Customer Reviews

People of the Mist (Thorndike Western II)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I sat down to read 'People of the Mist', I was not sure what to expect. The synopsis on the back cover said that the book was about the Native American people in the Chesapeake bay area, and in particular about the murder of a young girl, Red Knot. Well, I was amazed with the writing style of Kathleen O'Neal Gear, and W. Michael Gear. I got into the book after a chapter or two, and couldn't put it down. The authors had me guessing till the very end of the book as to who the murderer was, and I'm usually good at figuring things like that out. If you want a good novel with an excellent mystery componant to it, 'People of the Mist' is the book for you.

This is the latest book in the People series that I have read, and it is a little different from the rest. It was given to me by a friend, and I thought that the storyline didn't sound to exciting (I'm not into that mystery type books), but I was in for a surprise. This book was awesome! Second best that they have written... I liked People of the River the best... and very entertaining. The charachters are not as mystic and dreamerlike as the other People books are, but it makes them more believable, and realistic. The Panther was so intriguing, his past and present life. I liked the way he allowed mostly everyone to think he was a witch, when he really was just an old man who resented his past mistakes but had the Power (a different kind of Power than htat of the other books in this series), to correct those of others. Sun Conch was so regal and brave, she didn't desrve to love such a coward. I almost cried when... well, you gotta read it. Throughout the whole book, I thought I knew who the killer was. I would jump around from character to character changing my ideas, at one time even coming to the conclusion that White Otter and Quick Fawn were in on it together. I would read one part of the book, and backtrack to another part of the book to see if my theory fit, and sometimes it did, but sometimes it didn't. In any case, if you wanna find out who killed the heiress Red Knot, you have to buy this book.

It seems like in every single volume of the "First Americans" series the Gears write, a new genre is explored. In one book it is a quest, in another the tale is one of requested intervention of supernatural forces, still another is a cautionary fable concerning ecology. And in this case, it is a very fine murder mystery. This novel is set around the Chesapeake Bay region roughly a half-dozen generations before Columbus's voyage. It covers the culture of the Algonquians down to the smallest detail and does a fine job of contrasting their value system to that of other aboriginal groups (such as the more pastoral southeastern tribes) and also with showing us a people who dwelled in a region of such remarkable natural plenty that life could be sustained with very little effort.

In this bounteous landscape a murder has been committed. A beautiful teenaged daughter of a powerful chieftain has been found beaten to death in the forest near her home. She had sneaked out in the night for a rendezvous of some sort and never made it back. Amid the descriptions of Algonquin life, funerary and religious rites and crime and punishment, the story weaves outward, until a hermit-like old man, much feared and respected by the villagers, is welcomed into their midst to use his towering intellect to solve the murder of the young woman and prevent the catastrophic consequences her death might have on her people's immediate future.

This is one of the two best books in the First Americans series and even devoid the bonus of its wealth of information on tribal life, it is a spectacular mystery that remains unsolved to the very end of this novel's pages.

I am a huge fan of the First North American series. This book is certainly among my favorites. It keeps you guessing and there are many twists and turns. I have a very difficult time finding large print books now that I am legally blind, but I am thrilled I was able to find this one. A very good read!

This story took place around the Chesapeake Bay which I grew up around so the location of the story intrigued my curiousity. I have read all of the Gear's books in order and I have watched their artistic historical stories unfold and grow in so many ways. Their first couple of stories seemed to be repetitive but beginning with the 3rd of the series the Gear's have found so many ways to manipulate the story into twists and turns that leaves any reader fascinated and wanting more. It weaves some of the older stories into their current stories and this one was just as great. I had never suspected the ending and I was astonished at how well the story came together. The research is always breathtaking as well and I will continue to be a faithful Gear's reader.

I picked this book up in an airport, not knowing what to expect, because a person next to me on a flight had seemed so engrossed with People of the Mist. I was very pleased with most aspects of the book. First, the mystery plot was allowed to thicken, rising and falling, as the strory progressed. Second, facts about the Algonquins were carefully peppered through out the book, while some were even repeated in order to refresh a persons memory. Finally, movements in the book were marked by the use of interludes from a story teller recalling feelings about shadows, and other things. However, the authors could improve the entire experience by dropping the introduction about the raid on a modern day museum -- seemed cheesy (this is the reason I gave only four stars) . I look forward to reading other books by the same authors.

From the very beginning, I was fascinated by the combination of anthropological history and fiction. This book was easy to read yet still maintained my interest. It was a murder-mystery involving many potential suspects and a wide variety of twists and turns. This was definitely a great book.

I have read all of the First North Americans series by the Gears and loved them all...except this one. "People of the Mist" seemed more superficial than their previous works with less historical information than I had become used to hearing from these authors. I felt the 'investigation' dragged on much too long. I wish the focus of this work had been on Panther without the extraneous murder mystery. His life appeared to be more interesting and meaningful than any of the other somewhat shallow characters. I found I did not 'care' what happened to the people in this story...something highly unusual for me when reading one the O'Neal/Gear books. If this is your first introduction to their writing and you enjoyed it, you are in for an exceptional reading experience with their other works.

I first started reading these novels when I was 14, it all started with "It Sleeps in Me". I must say that this book was absolutely amazing! I didn't expect the Gears to ever write a book in this genre but it left me on the edge, I couldn't even focus at work because I was so caught up in this novel! A great choice for anyone and it doesn't require the prior knowledge from People of the Wolf.

And learn about the culture and history of the North American people and have fun doing it. Every book is a great story. The characters are always so well formed, and the storyline well laid out, like the Gears had a time machine and really went back and wrote down what was really being said and done at that exact moment.