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Available from Books In Motion: http://www.booksinmotion.com/product_p/-1-59607-457-4.htm Episcopal priest Father Nathan receives a telephone message that starts: "This is for the Indian priest." Although he ministers to the Shoshone tribe on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, Father Nathan knows that it is Father John O'Malley of the Roman Catholic mission who is called 'the Indian priest' by whites living outside the reservation. Both men realize that the message means trouble when together they listen to it in Father Nathan's study. Directed by the message to travel to the site of a century-old conflict between Shoshones and Arapahos, O'Malley drives to the Bates Battlefield and there finds the bodies of three murdered Shoshones. The dead men have been posed to resemble a photograph of Arapahos massacred in the 1874 ambush by Shoshones and members of the U.S. Cavalry. Suspicion falls on Frankie Montana, an Arapaho charged on a previous occasion with assaulting the three boys. Frankie is a gambler, a drinker, and a drug user – a ne'er-do-well who draws no sympathy from the tribal elders. His mother believes him innocent, though, and convinces lawyer Vicky Holden to represent her son if he's arrested for the murders. Vicky reluctantly agrees, knowing that by taking the case she risks the wrath of her law partner and sometimes lover Adam Lone Eagle. Adam's goal is to represent the Arapaho nation in higher-level state and federal cases, and he clashes verbally with Vicky when he learns of her involvement with Montana. Vicky feels betrayed when Adam becomes interested in a young female lawyer, a newcomer to town, and takes her troubles to Father John. O'Malley has his own problems. His new assistant, Father Ian is a recovering alcoholic who looks to be falling off the wagon again. Ian is nsecure in his role at the mission and takes out his frustration on John, accusing him of having an affair with Vicky. The accusation is false, but it adds to the tension on the reservation. Both Arapahos and Shoshones recall the battle that pitted their tribes against each other. Traditional enemies even before the massacre, the tribes now coexist on the same reservation. Enmity between the two exists to the present day and is exacerbated by the killings. Both O'Malley and Vicky fear that further bloodshed will occur if the killer is not soon found. While the police continue to investigate Frankie Montana's alibi for the night of the murder, O'Malley asks questions on his own. He learns that one of the dead boys was dating a white girl who is now pregnant with his child. Formerly the girlfriend of a neo-Nazi type character, the girl attempts suicide and is rescued by Father John. Both the girl and her former boyfriend fall into the role of suspects when Professor Charles Lambert raises questions about their connection to the dead boy. Lambert, an expert on Native American culture and author of a soon to be released book on the massacre at Bates' Battlefield, had taught all three dead men at a nearby college. It was at his suggestion that the boys visited the battlefield, and Lambert naturally feels guilty about their deaths. Lambert is an old man nearing the end of his career and is consoled by his young wife, Dana, formerly his student and now his research assistant. The tension on the reservation reaches a new high when another Shoshone is killed. With the two tribes moving ever closer to open conflict, Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden must race against time to discover the truth behind the gruesome murders. This is the 11th book in Margaret Coel's Wind River Reservation series and, unfortunately, one of the weaker stories in the series. It is obvious from the start who did kill the three boys because Coel lays out a giveaway clue early on. Despite the lack of true whodunit suspense in the novel, readers of the series may relish the emotional tug and pull between the two main characters and between Vicky and Adam. Adding to this reviewer's dismay was the poor performance of narrator Stephanie Brush who had difficulty handling the predominantly male voices in the book. The story featured dialogue by at least a dozen different men, and it was difficult to distinguish one male voice from another. One wonders why the producer didn't choose a man to read this work given the unusually high number of male characters. True fans of Coel will be disappointed in this less than outstanding effort.
Reviewed by Mary V. Welk, October 2006
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