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Father John O'Malley's mind is still reeling from a stranger's confession of murder when he learns of a young man's apparent suicide. Lawyer Vicky Holden is stunned when a mysterious appointment is preempted by the hit and run death of the man she's supposed to meet. Both know it's murder. Neither can convince the police. Each is determined to find out why. Margaret Coel has thrown these two together for at least seven entries in the Wind River Reservation series. Father John is a recovering alcoholic, the "Indian Priest" so well known to those who live on the res in Wyoming. Vicky has escaped an abusive marriage, passed the bar and currently practices in Denver, Colorado. Two separate incidents, so far apart, and yet the reader is certain they must be related. This was a quick read, not too deep, fun for a rainy afternoon. The author divides the narrative between both main characters, leaving each section with a mini-cliffhanger that I found more aggravating than compelling. The characters are reasonably well fleshed out and seem to fall into two camps: those who are spiritual, and those who are greedy. Though the camps rarely overlap, it's not quite as easy to figure out the bad guys as you might think. Events in the two investigations tend to mirror each other, which gives the book a nice symmetry but also read as slightly repetitive. The catalysts, original motivations and early frustrations are all essentially the same. I found that this slowed the pace and even made me stop and go back to previous scenes to see how much they really differed. I really enjoyed the Wyoming setting and atmosphere - the rain, the wind, the thunder; the red sandstone cliffs and muddy plains. Looming clouds echoed looming danger. The sun was rarely seen. Margaret Coel did a wonderful job instilling the characters with her obvious love of the land. I had hoped to enjoy this book more. The back cover blurb led me to expect more originality, and the author's reliance on coincidence didn't work for me. Though I enjoyed the passages dealing with Arapaho legend and lore, it isn't enough to keep me coming back.
Reviewed by Jenifer Nightingale, March 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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