The Story Teller (A Wind River Reservation Mystery) Mass Market Paperback – September 1, 1999

Margaret Coel weights a beautifully told story of the heart and feelings of a woman and man and of a native American and a Irish American both seeking inner peace amidst the conflict of modern life and MURDER!

This is the highest rating I give, unless I can call a book "great literature". I recommend it to any and all who are impressed by Native American history and culture; those who love the earth; those who sense of the importance of Spirit, God, and a higher calling. Looking forward to the next installment.

Margaret Coel again brings Arapaho culture to life in this part-historical novel, part murder mystery. Was the Story Teller Charlie Redman correct? Was a 19th-century Arapaho ledger book really on display in the Museum of the West in 1920? Can white authorities take the word of an elderly Arapaho story teller? If the Museum never had the ledger, then how did the museum's director know that its value was $1.3 million? Hired by the Arapaho's Cultural Director to retrieve all Arapaho sacred belongings from the Museum of the West under NAGPRA, attorney Vicky Holden must sort out the truth of her people's past and find the ledger book which has gone missing. Written by Charllie Redman's ancester No-Ta-Ne, the ledger is presumed to hold evidence that Arapahos were present at the Battle of Stone Creek. If true, the Arapahos would be eligible to receive a portion of the lands in Colorado now claimed by the Cheyenne people. Not only has the ledger book gone missing, but graduate student Todd Harris has gone missing, too. He had been working on his dissertation about the history of Arapahos in Colorado. When his body is retrieved from the confluence of two rivers in Denver, Vicky must both unravel the mystery of the ledger book and the solve the murder of Todd Harris . . . before any more people are killed. Fortunately, she will be aided by her partner-in-sleuthing, Father John Aloysius O'Malley, while the two battle rumors of romantic involvement. Coel shows her gift for melding history, culture and mystery in a character-driven novel.

I'm a sucker for this series ... not sure exactly why. This one started of a bit slowly but picked up and then seemed to move along quickly enough. The descriptions of a sacred tribal artifact - the "ledger book" - kept by the Arapaho to tell the story of the native people on the plains were thrilling to me. My mom always told me we had a bit of native American blood, and I always loved the stories of the different tribal nations. For some reason this series calls to me, and I've enjoyed every one so far. This was Wind River Reservation #4, and I just downloaded #5 onto my Kindle! One of the main characters is Father O'Malley, a priest who originally was reassigned to the reservation Mission because he is a recovering alcoholic. The other main character is Vickie Holden, who is Arapaho and an attorney. Together these two solve problems and mysteries, usually getting into trouble along the way. If you're thinking about reading these, it's best to start at #1, The Eagle Catcher. Worth your time, IMHO.

I have been reading the Wind River series for years. I read one after another missing some now and again. Finally I started from the beginning and am loving them.Several years ago I was fortunate enough to spend some time vacationing in the area where the stories take place. Being able to connect to some of the places Ms. Coel names in her stories makes it all the more real. I remember passing a placard stating that an 'Indian massacre took place here,' now it all falls in to place. We visited the battleground of the Little Big Horn and rode the shuttle with descendants of Native American's telling their side of the story, a very informative experience.Thank you Ms. Coel for keeping the Native American culture from fading away. Very well written stories bring the past and present together.

A nineteenth-century ledger book has disappeared from a Denver museum. It's full of pictograms describing the slaying of Arapaho warriors at the Massacre at Sand Creek. Only Cheyennes were thought to have lived and died at Sand Creek, and the Cheyennes are claiming land based on this belief. So the ledger book has financial as we'll as historical importance. And merely as a rare Arapaho artifact, the book is worth $1.3 million.Hot on the trail of the book are Vicki Holden, acting as lawyer for the Arapaho tribe, and Father John of the Saint Francis Mission, always deeply concerned about the People.The plot offers multiple murders and a good assortment of suspects, as always spiced up by the intense love between Father John and Vicki, which is doomed to be forever repressed.The Story Teller gives an interesting picture of current Indian affairs: the law allowing tribes to repossess tribal artifacts from museums and tribal efforts to claim reparation lands.I'm moving through this series with great enjoyment.

As the series goes on you keep thinking there can’t be all that many stories of interest about a priest on an Indian reservation on the plains of Wyoming. But, they just keep coming. Father O’Malley gets drawn into three murders and a quest for for historically significant artifacts to the Arapaho. Many of these artifacts are in museums and according to a new law, NAGPRA, they must be returned to the tribes of origin. As Vicky Holden and Father John O’Malley find out, not an easy proposition. The bodies start dropping as the two find that an intact ledger may exist that had been recorded by an Arapaho warrior over a century ago. Things go missing and Father John and Vickey almost join the body count. Or do they?

Another solid mystery with some interesting historical information woven into the story. This one is mostly set in Denver, which is a change. I still like the two main characters so will be buying more of this author.

I'm enjoying this genre. Modern westerns. This, and CJ Box's Joe Pike series, , Longmire etc. Margaret Coel writes knowingly about her subject, and as always, it's a fascinating insight into modern day life in Native American culture. As a child I have always been an avid reader of subject matter about this culture.The characters live in her stories, and a quiet corner and a glass of wine, and a Father John story does me nicely

満を持して主役に躍り出たアラパホ族の女性弁護士ヴィッキー。先住民の語り部が1920年にデンバー博物館で見たという百年前のサンド・クリークの殺戮を記述した郷土誌を取り返してくれという依頼で出向くと、そんなものは存在しない、と突っぱねられた。ヴィッキーの親しい友人でもある文化人類学の大学院生トッド・ハリスは論文執筆中にその郷土誌を見つけたらしく、シャイアン族の所有地となっているサンド・クリークにはアラパホ族も住んでいた、と記述があったことから、この郷土誌が歴史家の定説を覆し土地の所有権争いの因にもなり、また古物商がこれに1．3百万ドルの値をつけたため争いが起きてトッドは殺されてしまう。アラパホ族の遺物を集めて聖フランシス教区の廃校を博物館にしようと運動する神父ファーザー・ジョンがヴィッキーと一緒にその郷土誌を見つけようと走り回るが、二人に身の危険が迫ってくる。　　ところでこの連作の楽しみ方がわかった気がします。まず第一作The Eagle Catcherは外せません。そこでワイオミングのアラパホ族居留地の概要と、常連たちの立ち位置と相互関係が頭に入れば、あとはスタンド・アローンの作品が続くので、気に入りそうなものを選んで読めば十二分に楽しめます。なかでもこのThe Story Tellerはお勧めです。