Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
The Lost Bird
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Margaret Coel
Class/Genre: Mystery
Series: Wind River Reservation Mysteries # 5
Berkley Prime Crime, Oct 1999, $21.95, 304 pp.
On the Arapaho Reservation in Wyoming, someone murders a priest who was answering a request to perform the Last Rites on a dying parishioner. Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden believes that the deceased Father is the person she cared more about than is proper. She is unable to hide her joy when she sees Father John O'Malley is alive. It is Father Joseph Keanen, a person who served the reservation briefly over three decades ago, and is now back, who is the victim.
Vicky, and the local and federal law enforcement officials believe that the culprit intended to murder John. Everyone wants to uncover the identity of the perpetrator. However, Vicky has no time to investigate because a famous movie star, who believes she is an Arapaho, hires her to find out who her birth parents are. Vicky feels that isn't possible because the tribe reveres children and would never accept outside adoption. Unbeknownst to Vicky or John, the two cases intertwine, leaving both individuals in danger from an assailant who wants this thirty-five year old secret to remain buried.
Margaret Coel joins the top echelon of writers who weave Native American culture into cleverly designed mysteries. THE LOST BIRD is a fascinating and complex tale centering on loss, hope, and second chances. The relationship between Father John and Vicky seems to be coming very close to a final resolution. The superbly executed who-done-it uses the heritage of the Arapaho people to propel the mystery forward. Ms. Coel has attained the level of the luminaries of this sub-genre such as Hillerman, Doss, and the Thurlos.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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