After fighting a debilitating alcohol addiction, Father John O'Malley was sent to the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming to dry out.  Six years later, he's come to love the Arapaho people he serves, even if he still doesn't fully understand all the nuances of their culture.  He appreciates their ancient traditions and counts the members of his flock as treasured friends.  When Harvey Castle, the tribal chairman, is stabbed to death in his teepee while attending a local powwow, John is just as shocked and sad as everyone else on the rez. 

Suspicion for the murder immediately falls on Harvey's nephew, Anthony, who was heard arguing with his uncle the night before his death.  Although the kid's an undeniable hothead, John doesn't think he's a killer.  Vicky Holden, a lawyer who grew up at Wind River, agrees.  If they're going to clear his name, John and Vicky need to find out who really killed Harvey—and why.  Their investigation leads in unexpected directions, putting the duo in danger from someone who's desperate to keep old secrets buried.  Can they expose the murderer and free Anthony without becoming the next victims of a cold-blooded killer?

Back in the Dark Ages before I started reviewing books on this blog, I read the first few installments in Margaret Coel's Father John O'Malley mystery series.  I enjoyed learning about Arapaho culture, following the developing relationship between John and Vicky, and reading mysteries that were engaging without being graphic.  When I needed a book set in Wyoming for the Literary Escapes Reading Challenge, I decided to revisit the series.  While I still appreciated the things that first drew me to the series, this time around I found its first installment, The Eagle Catcher, not quite as engrossing or compelling as I did the first time I read it.  John and Vicky are both likable characters, but they're so underdeveloped that neither comes off as very unique or exciting.  The supporting cast is the same, with so many similar people that they all ran together for me.  Plotwise, The Eagle Catcher is predictable, with no real twists to keep it interesting.  In a word: boring.  The story is slow and dull.  I'm not saying this series opener is a terrible read; it's not.  It's just a bit of a slog, which disappointed me because I wanted to love it as much as I did the first time I read it.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Coel's books have been compared to those by Tony Hillerman, although I don't know how apt the comparison is since I've never read Hillerman.)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Colleen Mitchell knows she needs to let her 20-year-old son live his own life, but she can't help but question Paul's sudden decision to drop out of college and waltz off to the middle of nowhere to work on an oil rig.  Now, her worst fears have been realized.  She hasn't heard from Paul in over a month.  Not even a one-word text.  Maybe she's overreacting—probably she is—but something feels off.  No longer able to stand the anxiety of not knowing what's happened to Paul, she flies to rural North Dakota to find her son.  What she discovers is that she's right.  Her son is missing from the "man camp" where he and the other workers live.  No one knows where he's gone.  Or so they say.  

There's only one person in bleak little Lawton willing to believe that anything shady is going on and that's because her son is missing, too.  Shay Capparelli is Colleen's opposite—she's penniless but scrappy and tenacious, willing to do whatever it takes to find her own son, who's also nowhere to be found.  Just like Colleen, Shay knows there's something more to the story behind their sons' disappearances.  She's convinced the oil company is hiding something.  

The two women become unlikely allies in their plight to locate the boys they love.  As they dig deeper and deeper into the oil company's practices, Lawton's ugly underbelly and the secrets their sons kept under wraps, the duo uncovers some unsavory truths.  What really happened to Paul and Taylor?  Can their mothers solve the mystery before it's too late?

The Missing Place by Sophie Littlefield is an evocative, compelling read that I could not put down.  With an atmospheric setting, well-drawn characters, and a twisty mystery, it kept my attention riveted to the page.  I know some reviewers felt misled by some of the story's plot turns.  Not me.  The set up kept me guessing, which is what I dig in a psychological mystery/thriller.  Despite the book's grimness, I ended up enjoying this one quite a lot.  I'll definitely be picking up more books from this intriguing author. 

(Readalikes:  Hm, nothing is coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  

for language, violence, depictions of illegal drug use, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find