The Girl With Braided Hair [Audio CD]

Margaret Coel (Author), 9 CDs (Editor), Read by Andrea Bates (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2008

The skeleton of a young woman is discovered in a dry gully on the Wind River Reservation. Remnants of a long, black braid are mixed with the bones. There is a bullet hole in the skull. Forensics determine the woman was shot-to-death in 1973. 1973, the year of AIM. The American Indian Movement had occupied the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Afterward, Indians under federal indictment had gone into hiding on other reservations, including Wind River. A year of fear and violence, when no one could be trusted, when anyone might be an FBI snitch. Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley are determined to find the identity of the forgotten woman and see that she is laid to rest in the traditional Arapaho Way. Their search leads them into the 1970s and the dark underbelly of an organization that had spoken out on behalf of Indian rights. They soon run into a wall of silence. No one wants to talk about a time when many crimes, including murder, went unsolved. No one wants to admit the part they may have played, or the guilt they may still carry. No one wants to remember a young woman accused of being a snitch. As the life and death of the woman begin to come into view, Vicky and Father John realize that the killer who has gotten away with murder for more than thirty years is still on the reservation and that they are about to be his next victims.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coel's 13th Wind River mystery (after 2006's The Drowning Man) is far more engaging than its bland title might suggest. The discovery of skeletal remains still bearing a long dark braid of hair opens deep wounds among the Native Americans who live on Wyoming's Wind River reservation. Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden's efforts to identify the woman, apparently a murder victim, cause tension with her love interest and law partner, Adam Lone Eagle, driving her to enlist the aid of their friend Fr. John O'Malley. A rash of threats and the murder of a woman Vicky questioned confirms her suspicions that members of a 1970s activist group, the American Indian Movement, are still on the rez and somehow involved in all the happenings. Bringing her trademark western flair to nonstop action, Coel keeps danger hanging over Vicky's head as she follows a trail of clues to their startling conclusion. (Sept.)
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.

From Booklist

On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, an animal unearths a woman's remains. The victim, it turns out, was murdered in 1973, when Native American activists came to the reservation. A group of reservation women ask attorney Vicki Holden to press the sheriff to find the killer. Immediately, threats are leveled against Vicki and her friend Father John O'Malley. The duo races to find the killer before the killer gets them. In this thirteenth Vicki Holden mystery, Coel continues to combine full-bodied characters, vivid landscapes, and snappy dialogue, and she builds suspense effectively, in terms of both resolving the main plot and answering the question of whether Father O'Malley will be reassigned to Rome. This series, with its expert use of western settings and Native American themes, remains among the best read-alikes for Tony Hillerman fans. Rowen, John --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Books In Motion; Father O'Malley Series, Book 13 edition (May 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605480460
• ISBN-13: 978-1605480466
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Identity of dead woman is sought, September 22, 2007

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl With Braided Hair (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Hardcover)

The skeleton of a woman is recovered, and Indian tradition demands that her identity be established so that she can be given a proper burial. Arapaho attorney, Liz Holden, and her friend, Father John O'Malley, join together to find out the woman's identity and discover who her murderer was. Police determine that the woman was killed around 1973, a time when Indian rights activists were part of a group called AIM. As they get closer to the truth, both Vicki and John become targets of a killer who has escaped justice for 14 years. Author Margaret Coel weaves in themes from past books in the series--tension between Vicki and Father John because of a forbidden attraction between them, financial pressures for the St. Francis mission, and the threat of Father John being transferred to another place. This series has kept up its high standards and can be counted on to provide a good read. The setting of the Wind River Reservation is a good one and it provides interesting background on the life and culture of the Arapaho Indians.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Coel's mysteries are sure to please, September 18, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl With Braided Hair (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Hardcover)

In 1973 the American Indian Movement (AIM) was an organization that the Indians themselves either loved or feared. While its expressed goal was to fight for the rights of Native American people, there were members who used the organization for their own violent purposes.

Liz Plenty Horses was accused of informing the FBI of the location of one of the wanted AIM members. She knew she would be in danger and fled with her month-old infant daughter and was never seen again.

Thirty years has passed and a skeleton with missing teeth and a bullet hole in the back of its skull is discovered on the Wind River Reservation. It is determined that it is a young Arapaho female who had given birth. The time of death was probably around 1973.

The police are not moving very fast to delve into a cold case but Arapaho attorney Vicki Holden and Father John O'Malley are determined to learn the identity of the victim, uncover the murderer and bring him or them to justice. It's a dangerous task because people are reluctant to talk and the murderer is sending increasingly violent and frightening messages demanding the investigation cease.

The Girl With Braided Hair is the first mystery of Margaret Coel's I've read and it won't be the last. Not only is the novel well-written, but the plot is intriguing and the characters are rich and fully developed. Since this is a series, there were small mentions of relationships and situations that are on-going and I want to know the history of those little tidbits.

Armchair Interviews says: Coel's mystery will provide hours of wonderful entertainment.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Mystery Ends With a Series' Cliffhanger, November 1, 2007

By 

Richard E., Adams (Boerne, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl With Braided Hair (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Hardcover)

This work is set on an Indian Reservation in Wyoming as are the earlier books in the series. The author does her normal excellent job of a mystery with the two same two major protagonists, a female Indian lawyer and a Catholic priest. In this book there are flashbacks to the life of the victim and the 1970s American Indian Movement, AIM. While the two heroes handle their usual personal issues, series fans and newcomers will

both enjoy this book. In the end, the reader is left wondering if Father John is going to be assigned elsewhere, which would represent a major turning point for future books in the series. It is well worth the read as it is comparable to Hillerman but still different.