Smoke [Paperback]

William Sanders (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2000

A Cherokee woodcarver sets out to find a murderer and finds himself involved with a very rich and very strange family. An original mystery set against the fascinating world of modern American Indian art.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Sanders lives in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His mystery novels and science fiction stories have been nominated for numerous awards. His published works include the Taggart Roper mystery series. This is his seventeenth published book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp; 1 edition (September 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738830348
• ISBN-13: 978-0738830346
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,365,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Read Again and Again, June 27, 2003

By 

Elizabeth W. Bennefeld (Fargo, ND United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smoke (Hardcover)

I am familiar with a lot of William Sanders' fantasy and alternate history, but SMOKE was the first mystery of his that I read. The main character is Hosea Smoke, a Cherokee woodcarver who's selling his art work at a week-long Native American Cultural Festival at a small college in Oklahoma. Hosea finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation when he discovers one of the other exhibitors dead in his trailer. Power and influence, campus cops (one of whom is Hosea's nephew), and Cherokee customs all come into play to complicate Hosea Smoke's life.

I love the way the story unfolds as the pieces of the mystery fall into place. What was really special for me as a reader, though, was that about halfway through the book, I realized that I was matching faces and voices from my past with the characters in SMOKE and watching the action as much as I was reading the words. Sanders writes about real people in real situations. I've been in these settings, overheard these people talking, and seen them doing what they do.

I like it when a book comes alive for me like SMOKE does. It's been a good book to pull out and reread just for the sheer pleasure of it, straight through from the beginning or just going through and chuckling again at the favorite bits. My husband loved this mystery, too. Normally, our reading tastes differ, but we definitely agreed that this book's great.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Side Of An Unusual Writer, April 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Smoke (Paperback)

This seems to be quite a departure for William Sanders. I have read several of his other books and was expecting something very different. The "Taggart Roper" mysteries that he used to write, while not really "hardboiled" in the Spillane sense, contained a good deal of violence and physical action (which he does very effectively) and so did his science fiction and fantasy novels that I have read.

"Smoke", on the other hand, has only a couple of violent scenes, and these rather understated except perhaps for the climactic scene and even that is handled with restraint. Don't misunderstand, this is not a "cosy" mystery by any means, but it is much less violence-and-action-oriented than Sanders' previous works. In fact it is the only book of his I've ever read in which the hero doesn't kill anyone.

That is not to say this is a dull book. On the contrary, it moves very well and sustains the reader's interest all the way through. In part this is because of the fascinating background. I will never again be able to visit one of those "Native American Arts and Crafts" exhibitions with the same eyes, or without laughing to myself.

The characters, too, are a delight. Particularly the Comanche artist, Buster Tenbears, whose ruminations on the common hangover ("Amazing what a large object the human head is") are classic. And there is a rich oil family that makes the Ewings of "Dallas" look like the Cleavers.

This isn't a mind-blower like Sanders's "Ballad of Billy Badass", but as a good enjoyable read for a quiet night at home, it would be hard to beat.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for the Pleasure of Reading, December 3, 2000

By 

Elizabeth W. Bennefeld (Fargo, ND United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smoke (Paperback)

I'm familiar with a lot of William Sanders' fantasy and alternate history, but SMOKE is the first of his mysteries that I've read. The main character, a Cherokee woodcarver who's selling his art work at a week-long Native American Cultural Festival, finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation. Power and influence, campus cops, one of whom is a nephew, and Cherokee customs all come into play to complicate Hosea Smoke's life.

Sanders is a wonderful writer, and I loved the way the story unfolded as the pieces of the mystery fell into place. What was really special for me as a reader, though, was that about halfway through the book, I realized that I was matching faces and voices from my past with the characters in SMOKE and watching the action as much as I was reading the words. I know these people. I've been in these settings, heard them talking and seen them doing what they do. Sanders writes about real people in real situations. I like it when a book comes alive for me like SMOKE did. I just finished the book last night, and I'm already rereading it, just for the sheer joy of the experience.