Dance of the Thunder Dogs (An Emmett Parker Mystery) [Paperback]

Kirk Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005 | Series: An Emmett Parker Mystery (Book 5)

Wounded and estranged from his partner and love interest, Anna Turnipseed, Emmett Parker has come home after 13 years of federal law enforcement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. At once a son of the Comanche and a government investigator, he has ties to both sides--and is about to discover which side pulls harder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Mitchell's impressive fifth mystery (after 2003's Sky Woman Falling) featuring federal investigator Emmett Quanah Parker, the badly injured Parker has returned home to Oklahoma. His Comanche brethren, along with members of neighboring tribes, come together to honor Parker with a dance. A surprise appearance by the U.S. president—who for some odd reason is unnamed—confirms the high esteem in which Parker and his work are held. Days later, however, Parker comes to the aid of his old friend Jerome Crowe and finds himself the object of an intense manhunt. Crowe, who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, had confided to Parker that he was investigating money from land use fees being rerouted to other accounts. When Crowe is murdered, Parker is the prime suspect in the land-use scam as well as Crowe's death. It's a little farfetched that the well-regarded Parker could fall so far from grace, but the longstanding animosity between Parker and federal agent Michael Mangas, another boyhood acquaintance, makes the suspicion more understandable. If the primary villain is a bit too removed from the heart of the story, the endless tumble of breathless events, including Parker's rushing into practice artillery fire on an army base and a truly mind-boggling feat involving train tracks, makes that a very small complaint.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A fine, action-packed thriller. (Midwest Book Review) A complex story of honor and brotherhood...an excellent book, full of twists. (Round Table Reviews)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; First edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425199851
• ISBN-13: 978-0425199855
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,011,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Breathless pace compensates for credibility issues, February 13, 2005

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dance of the Thunder Dogs (Hardcover)

Coming home to recuperate from the near fatal injury sustained in "Sky Woman Falling," Emmet Parker, Comanche investigator for the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, receives an "honor dance" from his tribe, and the President even makes an appearance. So how does it happen that days later, he's a fugitive with feds and local cops gunning for him (literally), accused of murdering a friend and stealing oil well funds from his own people?

His old rival, FBI agent Michael Mangas, is quick to lead the ravening pack, but the easy assumption of guilt from everyone else never quite rings true. Put this aside, however, and you have an edge-of-the-seat chase through the backcountry of Oklahoma, complicated by Parker's unhealed chest wound. Parker does lots of outwitting, but Mangas is no slouch either, and eluding posses of cops requires numerous death-defying stunts as well as a bit of help from his friends, including a wise elder, an ex-wife and an ex-con.

Narrative shifts mostly between Parker and Mangas, and diverts occasionally to a slippery villain who calls himself by the name of an Indian god and murders as easily as he breathes. Parker's complicated partner Anna Turnipseed does not make an appearance, but the headlong rush to the finish makes up for the lack of psychological nuance.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Dance, February 12, 2005

By 

Clifford S. Beck (Bishop, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dance of the Thunder Dogs (Hardcover)

A previous reviewer wrote that without Anna Turnipseed our protagonist Emmett Parker is nothing. Parker would probably agree, and I missed the steamy love scene that I have no doubt will surface in future installments. However Mitchell is at his very best in this thriller which shows Parker's resourcefulness and depth of character, character he got the hard way from his ancestors and his own struggle to walk the warriors' path. This book grabs you and doesn't let go even on the last page. A heck of a lot of fun.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different than the other books in the series, but well done., November 11, 2004

By 

Steve (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dance of the Thunder Dogs (Hardcover)

Dance of the Thunder Dogs is a tangent from the other books in the series, but a satisfying read nonetheless. If there's one thing Mitchell's good at is interweaving complex subplots together (Spirit Sickness,a good example). The turn of events that occur after Jerome's death escalate beautifully to a rich conclusion (Oil Conspiracy, Killer's connections, etc). Some notable moments include the cat and mouse game between Parker and Agent Mengas, and the revealing of various character involvement in the crime. I admit I would have liked to have seen more of Anna (Sky Woman Falling was great), but a novel devoted solely to Parker is still worthwhile.