservation and the parts played by the various tribal members offers the reader insight into the lives of the people of the rez and adds to the enjoyment of the story. Her writing style is light and breezy and makes much use of humor and humorous situations. I have never been to the north woods and the Red Cliff Reservation is certainly not the Wisconsin that I live in - but the author's description of the area, the natural and unspoiled beauty of the lakeshore area is a compelling travelogue. I read this book with great interest, a part of this state that I call home, yet which is totally foreign to the ways of life that we in the mainstream experience. If this is not the beginning of a new series, it should be!
Reviewed by Lorraine Gelly, August 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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