The Shaman Laughs (Shaman Mysteries) [Hardcover]

James D. Doss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995 | Series: Shaman Mysteries

When a series of prize animal killings begins with the slaughter of a valuable bull callled Rolling Thunder, Ute police sergeant Charlie Moon and his colleague, Scott Paris, investigate and discover a related human murder. By the author of The Shaman Sings.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What Tony Hillerman has done for the Navajo tribes of the American Southwest, James Doss seems intent on pulling off for the Utes of Colorado--creating mysteries that are as unique and different as the people and the lands they inhabit. His second book about Ute policeman Charlie Moon is full of dark myth and modern murder, all about the means people invent to fill up the holes in their lives. If you missed it, Doss's equally impressive first book about Moon, The Shaman Sings, is also available in paperback. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

 “Doss does for the Utes what Tony Hillerman has done for the Navajo.”—The Denver Post

"A mystery that combines the ancient and the modern, the sacred and the profane, with grace and suspense."—Publishers Weekly

“This is Hillerman country…but Doss is gaining…I hope these shaman activities go on for a long time.”—Boston Globe

 

“HARROWING…SUSPENSEFUL.”—New York Times Book Review

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312136013
• ISBN-13: 978-0312136017
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,382,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JAMES D. DOSS is the author of twelve Charlie Moon mysteries, two of which were named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Originally from Kentucky, he divides his time between Los Alamos and Taos, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent Southwestern Indian mystery, May 8, 2000

By 

Sheila L. Beaumont (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Shaman Laughs (Shaman Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Shaman Laughs" is the second in a series set on an Indian reservation in southwestern Colorado. The shaman is Daisy Perika, an aged Ute woman who lives in a trailer near a sacred canyon. The mystery involves ritual-sacrifice slayings, spilling first animal, then human, blood, and a controversy over the possible disposal of nuclear waste in the sacred canyon. As befits the title, this book is lightened by humorous episodes amid the grim goings-on. Characters include a nervous, prickly FBI special agent named J.E. Hoover; the shaman's malapropistic cousin Gorman; a crooked insurance man with political ambitions; an unfortunate Belgian poet and would-be Indian mystic; the pitikupf, a sort of Ute leprechaun who lives in the sacred canyon; and a collector of antiquities and data who says the ritual killer is an elusive individual he calls "Cain." Who is this devilish Cain? It's up to policemen Scott Parris and Charlie Moon to find out. I thought this book didn't quite measure up to the outstanding "The Shaman Sings" (a hard act to follow), but it's still a good, entertaining read, and I definitely plan to continue on with the series.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get it!, January 15, 2002

By 

"sunnykissed" (Rolling Hills Estates, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shaman Laughs (Shaman Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

As always I can't recommend these books highly enough. Just plain old good readin'

3.0 out of 5 stars No drawing room, but close, November 27, 2010

By 

John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shaman Laughs (Shaman Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a puzzle. And the reader has the ability to solve it early. The conclusions ties up loose ends but I find it difficult to picture the evil doer actually doing the deed. Not my cup of tea.