The Wind River mystery series continues with Father John O’Malley returning to the Wyoming St. Francis mission after a six-month sabbatical in Rome, and Vicki Holden struggling to balance her professional career with her partner, Adam Lone Eagle, with her continued feelings of obligations to protect her Arapaho people. The Holden-Lone Eagle partnership has been building a substantial legal practice in representing the Arapaho and Shoshone tribes, leaving Vicki no time to undertake her more usual types of representations defending unfortunate Indians accused of various types of crimes. Another problem is the affinity between Vicki and Father John, which they studiously avoid addressing.
The plot involves a young man who is obsessed with the past. His grandfather was one of many Arapahos and Shoshones who acted in a silent film on location in the 1920′s and then went on to Hollywood to help promote the movie. Unfortunately, the grandfather never returned, and it is believed he was murdered. The grandson, determined to discover the truth, travels to Los Angeles, where he makes a discovery. Upon his return to the reservation, he is murdered.
It remains to Father John and Vicki to discover the truth of the past and present, as they have in putting other mysteries to rest in the previous 12 novels in the series. The author continues with an outstanding ability to create characters and situations that blend with western culture and downtrodden Native Americans, and combining the well-written episodes with an interesting mystery story. Recommended.
