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The morning after the aged Ute shaman receives a perplexing visits from a silent, disheveled matukach "magician," daisy's neighbor Nathan McFain discovers something astonishing buried in the dirt on his foundering Colorado dude ranch: the bones of gargantuan beast from a prehistoric age. It is a find of enormous scientific importance that attracts the attention of a wide variety of individual: noted paleontologist Moses Silver and his archaeologist daughter Delia; pillars of the scientific show more community Robert Newton and Cordell York; an Arkansas sharpie named Flye, an overly interested local antiques dealer.. and Charlie Moon of the Southern Ute Police Department. At the McFain spread primarily to keep an eye on the disreputable Flye, Moon is curious about the strange old bones ....and wary as well. For things this ancient and rare have been known to inspire evil deeds in the past, including avarice, mendacity, and murder. And when one of the prime players in this timeless drama vanishes without a trace, Charlie worries that his greatest fears have been realized. But while Charlie investigates the unexplained disappearance —and a very suspicious death that follows soon after—using rational and accepted police methods, his aunt Daisy is being drawn by forces preternatural into a grimly related mystery. For craven murder is not the exclusive domain of contemporary Man—and a cry for justice from the past has reached Daisy Perika and tow extraordinary young girls in her care, ensnaring them all in something old, dark, and dangerous.. show less
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Littlemissbashful In both these stories the murders revolve around the mystery of uncovered prehistoric skeletal remains that threaten the accepted view of early American history and set off a chain reaction of academic in-fighting, money grabbing, cultural politics and murder. Although the two series these books are from are completely different in style they both feature strong local settings and native cultures trying to balance tradition and heritage with the pressures of progress, economics and tourism: Doss in Colorado with the Ute indians and Bowen in Montana with the French Métis and beleaguered generations of hard bitten ranchers. The books also feature Shamen both real and false but the mythology and mysticism do not overpower the stories and it is left open as to whether the visionary elements are made manifest or merely imagined.
Member Reviews
An enjoyable series continues. Charley and his crotchety aunt are delightful and the two munchkins, that bedevil her, deserve to be continued. Convoluted plots and counterplots sustain interest to the very end. Archeological artifacts and their surrounding discoveries and disposition leaven the story nicely
Enjoyable series. I think the whole series averages out to a four star review. Less serious than Tony Hillerman, more so than Carl Hiaasen. The locale, as with most of these Southwestern mystery novels, is a real part of the draw! If Daisy Perika's old homestead were real and being offered to me, I would be packing my bags instead of pecking away at this computer.
The characters are likeable, the stories interesting (especially the first ten or so) if occasionally a liitle over the top. Mr. Doss includes just a touch of the supernatural, that I usually find attractive. All in all I find the stories wonderfully escapist.. all that I look for in fiction. While not necessary, I would recommend reading the stories in order if possible.
The characters are likeable, the stories interesting (especially the first ten or so) if occasionally a liitle over the top. Mr. Doss includes just a touch of the supernatural, that I usually find attractive. All in all I find the stories wonderfully escapist.. all that I look for in fiction. While not necessary, I would recommend reading the stories in order if possible.
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Author Information
22 Works 2,718 Members
James D. Doss was born in Kentucky in 1939. He is the author of the Charlie Moon series. He was also an electrical engineer who worked on particle accelerators and biomedical technology for the University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory. He died on May 17, 2012. (Bowker Author Biography)
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Night Visitor
- Original publication date
- 1999
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 154
- Popularity
- 211,704
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.22)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 1
