Customer Reviews

The Shaman Laughs (Shaman Mysteries)

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

 

 

"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.

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

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.

The Charlie Moon Mysteries are favorites of mine, but I had missed a couple of James D. Doss's early ones. Since I live in southern Colorado his books are especially interesting to me.

Mr. Doss knows how to make his characters LIVE. Each one is distinct in personality and well rounded. While I expected his signature humor, The Shaman Laughs had me riveted and on the edge of my seat to the end. With a combination of suspense, intrigue and (thankfully) humor, Mr. Doss has done a first rate job of entertaining his readers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to lovers of mysteries in any genre, not just Native American. For those who are particularly drawn to books revolving around Native Americans (modern day or otherwise), here's a "keeper" for your shelf.

James Doss's Indian mysteries are great. He's right up there with Hillerman and Coel. I just recently found his Charlie Moon series and like them. He gives a lot of Indian lore in his books which makes it more enjoyable and educational. You learn while you're entertained. The sign of a good Author.

I started reading Doss later in the "Charlie Moon" series and I'am now going back to read earlier books. That doesn't work for me with most authors. This is an exception. LOVE THESE BOOKS!

James D. Doss weaves the Greek legend of Polyphemus, the cannibalistic Cyclopes into the fabric of Ute culture with this second installment of the Shaman series, THE SHAMAN LAUGHS. The reader becomes immersed in the mysticism of the dark world of dreams as Charlie Moon, Scott Parris and Daisy Perika each travel uncharted paths.
The background includes animal mutilation, a nuclear waste dump, and a series a gamblers who risk their lives to win a deadly game. A fine addition to the annals of western/mystery fiction, when diabolical Aunt Daisy has the last laugh.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

This is the second of a four book series Doss has written. It is part police procedural BUT with some definite twists: Charlie Moon is the big rez cop and his aunt Daisy is the aforementioned shaman. The first chapter is very atmospheric-lots of well written description. The remainder of the book is at times humorous, with dialogue that sounds very natural, lampooning much and lauding little. I especially like the way Moon leisurely (remember we're on rez-time) unravels the mysteries. I suspected about 10 people, discarding some suspects then revisiting them as the story unravels. The ending-especially with regard to the obnoxious Federal agent was perfect!

I should admit up front that my favorite living author is Tony Hillerman. When I see book reviews that say things like 'another Hillerman' or 'Hillerman would be proud,' I cringe. Because I know that inevitably it won't be true. There IS no such thing as another Hillerman, any more than there will ever be another Walt Whitman or Edith Pargeter.

That said, though, I have to admit that this is a very good book. It suffers a bit, and only a bit, in comparison with the Master, but if you've never read Tony Hillerman, you'll probably think that James Doss is the best thing since beef jerky.

The setting is the Southern Ute Reservation in Colorado, rather than the Navajo or Zuni or Hopi Reservations farther to the south and west, but it's still redrock country, and the bad white guys still think of it as someplace they can put their trash. In this case, spent nuclear fuel. The protaganist is a Ute cop rather than the sublime pair of Navajo ones in Hillerman. There both many of the differences and almost all of the similarities end.

The Shaman of the title is the cop's aunt, and she's delicious, devious, mostly decisive, and a great detective. She's also mad as a hatter. (The name Daisy fits her perfectly.)

And that's where the fun begins. There's some kind of human or inhuman monster loose in these parts, sacrificing first animals and then humans in ritualistic slaughter. It's our cop's job to catch him. In her strange way, his aunt will help.

So will an FBI agent named J.E.Hoover, at whose expense both our Ute cop and his white sidekick practice unmerciful [and very unpractical] jokes. Of course, the FBI's help takes a form that the bureau never envisioned, but we knew that going in.

As a whodunit, it's not the ultimate, because you'll have a pretty good idea who the villain is rather a ways before the denouement, but the joy is in the journey, not in the destination.

This book is a lot of fun, and Dodd deserves a much bigger audience than he seems so far to be getting.