This is a book about character and place. The murder mystery moves the story forward, but is used mostly to tell us about the character of Gabriel DuPre. In fact, it doesn't really work well as a murder mystery because its solution comes mostly from a deus ex machina in the form of a local quasi-shaman / full time drunkard named Benetsee. DuPre solves the mystery, but only after getting not so subtle hints from Benetsee. Even then it wasn't clear (to me) how DuPre made the logical leap that led him to the solution.No matter. What counts most in this story is the character of DuPre and "his women": his daughters and his woman friend, Madeleine. DuPre is basically an angry redneck living amongst angry ignorant rednecks. Not a promising start, but DuPre stands above the rest by being smarter and more self-aware and by having the kind of personal code and integrity that you might expect of a John Wayne or Clint Eastwood character. Much is made in the book blurbs and reviews of the novel that DuPre is mixed French-Indian, and it's certainly true that Bowen goes to lengths to make sure we don't forget that: DuPre thinks and talks with a kind of French-Creole rhythm and is constantly musing on the history of both the French voyageurs and the defeats and massacres inflicted on native Americans. Nonetheless, he's basically a shit-kicker like the rest of the people in Toussaint Montana and not a person you'd like to spend any time with; not, that is, if you are the sort of urban college-educated person most likely to have read this book. But his self awareness and intelligence make him an almost likable character.His younger daughter, Maria, is a 14 year old faux-rebellious honor student who seems to be left home by herself a lot while DuPre spends his nights with Madeleine. Maria is one of the more interesting characters in the novel, but is not a very believable character. I think Bowen tried too hard (or maybe not hard enough) to have her be a smart and basically 'good' girl, but the result is that she's just a little too good to be true.The story seemed pretty contrived, as though Bowen had made a plot outline, carefully highlighting the main points, and didn't have the time or the energy to fill in the details that would have made it seem like something other than a made-up tale. The elements are: rich decacent family with pseudo-ranch, old plane wreck with one skull too many, useless brain-dead sheriff, local drunkard with supernatural insights, cattle-brand inspector with a fiddle and a creole accent and an attitude. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.Still, despite its flaws I liked this book a lot. The DuPre character is pretty interesting, as long as you don't have to be in the same room with him.
From Amazon.com review by Nathan W. Casebolt: Gabriel Du Pré is a simple Métis, descended from First Nation and French Canadian stock. He earns his keep as a Montana cow brand inspector, but sometimes serves as an on-call law enforcer. So when a small, decades-old plane wreck is discovered in the mountains, the sheriff asks Du Pré to check it out. And everything checks out as you’d expect, except for that extra skull with a bullet rattling inside it. I WAS LOOKING forward to this new series which was supposed to be a breath of fresh air to the murder mystery genre. Unfortunately, the air is quite rancid with Du Pre’s anti-establishment attitude, his filthy mouth, and his (non)-parenting style, which takes the form of sleep overs at his girlfriend’s while his fourteen-year-old daughter stays home alone.The plot is weak, the mystery disappointing – the solution becomes apparent by half-time and the rest of the book is…what? Boring anyway. Offensive to some – me included.
Do You like book Coyote Wind (1996)?
I love to read mysteries and I have read many of them, many. As a result I rarely use adjectives like, fresh, new, unique, etc., when reviewing a book. The genre is steeped in tradition and haunted (in a good way) by the likes of Doyle, Christie, Carr, Chandler, Rendell and many others. As a result, many good writers and some not so good, follow in the foot steps of those who wrote before them. I'm not complaining, in fact, it's interesting to mentally trace the pedigree of new detectives.As good as it is (for a mystery lover), it's not often you run into a truly unique character, a different mindset, a different approach, a unique style. Well for me ...this book had all that.
—Francis
Peter Bowen is not an award winning writer, but in this series he has captured the essence of Metis life in north central Montana. These are a self-aware people who really exist, and Gabriel Du Pre represents the best and worst of them. Plus, he plays fiddle, a central aspect of Metis culture. I was introduced to the series by the leader of my Sweat Lodge at a time when I was just beginning to explore my Metis heritage. I strongly identify myself as "mixed-blood" now, but the journey was often confusing. When I read a Du Pre novel, I felt reassured, and I am very grateful for the timing of that experience. Like an invisible person might be.
—Pamela
I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure what I think. I knew nothing of the Metis, peoples of a blend of Native American and French spanning an area that crosses the border between the US and Canada, nothing at all. That was a big surprise and I enjoyed getting a flavour of it, but I couldn't tell how true to life it might be at all. It seemed in some ways to be a kind of cajun caricature that I imagine residing in the Lousiana swamps and I always worry about the reduction of people to caricatures. But I enjoyed the language, the true grit of outdoor living, the characters without much interiority but a fascinating surface.
—Andrea
