Customer Reviews

The Drowning Man (John O'Malley and Vicki Holden Mysteries)

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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.

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

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.

I am always looking for a new author and just by chance I clicked on this and then said OOPS. But when the book arrived and I read it I decided to read some more of her books and found them just great and really good reads. I loved the Tony Hillerman series with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee and now have found another writer with a great group of characters that I can care about. theresa

The petroglyphs on the Wind River Reservation are precious to the native Americans who live there. When a second petroglyph is stolen from the mountains, the Indians are extremely concerned. They are also concerned about the fact that logging companies are planning to widen a road so that they can increase their activities on the reservation. Indians Vicky Holden and her law partner Adam Lone Eagle are working on these problems in order to help their people. They have a personal relationship as well, but that is threatened by some disagreements that they have in their personal and professional lives. Vicky is asked to open a 7-year-old case dealing with a stolen petroglyph in order to free a young Indian whose grandfather is convinced that he is innocent. Author Coel skillfully weaves these plots around the roller-coaster relationship between Vicky and Catholic priest Father John, and some difficulties with an old priest who has been sent to the reservation. The characters in this series just keep getting more deeply defined with each book, and this novel can take its place alongside the others in this excellent series.

This was a great book by a great author, Margaret Coel. I hope there will be many more books with Father John and Vicky in it. I have read the entire series and each time I finish a book, I am already looking forward to the next one. When I finish the stories I have this wild desire to be able to help Father John in his endeavor to stay faithful to his calling but I also want him and Vicky to be together. I guess this is what keeps me waiting for the next book. When an author can make you feel all these emmotions, she is good, real good.

THE DROWNING MAN is one of Margaret Coel's best mystery novels
It included her strong characters: FBI Agent, Gianelli; Catholic priest, Father John; Attorney, Vicki Holden; and a host of regulars.

It involved these characters in current problems: pedophiles, art thieves, divorced singles trying to start over.....

Margaret Coel dealt with them all in a particularly sensitive and interesting way.

Excellent book.

JGR

If you like Margaret Coel books you would like The Drowning Man".
It is a well written mystery book with charecters that are well rounded.

I expected to read a good book and I was not disappointed. Love this series. And I learn so much along the way.

The Wind River mysteries provide the reader with pleasure that is absent in many series after twelve installments. The mystery is intriguing, the writing is tightly paced, the characters still provide surprises by their actions, and the background information is so sound it never reads as a dump, but is finely woven into the story.
Two young Arapaho men, working on a ranch, are accused of stealing a petroglyph and Raymond Trueblood dies at the hands of Travis Birdsong. Travis is serving time for the killing, but Vicky Holden and Father John O'Mally believe he is innocent when a second petroglyph is stolen.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.