The Ft. Larned Incident: A Tay-bodal Mystery [Hardcover]

Mardi Oakley Medawar (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tay-Bodal Mystery | Publication Date: August 10, 2000

In 1868, following the signing of the Medicine Lodge Treaty, things are not going well for the Kiowa. Their promised lands went to another tribe, their promised goods have not arrived, and the bored and tense warriors are becoming more and more unruly. When the Indian agent once again fails to live up to his promises, he is run off by the Kiowa and the agent's assistant sends them off to Ft. Larned to receive their annuities.

All the while, Tay-bodal - a healer and member of the Rattle Band - is enduring a personal crisis. A fight with his wife has escalated to the point where he has moved out, his wife is seen with a very eligible bachelor, and divorce seems inevitable. Tay-bodal is therefore not in the best frame of mind he is called upon to investigate a murder amongst the bands. Three Elks, a fond acquaintance of Tay-bodal and son of another chief, has been murdered. The one accused of killing him is a member of the Rattle Band. To make matters worse, the is the same man who has been plotting to steal Tay-bodal's wife. Now, if Tay-bodal cannot put aside his own dislike and prove that the accused innocent - and quickly - then there will be war between the bands, tearing apart what remains of the Kiowa nation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Looking back on his younger days on the Plains, circa 1870, Kiowa doctor and sometime sleuth Tay-bodal focuses as much on tribal customs as he does on murder and attempted murder in his fourth appearance (after Murder at Medicine Lodge). Tay-bodal is having trouble with his feisty wife, Crying Wind. Although they are still madly in love after two years of marriage, a series of misunderstandings leads to their temporary divorce. Tay-bodal is soon distracted from his personal problems, however, by the death of Three Elks, whose throat has been slit. Part of the Rattle Band, a special group within the tribe, Three Elks knew that certain members of the group considered Crying Wind wasted on Tay-bodal and welcomed the couple's estrangement. After Cheyenne Robber, a notorious womanizer, gets stabbed in the chest, Tay-bodal finds himself following an intricate trail of jealousy and rivalry that seems to end when first one victimized woman, then another, confesses to the crimes. The skeptical Tay-bodal is able to prompt the real killer to own up only many years later, when chance brings all the principal survivors together and the truth no longer hurts so much. While Tay-bodal's modesty and humor make him an agreeable narrator, his digressions on medicine and a host of other subjects with little relevance to the plot undercut suspense. Students of Indian lore may be intrigued, but those who care about well-paced action won't be.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Kiowa healer Ty-bodal searches for a murderer who has been stalking the Indian encampment near Ft. Larned, OK. Ty-bodal's stories of his "early days," recounted as an old man, reveal his natural medicinal and sleuthing abilities. Excellent work.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (August 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312208782
• ISBN-13: 978-0312208783
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,669,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too Many Genres to Satisfy, May 21, 2002

By 

Mick McAllister - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ft. Larned Incident: A Tay-bodal Mystery (Hardcover)

It may be that what doomed the Tay-bodal series was the attempt to straddle three genres--mystery, American Indian, and historical. But if you haven't tried these offbeat mystery novels, you are missing a unique experience.

Kiowa healer Tay-bodal moves among the great figures of the most famous moment in the tribe's history, the period of Satanta and Satank and the beginnings of the reservation system. He is a traditional herbalist with a probing and inquiring mind, as open to white medicinal practice as he is to the more spiritualist methods of other Kiowa healers.

Each of the Tay-bodal stories hinges on a crime that has serious community implications for the tribe, and in each, Tay-bodal finds a solution through a combination of logic and action adventure. And the stories are linked together by the development of Tay-bodal's personal life.

In this, probably final, book in the series, Medawar does something daring and touching, casting the entire book as a reminiscence of her hero, deep in his old age. The device works, as the plot involves reconsidering a crime supposedly solved decades ago. As the book ends, the old man has lost most of what mattered to him. Losing him is our loss, as well.

This and the first book, *Death at Rainy Mountain*, are the best in the series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tay Bodal Rides Again, August 6, 2000

By 

E. A. Scarborough "eas" (Western Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ft. Larned Incident: A Tay-bodal Mystery (Hardcover)

I loved the Fort Larned Incident, as I have loved all of the previous Tay Bodal mysteries. Ms. Medawar not only infuses these novels with her keen sense of history and tells the story through the viewpoint of a great quirky protagonis, she also makes all of her secondary characters so real you feel like you know them personally. This was a terrific mystery and I never even came close to guessing whodunit. Actually, I wasn't that anxious to find out because I wanted the book to go on and on. Of course, I want time to stand still while the characters play out their dramas, since Tay Bodal lets us know what ultimately happened to his loved ones, friends, and enemies later on. I am not at all anxious to get to that part of history. I like to think these folks maintain their independence and strength forever, as none of us really manage to do. Unlike some of the smug and savvy current day detectives, Tay Bodal isn't sure of anybody. As well as he knows these people of the Rattle Band and as closely as he lives with them, he never quite has anyone figured out completely, least of all his wife Crying Wind or even his best friend Skywalker. This adds that very realistic human mystery that makes each character, as well as each plot, fascinating. Much as I hate for history to roll on, I sure hope Ms. Medawar has another Tay Bodal story in the works now. I miss him and the Rattle Band already.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in the series, July 28, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: The Ft. Larned Incident: A Tay-bodal Mystery (Hardcover)

Just before the ten-year war between the Kiowa Nation and the US Army, the tribe tried to make peace with the whites. The Indians traveled to Ft. Larned, Oklahoma, the site of the first Bureau of Indian Affairs, for a peace celebration. While the tribesmen waited for their supplies, fighting and tribal conflict continued. Three Elks, son of the chief, is killed and the powerful Skywalker asks Tay-Bodal to determine who is the murderer.

Tay-Bodal has solved three previous tribal homicides. He agrees to uncover the killer's identity, but becomes very reluctant when he learns White Bear is the prime suspect. Tay-Bodal is having marital troubles; White Bear is trying to court his spouse. While Tay-Bodal investigates the crime, someone else almost loses her life.

THE FT. LARNED INCIDENT is a rich exciting historical mystery that places as much emphasis on the period as it does on the investigation. Readers see how the Kiowa lived, loved, and related to one another over a century ago. In his fourth appearance, Tay-Bodal retains his fascination because he believes he is just an ordinary guy even though he performs heroic feats when necessary. Fans will anxiously await the next entry in Mardi Oakley Medawar's wonderful Americana fictional series.

Harriet Klausner