The Eagle Catcher

If you're like me and enjoy mysteries that are permeated with Native American culture and history, put Margaret Coel's Wind River mysteries on your reading list. This first book in the series is a strong blend of well-plotted mystery, a setting that should be listed in the cast of characters, Arapaho culture and history, and two strong, interesting leads in Father John O'Malley and Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden.

"In the distance, the brown humps of the Wind River Mountains rode against the sky like a herd of giant buffalo."

The high plains setting of the Wind River Reservation plays an important role in the book, especially if you keep in mind the fact that Father John and Vicky are a thirty to forty-five minute drive from anywhere. It's show more remote, it's beautiful, and its weather can turn on a dime.

Father John O'Malley taught history in Jesuit prep schools back East until his drinking spiraled out of control and he was sent in disgrace from Boston to the Wind River Reservation. To his surprise, he fell in love with the landscape and with the Arapaho people. Vicky Holden was the wife of a drunk and abusive man. She divorced him and took the long lonely road to law school. Vicky is much more prickly than Father John, but both are strong, intelligent, and just the kind of characters to sustain a long series.

I was swept up by the story very quickly, and I appreciated how Coel skillfully wove present-day Arapaho issues into the narrative. Although I did identify one of the villains of the piece very early on, the killer came as a total surprise. The reveal should not have been so amazing, however, because there were clues all along the trail-- proof of how the story made me put aside my deductive skills.

If there was anything I didn't like about the book, it was the fact that the story was over much too soon and left me with a craving for more-- in particular, more of Vicky Holden. Father John received the lion's share of the attention in this book, and Vicky is such a fascinating character that I'm dying to learn more about her.

Good mystery, evocative setting, Native American culture and history, and two characters with whom I need to become better acquainted. I'm definitely returning to Wind River! show less

Somewhat of a slow start, this first book of a long series introduced the characters well and set the background of the Arapaho community. The storyline line veered into being trite and sometimes stereotypical. I mostly enjoyed the writing, but occasionally it was a bit over descriptive and therefore, distracting. The author has written the relationships in enough detail that the reader cares about them. I'll try the second book, as this one was promising.

Modern Native American setting mystery lite. A reformed alcoholic preist and a divorced Native American lawyer work to clear a promising young NA man of murdering his uncle. Characters are a little better than cut-outs, but not compelling, the pace is good and the writing painless.

http://shawjonathan.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/margaret-coels-eagle-catcher/

This is the first of a series, and I put it down to teething problems that it's a bit clunky in places, a bit obvious as a whodunnit and a bit predictable in its climactic scene. But I'm not sure I read crime novels for the puzzle, or for the fine writing or innovative plotting. Often it's the milieu that counts. That, and the appeal of following a detective – whether it's Lord Peter Wimsey or Sam Spade – through a series of reassuringly similar mazes. This book has the Arapaho reservation in Wyoming, which bears a strong resemblance to Tony Hillerman's Navajo reservation in New Mexico, but does have a life of its own, and a pair of detectives – a tall show more redheaded Jesuit and a Arapaho woman lawyer – who offer a multitude of possibilities: a definite mutual attraction that each of them has to suppress, and a hint at the end that their collaboration will continue.

And then there's the no-pressure history lesson about contact between whites (Niatha) and Arapaho, and the easy-to-take introduction to aspects of Arapaho culture.

Excellent for reading on the plane. show less

The tribal chairman of the Wind River Indian Reservation near Lander, Wyoming is found murdered in his tent by Father O'Malley. Evidence points to his nephew as the murderer, but Father O'Malley and Vicky, an Arapaho lawyer, are convinced of Anthony's innocence. Does the murder have to do with oil? Does it have to do with the nearby Cooley ranch? It's a great start to a series reminiscent of Tony Hillerman's work with a different location. I don't have a working knowledge of Arapaho customs, but Coel gave it an authentic feel, regardless of the accuracy. I listened to the audio version, and I have to say that it needed a male reader. I did not find Stephanie Brush, the narrator, very pleasing to the ear.

In Margaret Coel's The Eagle Catcher, the first installment in the Wind River Reservation serial mystery series, if you're a fan of Tony and Anne Hillerman's novels, you would enjoy this series. Somewhat of a slow start--this first book of a series introduced the characters well and set the background of the Arapaho community. The story mixes drama, history and romance mixed with the pathos of life on the reservation. Maybe I'll try book #2...

I've heard about Margaret Coel for many years but hadn't gotten around to trying out her books. Too bad for me, this appears to be a great start to a series. The good part is there are several more in the series for me to read and I can't wait!

Father John O'Malley is a Jesuit Priest on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. He is also a recovering alcoholic, a problem he deals with on a daily basis. When one of the tribal council members is killed and his nephew is the major suspect, Father John has to do what he can to prove the him innocent. There is a lot of background on Arapaho lifestyle and beliefs, a good bit of geography to get the reader oriented to the local and some wonderful character development.

Looking forward the show more next in the series. show less