What do You think about The Story Teller (1999)?
I am enjoying this series. Here Vickie Holden's assistance is finally requested by the tribal elders. Does this mean that she is accepted back into the tribe? Apparently the tribes are about to get some of their artifacts back. But one of the elders remembers having seen a specific exhibit back in 1920 and it didn't make the list. They want her to find out about this. It is proof that there were Arapahoe at Sand Creek and the government is handing out land based on land seized in the past. Meanwhile, Father John is trying to set up a reservation museum so the Arapahoe can take some pride in their past. Turns out the missing artifact is worth +$1 million and it is suspected that it has been lifted by person or persons unknown. The bodies start falling and begin to add up.I really liked the bad guy Coel created in this book. Not that I like him but he is evil and slimy (at least to me). Even before I knew who the bad guy was I was against this character, although he wasn't my first guess for the perpetrator.
—Jan C
Another incredibly complex tale from Margaret Coel. THE STORY TELLER is an elder of the Arapaho tribe, his position passed down from his father and grandfather. When the government decides to force museums to relinquish sacred and ritual objects from their collections back to the tribes, the old man remembers a special book, created by one of the survivors of a horrendous massacre in Colorado. The museum denies ever owning I,; denies its very existence, but the evidence says otherwise. Meanwhile, a promising graduate student from the Wind River tribe is found murdered, and Father O'Malley along with Vicky Holden get involved. Margaret Coel is an historian and is considered to be an expert on the Arapaho Tribe, and it shows. Her knowledge of artifacts along with her familiarity of the pervasive attitudes of the Arapahos makes this, not only a great mystery, but a lesson that enriches the readers knowledge. I'm so glad I started reading this series! Highly recommended.
—Barb
Father John and Vicky find themselves once again working on a murder. This time a young graduate student who has promised to be curator at the Arapaho Museum is killed while finishing up his master's thesis. Is there something in the thesis that got him killed? Or was it a drug related killing? Vicky and Father John both dismiss the drug angle, they know Todd and that isn't his style.At first I thought this was going to be another "big issue" book, i.e., something that involves several federal agencies as well as the local police. There were some aspects of this but it wasn't the main part of the story, it stayed as a mostly local story, which I like much better.I like the blend of Arapaho traditions blending with modern life and with the Catholic traditions. It is an unusual blend and Coel carries it off time after time.More books to read in this series so I'll be back on the Wind River Reservation, soon.
—Patty
