Margaret Coel

Margaret Coel has a plot that immediately raises my hackles. If nuclear waste needs to be taken care of, it needs to be taken care of where it was created, not shipped off "out in the middle of nowhere" for other people to deal with. Same thing goes for junked electronics, or any other waste created by society anywhere around the world. This program of avoidance is rife with dangers, and Coel deals with them in fine fashion.

Once again it's Father John and Vicky who bring the story to life. show more Although the two are attracted to each other, The Dream Stalker doesn't revolve around that one fact. Father John is dealing with yet another new priest sent to help him, and he's learning that what is to him a place of redemption and peace isn't thought of in the same light by the Church hierarchy. The constant struggle to keep the mission monetarily afloat adds an immediacy to the book as well.

What adds "zing" is the very real sense of danger to Vicky Holden, who refuses to be silent about the nuclear waste storage facility. The debate has brought the media and environmentalists into an already fraught situation, and Coel kept me worrying about Vicky. There is no safe place for the Arapaho lawyer-- even among her own people.

I came to this series late, but I'm enjoying every minute of Coel's plots, setting, and characters. Bring on the next book! show less

Coel's Wind River series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. In this installment, Father John and Attorney Vicky Holden, after his assistant Father Joseph is gunned down and a famous actress seeking her birth parents hires Vicky, uncover a black market adoption ring which operated years before. The year in question was 1964. The Arapaho remember it as the year all the babies died. As a librarian and genealogist, my favorite part of the book was when Vicky went to the library to research, show more even if the author did kind of poke fun at the genealogist who wondered when Vicky was going to be finished. However, the entire book and story, including the introduction of Father John's niece who comes to visit from Boston, held my attention. As usual I listened to the audio version read by Stephanie Brush. show less

Father's new associate priest seems to be collecting data for the provincial to close the mission at the upcoming meeting. Father John enlists the aid of a "grandfather" to be present at the meeting which will decide the mission's fate. Meanwhile a woman reports a missing Arapaho man who worked for a technology firm. She doesn't want to involve the police although Father John knows it is past time to report his disappearance. He goes to a ranch where an Arapaho who had a near death show more experience and came back claiming to be Orlando who was trying to revive the ghost dance religion. He discovers the man had been there and suspects he may be hidden on the ranch. He reports what he sees to chief Banner who begins investigating the man's disappearance. Meanwhile Vicki's ex-husband invites her to dinner where they get into a fight. He is shot shortly thereafter, making her the FBI's prime suspect. He'd mentioned two Lakota men who had stolen something. The story lines become linked and intertwined as the story unfolds. I enjoy the reservation setting. I really wish the author would drop the romantic attraction between the priest the and the lawyer. It's unnecessary, and the two could team up without that element in a more effective manner. I listened to the audiobook read by Stephanie Brush. show less

Margaret Coel's writing puts you right on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming-- and that winter wind cuts right through you while you try to piece together all the clues in a very satisfying mystery. While the setting is beautifully rendered, what holds all the pieces of location and investigation together is her superb cast of characters.

Father John O'Malley is a real, flawed human being who cares deeply for the Arapaho on the Wind River Reservation. He has taken the time and trouble to show more learn their history and their customs, and as a result his parishioners have learned to trust and value him as an important part of their lives. His friend Vicky Holden is a bit prickly and tends to be very reserved, but she's had a tough row to hoe-- escaping from an abusive alcoholic husband and working hard to earn a law degree. Now she's back on the reservation to help her people, but she straddles both worlds and conflicts can arise-- like the sudden reappearance of her daughter, who resents Vicky for leaving her father and making her own way in the world.

All the characters play against each other very well as the various threads of the plot begin to mesh together. Thankfully Coel adds welcome touches of humor to all the serious goings on of the plot, letting us watch the quick-thinking priest wheel and deal to get the people on the reservation the things they so desperately need. Especially humorous is the scene in which O'Malley cuts a deal with a car salesman.

Equally important amongst the murders, the setting, and the characters are the glimpses Coel gives us into Arapaho culture:

"Whites'll say Lester's my brother's grandson."

Father John gave a nod of understanding. There was no concept of aunt, uncle, or cousin on the reservation. Your brother's child was your child. Thomas and Mardell had no children of their own, but they were not childless.

It's a concept other cultures would do well to take to heart.

This is only the second book I've read in this series, but the further I get into it, the deeper I fall. Margaret Coel knows how to write a feast for both mind and heart. show less