I loved this book! It's such a good mystery! It was very nice that, once you've been initially exposed to all the many characters, the author will remind you of their relationship and the book in such a way as not to be obvious. This was very helpful and I wish many more authors could achieve this. I still kept an ongoing list in my iPhone notes section. This really slows the pace of my reading but it's better than paging back trying to figure out the history of characters.What kept this from earning five stars from me came down to two things. Firstly, though the forward was interesting, the introduction was completely misleading and completely unnecessary. Why the mention of the Piquot, Pamunky,Piscataway and other ancient tribes and peoples, that did not even come up in the story? What was the point?Secondly, when I reached page 500 I felt I was at a murder mystery theater. This is exactly how these things go. I always find them a bit boring, even though many relevant facts were pointed out, I would rather they be part of the story.Nevertheless, this was a great book with relatable and very interesting characters. I would've liked to learn a little more about Warm Fall but I guess if that's all there is, that's all there is. Could it be that the next "people" book will somehow reunite her and Eight Rocks for the last of their lives.I've still got questions. What will happen to good old CT. Could the Panther be Copper Thunder's real father? After all... Warm Fall and Eight Rocks were lovers before the marriage. And the groundwork has been laid for an interesting future, though short, for HIgh Fox.Will he and his mother, Shell Comb cross paths again?I will definitely persue the sequels.
The book starts in modern times with a small Native American group claiming artifacts from a museum. Before the museum curator can do anything to stop them, the group sells off the artifacts, then disappears. Afterwards, the story becomes basically a murder mystery set in Early American Chesapeake Bay. Who killed Red Knot and why and what should be done about it and how it affects the power balance of the region. Red Knot was the granddaughter of the tribal matriarch: Hunting Hawk. On the morning after her betrothal to a neighboring war chief, Copper Thunder, she is found brutally murdered. Panther, a local recluse, is asked by Red Knot’s best friend to come and help solve the mystery. I like Panther. He’s a wise old man with common sense. Reminds me of Ellery Queen and Sherlock Holmes. It’s fascinating to watch as he gathers and pits all the puzzle pieces together. There’s no real bad guys as in the other books, there all just misunderstood victims. And the final conclusions is a surprise to the very end. Fave scenes: Sun Conch going to visit the Panther and Panther stealing Copper Thunder’s war club.
Do You like book People Of The Mist (1998)?
Loved it and I couldn't put it down.The ending really suprised me because I thought Nine Killer murdered Red Knot because of the "it must run in the blood" comment.
—Soapykitty
The Gears are the best at what they do, which is writing about pre-history based on archeology, creating a plausible fictional story to help us to understand the facts and thus preserve our own Native American history. Kathleen and Michael have been my lamplight in becoming a Native American historical fiction writer. They alone are responsible for peeking my interest in our dim past and have provided a window to that time and place of which they write. If you desire to see the past of our unknown history of the Native tribes of North America, I advise you to make all of the Gear's books your first choice. You can do no better. Kitty Sutton
—Kitty Sutton
This was actually one of the best of the PEOPLE series. It's set relatively late in the Pre-Columbus era, around 1300 A.D. And instead of showing Native American traveling all over, it sticks to one place, a small village on the Delaware Bay, with people living a very familiar woodland Indian lifestyle. But what makes this story so much better than the other is the fact that there's a real plot, with a murdered girl and "the usual suspects." Everyone seems to have had a motive to kill the girl, the question is who actually did it? And the detective on the case is a feared old medicine man who just might be a suspect himself!One thing that is unique in these books is the Native American approach to good and evil. The young warrior, Copper Thunder, and the old medicine man, basically hate each other like poison. But over the course of the book you see that they both have a legitimate point of view. And at the end balance is restored, instead of just good destroying evil. But the best thing of all was the air of mystery surrounding the old man's past. The way he keeps dropping hints about lands to the west, where the people live in great cities and build pyramids that reach to the sky, and the chief of all the chiefs can call up 5000 warriors at any time. Bring on the Mound Builders!
—Carol Storm
