Ancient Ones (Random House Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Kirk Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004 | Series: Random House Large Print

From Kirk Mitchell comes a riveting suspense thriller in the tradition of Tony Hillerman and Joseph Wambaugh, featuring Bureau of Indian Affairs Criminal Investigator Emmett Quanah Parker and FBI Special Agent Anna Turnipseed, two Native American cops searching for justice between their heritage and the law.

Though there are signs of foul play, Emmett Quanah Parker and Anna Turnipseed aren’t looking for a killer — the remains dug out of a riverbank by an illegal fossil hunter are 14,000 years old. Parker and Turnipseed have been sent to central Oregon as official witnesses to the examination of the relics.

But the bones quickly provoke a controversy that threatens to erupt into violence: the skeleton is not Native American but distinctly Caucasian, shattering long-held tenets of who first inhabited this continent.

Emmett, with his Comanche and white ancestry, and Anna, a reservation-born Modoc with Asian blood, share a sensitivity to both parties’ concerns — and a forbidden attraction that’s causing them professional and personal problems.

As people connected to the case begin to lose their lives, Emmett and Anna are paralyzed by their own demons. And if they stop watching each other’s back, even for a moment, the killer may target them too.


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The unearthing of what seems to be the 14,000-year-old skeleton of a male Caucasian from an Oregon riverbank raises important cultural issues in Mitchell's latest book (after 2000's Spirit Sickness) about Bureau of Indian Affairs Investigator Emmett Parker and FBI Special Agent Anna Turnipseed, who are both part-Native American. Not only does the discovery go against most theories of when Caucasians arrived in the area, it also looks as though Native Americans ate the victim. Add to this the disruptive presence of a beautiful young woman seeking to have the bones classified under a political hot potato called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and you have enough story for any book. But Mitchell also spends a lot of time on another vital issue: Will Parker and Turnipseed ever have sex? The attraction is certainly there, but Anna's history as an abused child has put up such a serious barrier that she and Emmett have consulted a sex therapist, who advises sneaking up on the problem with a series of games. So, while the discoverer of the skeleton is being gutted, the beautiful Native American woman is being kidnapped and the feds' Explorer is being blown up in a hotel parking lot, Parker and Turnipseed grope in public and swim naked in an attempt to follow the therapist's advice. The trouble is, every time they get close to a magic moment, something terrible intervenes. After a while, that pattern does tend to cool off most of the heat of Mitchell's otherwise involving, learned narrative. (May 8) Forecast: The April release of Spirit Sickness in paperback, which includes a preview chapter from this title, and the continued popularity of Native American mysteries bode well for sales.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Comanche Bureau of Indian Affairs Agent Emmet Parker and Anna Turnipseed of the FBI return in this installment (after Spirit Sickness), which finds them seeking the services of a marriage counselor to sort through Anna's abusive past. All attempts at intimacy must be postponed as the two officiate at the examination of a 14,000-year-old Oregon skeleton called "John Day Man." The remains are clearly Caucasian, setting up uncomfortable dynamics as law enforcement officials, tribal representatives, and cantankerous, oddball anthropologist Thaddeus Rankin jockey for authority. When attractive tribal representative Elsa Dease goes missing, Anna and Emmet don't lack for unsavory suspects, including Basque shepherd and fossil hunter Gorka Bibao, elusive Paiute rodeo loser Tennyson Paulina, and a group of pagans calling themselves the Norse Folk Congress. As the murder tally rises, suspects and law enforcement alike are caught in the butchering killer's web. For larger public libraries and libraries in the Pacific Northwest. Susan A. Zappia, Paradise Valley Community Coll., Phoenix
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Random House Large Print (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375432477
• ISBN-13: 978-0375432477
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,552,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting thriller with an overdone ending, February 7, 2002

By 

M. A Michaud "michael_michaud" (Dulles, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Ones (Mass Market Paperback)

In this book, Mitchell builds a mystery-thriller on a real incident, the discovery of an ancient skeleton in the Pacific Northwest whose features suggest that Caucasians may have peopled North America before migrants from Asia. The two government agents drawn into this case are Native Americans involved with each other in a complex and difficult relationship. The author shows off his knowledge of anthropology and Northwest Indian tribes, making mysticism part of the story. Things move along smartly for the first eighty per cent of the book, with additional violence, several suspects, and lots of misdirection. Unfortunately, the concluding chapters seem overdone (how many anthropologists live in mansions with Bat Caves beneath them?) Don't be misled by the jacket blurb comparing this to Tony Hillerman's work. Mitchell's work is more hard-edged, violent, and sometimes gruesome. The conclusion is politically correct but lacks the moral weight of Hillerman's best work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Hillerman, September 15, 2002

By 

Douglas De Bono - Author of No Safe Harbor (Minnetonka, mn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Ones (Mass Market Paperback)

Ancient Ones is part of a series featuring two Indian cops. The story revolves around 14,000 year old skelton that could change the pre-history in America. The plot moves along and there are plenty of suspects/bad guys/victims/crazies.

I guess my problem was all the hype comparing this to Tony Hillerman - it isn't. Mr. Mitchell does not catch the pathos of a Hillerman novel, nor should he. However, he does have an engaging voice and a sense of plotting. I thought the sexual politics pushed credulity a bit far and was a bit distracting from main plot.

Overall, it is worth a look.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting police procedual, May 1, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Ones (Hardcover)

Illegal fossil hunter Gorka Bilbao found the bones in the John Day Canyon. He turned it over to noted forensic anthropologist Dr. Thaddeus Ranking, who immediately gave it to the Core of Engineers. The University of California at Riverside tested a metacarpal bone and reported that the remains are over 14,000 years old, male, and Caucasian, destroying all the theories on early North American man.

Illegal fossil hunter Gorka Bilbao found the bones in the John Day Canyon. He turned it over to noted forensic anthropologist Dr. Thaddeus Ranking, who immediately gave it to the Core of Engineers. The University of California at Riverside tested a metacarpal bone and reported that the remains are over 14,000 years old, male, and Caucasian, destroying all the theories on early North American man.

The findings upset several groups and fears that violence could occur has the Feds sending Bureau of Indian Affairs Emmett Parker and FBI Anna Turnipseed to not only witness the final examinations of the past, but to keep things safe. However, their presence fails to stop a killer from murdering, leaving the two Feds aware that they must work together to stop the individual before others die.

ANCIENT ONES is at its powerful best when it concentrates on the battle over the authenticity and test results of the fossil. Surprisingly, when the novel turns towards the character development of its two stars especially as wannabe lovers the plot slows down. Kirk Mitchell writes a strong tale that will send readers seeking previous Parker and Turnipseed novels (see CRY DANCE).

Harriet Klausner