Drowning Man [Paperback]

Margaret Coel (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: BerKley Prime Crime (2006)
• ASIN: B000JK6A0K
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Margaret Coel is the author of four nonfiction books and many articles on the people and places of the American West. Her work has won national and regional awards. Her first John O'Malley mystery, The Eagle Catcher, was a national bestseller, garnering excellent reviews from the Denver Post, Tony Hillerman, Jean Hager, Loren D. Estleman, Stephen White, Earlene Fowler, Ann Ripley and other top writers in the field. A native of Colorado, she resides in Boulder.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent addition to an excellent series, September 21, 2006

By 

BJ - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Drowning Man (A Wind River Reservation Mystery) (Hardcover)

The Drowning Man is an excellent addition to the Vicky Holden and Father O'Malley mysteries. Each book in Margaret Coel's series is original and tightly plotted, and her characters are very real with their human frailties and struggles. Even the characters with major flaws (for instance Vicky's abusive ex-husband) have good traits as well as bad. She brings the Arapaho culture to life, and her understanding and respect for the people are evident.

In the latest of the series, sacred petroglyphs have been stolen, and an Arapaho who has been in prison for seven years for murder may be able to shed light on the desecration. Coel makes the ancient `glyphs come to life, and I have a new appreciation for them after reading this book, which turns out to be educational as well as entertaining.

After twelve books, I was hoping Vicky would find a bit of happiness and no longer be "woman alone," especially since there are two strong, complex, and very appealing men in her life. I'm afraid neither the handsome priest (her soul mate) nor the gorgeous Lakota lawyer (every woman's dream lover) is destined to walk into the sunset with Vicky. Now I will spend the next year hoping I'm wrong about that and looking forward to the next installment of what is one of my favorite series.

All series are better if read in order, so try Eagle Catcher and Ghost Walker first. If you do, I'm sure you'll want to read all of them.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific mystery, September 9, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Drowning Man (A Wind River Reservation Mystery) (Hardcover)

On the Wind River Reservation, every Arapaho is stunned by the theft of THE DROWNING MAN. The ancient petroglyph is considered a sacred tribal heirloom of immense value as the spirits etched the image of the hunter drowning in water. The thieves send their ransom demand of a quarter of a million dollars to have the artifact returned or else watch it vanish on the black market.

Father John O'Malley is outraged by this desecration and vows to investigate until he uncovers the identity of the thieves and returns the icon back to the tribe. Realizing the parallels to another stolen petroglyph seven years ago in which the item was never recovered and allegedly one of the felons Travis Birdsong killed his partner Raymond Trueblood, attorney Vicky Holden joins Father John on his inquiries because she believes that Travis was innocent of the robbery and the homicide. Neither is prepared to encounter a killer who will murder anyone who threatens him or his lucrative business.

This is a terrific mystery as Margaret Coel showcases a major international issue involving illegal selling of stolen contraband in this case a priceless religious artifact from Native Americans. The investigation is excellent as the lead pair does a fabulous job following the clues while the culprit waits for the right moment to eliminate them. However, what makes this one of the best entries of a strong series is the tribal reaction to the horror of the theft as fans can feel their anguish. Ms. Coel is at her best with this sensitive whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remembering why we liked these characters in the first place, November 4, 2006

By 

Kristi "all my facts come from fiction" (Eastern Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Drowning Man (A Wind River Reservation Mystery) (Hardcover)

The great thing about this series is that the characters haven't changed. They've grown, but they are still the same fundamental people they were initially, and one can see how they've tried to make themselves fit in better in their world, and in some ways succeeded, and in others, continue to fail.

Vicky is still nosy, still bull-headed about pursuing justice for the under-dog, and still really reckless. Father John is still devout, still in recovery, and still a pragmatic force for good in a place that seems to desperately need him.

The rest of the characters aren't particularly likeable except for most of the Indian elders, but the Native American cultural information, by an author with impressive credentials on the subject, is fascinating.