Review:
BONE RATTLER by Eliot Pattison
Review by Theodore Feit
Duncan McCallum is thrust into the midst of the French and Indian War when he is sent as a convict to America. Aboard the convict ship, he witnesses a series of murders and apparent suicides among his fellow Scottish prisoners. As a nearly trained doctor, he is ordered to assemble evidence and prepare an indictment holding one prisoner responsible for the deaths. The evidence is contrary to his instructions, with seemingly ceremonial overtones somehow linked to the Indians of the American wilderness.
It is to the wilds of western New York that the prisoners are headed, destined to be sacrificed in the bloody conflict, in which the British army, rogue Scottish highlanders, French, Huron and Iroquois battle. Duncan follows a trail of mysterious clues to find the source of evil and the person responsible for the deaths aboard the ship.
The novel provides a thrilling tale set with historical perspective of not only Manifest Destiny but Native American culture and way of life. It is a disturbing story, yet informative beyond the simple view of Westward Expansion by the continued influx of European immigrants. It is worthy of a recommendation.