Customer Reviews

Shadow Man (Charlie Moon Mysteries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Aunt Daisy, please take the big jug-head and shake him. Have long been a fan, but this one pushes the boundaries of the shamanistic. You have a strong streak of practical reality that Charlie lacks as he flounders as a rancher away from his spiritual home. It is time for Charlie to go back to the reservation and his roots.
A woman's death from a rifle bullet has repercussions. A dentist who insists the shot was meant for him hires Charlie, but is proven correct before Charlie can discover the killer. Aunt Daisy's home is destroyed, which has Charlie searching for clues in all the wrong places.
The sly humor of Doss makes you laugh out loud, much better than DEAD SOUL.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

The chief characters in the book are Charlie Moon, a Southern Ute Tribal Investigator, his Aunt Daisy who happens to be a Ute Shaman and Charlie's best friend, Police Chief Scott Parris. The tale begins when a woman is murdered in a restaurant in a small town in Colorado. There were only two diners at the restaurant and the survivor, an orthodontist by the name of Dr. Blinkoe is convinced the bullet was meant for him.

Dr. Blinkoe ends up hiring Charlie Moon to investigate and things start to heat up. Charlie's Aunt Daisy manages to get in on the action and provides us with some very funny moments.

Doss mixes mystery, humor and the supernatural to come up with a story that is entertaining and fun to read.

If you haven't read any of his books before, I'd recommend reading his earlier ones, such as: The Shaman Sings, The Shaman Laughs, The Shaman's Bones and the Shaman's Game. The Night Visitor, Grandmother Spider, White Shell Woman, Dead Soul and The Witch's Tongue are later works and I enjoyed reading all of them.

Ihave the complete collection of James Doss (I think). This is the funniest one yet

This Charlie Moon mystery is by far the best of all. The blending of Ute culture, supernatural, and reality keeps the reader guessing to the very end. As usual Charlie Moon's aunt Daisy, adds a lot of fun and Native American spirituality to the story. I was sorry the novel ended and I am eagerly waiting for the next one. They just keep getting better and better.

With Shadow Man this series is getting more and more into the supernatural. In this case, the supernatural is an integral part of the mystery but a part of which the protagonist never becomes aware. I have enjoyed this series from the begining, more so since the principal character switched from Scott Parris to Charlie Moon. His relationships with women would have seemed unusually straight laced in the 50s. Today they seem unbelievable for anyone not belonging to the most fundimental of religious sects. This tends to get in the way of the plot for me. None the less, I do recommend reading these books if you enjoy amusing mysterys.

This is well written, funny, and pulls you right into the story from the first page. The American Indian lore adds to the fullness of this book as do the 2 elderly lady characters. You have to love those 2!

As always good enjoyable reading.
Details are correct & appear to be well researched.
Can be enjoyed by anyone that looks for mystery with a touch of history as well.

I have enjoyed all the Charlie Moon books I've read, but this is best of all. It might be overly long but It held my interest every page. It is also laugh out loud funny. The author has a great sense of humor and his dialogue is witty and clever. The story is always secondary to the characters: Charlie Moon, Aunt Daisy, Scott Parris. The ambience of both the Indian culture and the geography of the landscape are both delightful. This book gave me great pleasure.

This is the funniest of this series that I have read. The central character is really Daisy Perika, not Charlie Moon, or at least I find her more interesting than Charlie Moon. I don't usually like books with an emphasis on the supernatural, but in this series it is integral to the plots and well-done. Aunt Daisy has more contact with spirits than with living people, and she is comfortable and natural in that atmosphere. As for Moon's romances, they are banal and not especially interesting, but I appreciate the author's discretion. Very few people really write sex scenes well - the only one I have read recently that was authentic and well-written was in an Anthony Bourdain novel - so I like it when the author spares the readers and doesn't include sex just because he/she feels it is obligatory.
I also like the twists and turns of the plots in Doss's books, this story has them as well, and they are great surprises. His characters are more enjoyable than Tony Hillerman's, less earnest and stressed, more fun to spend time with.

This is my first book by James Doss. Not particularly impressed. Probably will not order any more in that series.
Patches