Native American Fiction Mystery

Something is rotten in the Fort Belknap Reservation. Life has always been tough on this barren stretch just south of the Canadian border, but now the children are dying. While playing his fiddle in a reservation bar, part-time deputy Gabriel Du Pré meets an accordionist who suspects that the children’s health defects and low test scores are connected to the nearby Persephone mine.

The gruesome corpse of a young woman is found beside a long Montana highway called the Hi-Line. Her jaw and teeth are missing, and she is impossible to identify. Full of anger and without a clue, Du Pre begins to hunt the countryside for her murderer. As more dismembered corpses - all young women - are discovered, the small ranching community goes into shock.

For four generations, the Messmers have raised cattle in the rough country of eastern Montana. When the current owners die in a motor home accident, they leave the ranch to their son - an ominous development for everyone in the area, both human and bovine. Larry Messmer left Toussaint in the 1980s, when he got in trouble for bludgeoning a horse to death, and Gabriel Du Pré hoped he would never come back. Larry announces his return by having his ranch hands kill every weak cow on the property.

Gabriel Du Pré, the old Montana fiddler at the center of Peter Bowen's atmospheric, engrossing series set in the dirty, dusty Montana that's rarely featured in travel brochures, has a knack for finding trouble. Or rather, trouble has a knack for finding him. There's a rumor going around that Du Pré and his old sorceror friend Benetsee have come across a parcel containing the lost journals of Lewis and Clark, and outsiders, drawn by the spirit of the legendary explorers, are beginning to invade Toussaint.

Crystal meth, brushfires, and a murderer on the loose threaten Du Pré’s tranquil Montana town. Drought has come to Toussaint, Montana, and appendicitis has stricken the Mtis Indian tracker and investigator Gabriel Du Pré. His appendix is bad enough, but what really hurts is being trapped in the hospital when he learns that Maddy Collins has been killed. As far as Du Pré knows, no one in town had cause to dislike the harmless old coot, much less bash her head in with a cast-iron hatchet. When the doctors release him, he goes looking for answers.

Gabriel Du Pré’s aunt Pauline has burned through more than her share of husbands, so it’s no surprise when she shows up in Toussaint complaining that the latest one, Badger, has run off. Du Pré, the fiddler and sometimes deputy, agrees to go looking for her man and finds him shot, execution-style, in the wilds of the Montana countryside. A chat with his contacts at the FBI reveals that Badger, a small-time drug smuggler, had been working for them since his last arrest. Pauline’s husband was bait, but the big fish got away.

The subject of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls fails to get the attention it deserves. Facts show that Native American women and girls are twice as likely to be assaulted than any other race, and their third leading cause of death is injury. And out of nearly 6,000 missing and murdered cases, just shy of 200 are in the national law enforcement databases. We need to do something about this epidemic.

Star MedLab occupies what was once a factory in Shelton, Connecticut. Now, the medical facility boasts its ability to cure an assortment of mental illnesses and emotional disorders. To make it truly accessible it offers a payment for each admission! But is it a benevolent sanctuary or a place where coercion and experimentation on the vulnerable takes precedence over wellness?

Spirit Pass tackles an all-too-real issue that gets all-too-little attention - the disappearances of young women on Native American reservations. This concept alone ensures plenty of emotion for the piece and the novel does a good job of showing the full scope of those affected. This is especially poignant when we see old friends Agnes and Bernice, who find themselves possible rivals following Claudia’s murder. That there are so many suspects for this killing is also a nice touch - this keeps us on our toes and guessing until the reveal in the climax.

This is the third volume of the Ray Corngrower Series. While John Littlefeather tries to survive the harsh Alaskan tundra, he finds that it is not just the animals and climate are savage. In Oklahoma, both Ray and Ted find that one crime can easily lead into something much worse. Kick back in your chair and relax. Take off your shoes and get comfortable. There are stories I would tell.

According to both Cherokee and Creek legend U tuin ta', also known as Spear Finger, was a blood-sucking liver-eating monster killed ages ago. However, a series of strange murders in the area of Bristow, Oklahoma indicate she has returned. Deputy Ray Corngrower and John Littlefeather are joined by many in hopes of stopping this terror once and for all.