The Spirit Woman (Wind River Reservation Mystery) [Hardcover]

Margaret Coel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wind River Reservation Mystery | Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Her previous Native American mystery, The Lost Bird, hit the New York Times extended list and received glowing reviews. Now Margaret Coel presents the newest entry in her "superior series" (Booklist).

When Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley look into the disappearance of a history professor who was visiting the Wind River Reservation, they are led into a twenty-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of another historian, and then even further into the past-as they unravel a controversy surrounding the young Shoshone woman named Sacajawea...

Margaret Coel's mysteries:

"Shouldn't be missed by anyone interested in either new trends in mystery writing or contemporary Indian culture. She's a master at both."-Tony Hillerman

"Coel is clearly at the top of her game."-Booklist

"Coel is a vivid voice for the West, its struggles to retain its past and at the same time enjoy the fruits of the future."-Dallas Morning News

"Coel knows that the gaps between cultures are fertile ground for suspense."-Publishers Weekly

"One of the top storytellers of the genre."-Midwest Book Review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now that Jesuit Father John O'Malley has just been reassigned from the Wyoming reservation he's called home for the last eight years, his undeclared love affair with Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden seems finally over in the sixth installment in this well-regarded series. Besides, Vicky's back with ex-husband Ben, an abusive alcoholic who says he's changed. Then Vicky receives a visit from old friend Laura Simmons, a historian who's convinced that the memoirs of 19th-century Shoshone heroine Sacajawea are stashed somewhere on the reservation. Years before, another female historian disappeared while searching for those memoirs, and within days of her arrival Laura is missing, too. Possibly Laura's disappearance has something to do with the arrival of her abusive boyfriend, but as Vicky and Father John investigate, they become convinced that someone on the reservation has come between Laura and the memoirsAif they exist. Coel stretches to form links between the "fragile" past and the shifting present, as Vicky realizes that she, Laura and various secondary characters are all daughters of SacajaweaAbattered women struggling to survive their battering men. It's an arresting theme, but overstated here, as the male characters are almost uniformly controlling, alcoholic, philandering failures who insist in falsettos that their victims understand their "rage." Readers will be engrossed in the expertly crafted suspense, but may wonder how much longer the passion between Father John and Vicky can smolder. 6-city author tour. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The wary attraction between Father John O'Malley and Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden reignites when the two team up to unravel a mystery involving the famous Native American heroine Sacajawea (The Lost Bird). Twenty years earlier, the Wind River Reservation was the site of Sacajawea researcher Charlotte Allen's disappearance. Now, Father John's dog has unearthed what might be the young historian's remains, while Vicky's college friend Laura Simmons surfaces, seeking the elusive and historically significant Sacajawea memoirs alluded to in Allen's journal. When Laura herself disappears, leaving behind disturbing clues at her rooming house, Vicky and Father John fear for the safety of anyone who gets in the killer's path. Meanwhile, Father John wrestles with resigning himself to a mandatory transfer off the reservation he has grown to love. Intriguing Arapaho and Shoshone history and realistic treatment of contemporary Native American issues make this cozy sixth installment in the series a winner.DSusan A. Zappia, Paradise Valley Community Coll., Phoenix
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425175979
• ISBN-13: 978-0425175972
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,746 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

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding addition to the series, September 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Spirit Woman (Wind River Reservation Mystery) (Hardcover)

As a long time fan of this series, I found this book to be exactly what I was expecting as the follow up to The Lost Bird. Each book is better than the last, and the major characters are still capable of surprising the reader. Every aspect of this book is satisfying: the depth of characterization, the personal struggles of the main characters, the portrayal of the local community, the interplay of different elements of the plot -- as well as the resolution of the mystery. I really recommend this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Coel is one of my favorite mystery writers, February 11, 2001

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Spirit Woman (Wind River Reservation Mystery) (Hardcover)

However, this book was just a little bit less good than as I was expecting, perhaps because my expectations have been set so high by all of Coel's previous works.

Coel, who writes about a Jesuit mission on an Aparaho reservation in Wyoming, does a wonderful job of creating a sense of place and people so well that you really want to go out to Wyoming and meet these people and see it all for yourself. It's hard to believe that the mission isn't really there exactly the way she describes it, with the same priest riding down a rough empty road listening to opera.

She has continued to bring to life real people in what feels like a real reservation in this book, but I found myself a little less engaged by the plot than I have been in earlier books by her. Nevertheless, this book is well worth reading.

The plot involves a journal which records Sacajawea's story; some say that the journal was destroyed in a fire, others say that it was rescued and hidden on the reservation that the Arapaho share with the Shoshone. Twenty years earlier a historian had claimed to have found the journal, but she mysteriously disappeared. Now another historian has come to the reservation to look for the journal. The book begins with the discovery of a skeleton by a Jesuit priest/detective; the skeleton appears to be connected to the missing journal. Did the journal survive the fire, and if so, who has it? Was the first historian's disappearance related to the journal? What happened to her and why? And is the second historian in danger?

One of the themes of this mystery is spousal abuse. As the series continues, Coel seems to have a less romanticized view of life on the reservation, and in this book she deals with one of the problems that many of the women of the reservation have to deal with.

On the whole, an excellent book, particularly for anyone interested in Native Americans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Margaret Coel shows true spirit, August 24, 2001

By 

Kathleen (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spirit Woman (A Wind River Reservation Myste) (Paperback)

Margaret Coel's latest installment in her Father John O'Malley mysteries will entice fans of mysteries and Indian lore. As in her previous entries, Coel involves Father O'Malley in the affairs of the Indian reservation with the perfect blend of Jesuit intensity, compassion and humanity. His understanding of the native community helps him to solve the latest mystery. A hint of an involvement with a colleague is intimated, and suggested as reason for him to leave his assignment. The recurring issues of alcoholism and spousal abuse offer social commentary and plot advancement without being didactic. Readers will not be disappointed at the book's ending.