The Spider's Web (A Wind River Reservation Myste) [Hardcover]

Margaret Coel (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Wind River Reservation Myste | Publication Date: September 7, 2010

Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley find themselves on opposite sides of an investigation.

When Arapaho Ned Windsong is shot to death, his fiancée Marcy is the only witness. Even though she identifies two Arapaho troublemakers, Ned's family clings to the belief that Marcy herself was responsible. Convinced of Marcy's innocence, Vicki agrees to represent the outsider- and finds herself at odds with her own people.

She also finds herself at odds with Father John, because the mission priest has glimpsed something in the beautiful girl that shakes him to his core. And when the men Marcy has accused of murdering her fiancé are found dead in an abandoned barn, Vicky and Father John realize they are caught in a web of lies and deceit woven by a master.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The romantic tension between Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Fr. John O'Malley remains strong but muted in Coel's solid 15th Wind River mystery (after 2009's The Silent Spirit). The murder of Ned Windsong, a troubled young man trying to get his life straight, leaves a trail of confusion and suspicion surrounding his jilted girlfriend, Roseanne Birdwoman; his white fiancée, Marcy Morrison; and thuggish friends Lionel Lookingglass and Dwayne Hawk on the Wind River (Wyoming) reservation. Father John provides refuge for Marcy and finds a hiding place for Roseanne, but he also has doubts about Marcy that anger Vicky, who thinks Marcy is targeted simply because she's an outsider. Meanwhile, Marcy's televangelist father hires Vicky to protect his daughter's interests. Coel concentrates on the lives and traditions of the Arapaho in a tale that breaks no new ground but should satisfy series fans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When Ned Windsong, an Arapaho who recently returned to the Wind River Reservation, is murdered, the beautiful outsider Marcy Morrison, his fiancée, identifies two Arapaho troublemakers as the killers. But despite that, Marcy feels she is a suspect herself and hires Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden. In addition, Father John O’Malley agrees to let Marcy stay at the mission. Father John senses something off about Marcy, but there is no shortage of suspects, including Lionel and Dwayne, the troublemakers, and Ned’s old girlfriend, Roseanne Birdwoman. Father John and Vicky soon find that Ned was involved in a series of burglaries, and the two discover lies piled upon deceit as they try to find out who killed Ned. Coel’s fifteenth mystery set on the Wind River Reservation stands on its own, with enough background information about Father John and Vicky Holden to help new readers keep up. Coel also subtly works in Arapaho customs as well the social troubles facing those on the reservation, making for a meaty mystery. --Kat Kan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425236609
• ISBN-13: 978-0425236604
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Coel is the author of four nonfiction books and many articles on the people and places of the American West. Her work has won national and regional awards. Her first John O'Malley mystery, The Eagle Catcher, was a national bestseller, garnering excellent reviews from the Denver Post, Tony Hillerman, Jean Hager, Loren D. Estleman, Stephen White, Earlene Fowler, Ann Ripley and other top writers in the field. A native of Colorado, she resides in Boulder.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting entry, September 9, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Spider's Web (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Hardcover)

In Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation, someone murders Arapaho Ned Windsong with his white fiancée Marcy Morrison as the only alleged witness. Marcy accuses Ned's punk friends Lionel Lookingglass and Dwayne Hawk as his murderers. Suspicion also falls on Ned's former girlfriend, Roseanne Birdwoman.

Though he has doubts about her veracity, Father John O'Malley provides a safe location for Marcy and also hides Roseanne. Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden is irate with Father John for doubting Marcy's account as the lawyer assumes her friend would not challenge a Native American's story, but did that of an outsider. Ned's family believes Marcy killed their son; so her televangelist father hires Vicky to protect his daughter's interests. However, both Father John and Vicky are stunned when someone kills Lionel and Dwayne as the case spins out of control with someone behind the scenes twirling The Spider's Web that engulfs everyone else.

The fascination with this exciting entry is the usual partners are on opposite sides of the murder investigation. As always in this series, readers obtain a taste of modern day Arapaho life wrapped inside a murder mystery. Fans of the Holden-Father John whodunits will enjoy the latest entry due to the disagreement between the friends that adds freshness to what would otherwise be a fun but familiar Wind River mystery.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Less Father O'Malley and Vicky, September 23, 2010

By 

Thomas Jeier - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spider's Web (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Hardcover)

I am a big fan of Margaret Coel's Wind River Mystery series and liked all of her books, especially "Wife of Moon" and "The Girl With the Braided Hair". The interaction between Father O'Malley and Vicky was even more exiting and suspenseful than the actual mystery. Unfortunately, there is less of that in her new book - or is it just my imagination? Even her writing style is less fluent and gripping in this one. Not to mention the mystery plot, which is (sorry, Margaret!) rather boring. It's stil entertaining, especially when you regard Father O'Malley and Vicky as part of the family, but I can only give four stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to par..., November 2, 2010

By 

ValB - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Spider's Web (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Hardcover)

While I always enjoy Coel's stories about Father John and Vicky, this latest novel seems somewhat lackluster and didn't have the same impact on me. Perhaps it's time for Father John and Vicky to either get together or for Father John to be transferred permanently off the reservation so that Vicky doesn't have him as a distraction any more!