The phone rings at St. Francis Mission late one night. When Father John O'Malley answers, an old cowboy on the line pleads for a meeting. He has something he wants to tell the priest, something that has been on his conscience for years. But when Father John drives to an old cabin to meet the cowboy, he finds him inside, shot to death.
The police investigate the murder while coping with demonstrators who have come to the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming to protest plans to build a nuclear-waste storage site. Most of the Arapaho people favor the facility for the jobs and money it will provide them, but Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden is convinced the facility will harm the land and her people. She receives threats cautioning her to mind her own business, then a truck tries to run her down, and someone attempts to break into her house. Still, Vicky speaks out against the facility at a public meeting that turns into a riot. Then a tribal council member, who may have decided to oppose the facility, is murdered. Father John discovers the murdered cowboy and the council member met together shortly before their deaths. Did the cowboy tell the council member what was weighing on his mind? Could the information have turned the council member against the nuclear-waste storage site? As the pair investigate, they come closer to exposing a killer who may have committed murder 30 years ago, and will commit murders now to make sure the facility is built. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60% Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - local police w/ IQ of a houseplant - solving long-past murder Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 60's-90's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - West Small town? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |