Book Description

The contemporary western mystery series continues in these novels featuring a half Indian cattle inspector and “character of legendary proportions” (Ridley Pearson). Officially, Gabriel Du Pré is the cattle inspector for Toussaint, Montana, responsible for making sure no one tries to sell cattle branded by another ranch. Unofficially, he is responsible for much more than cows’ backsides. The barren country around Toussaint is too vast for the town’s small police force, and so, when needed, this hard-nosed Métis Indian lends a hand. In Gabriel Du Pré, “Bowen has taken the antihero of Hemingway and Hammett and brought him up to date . . . a fresh, memorable character” (The New York Times Book Review). Notches: Working alongside a Blackfoot FBI agent and his feisty female partner, Du Pré tracks a serial killer hunting young women in the Montana wilderness. “A haunting tale, punched out in arresting rhythms of speech powerful as a tribal drumbeat.” —Entertainment Weekly Thunder Horse: After an earthquake exposes an ancient burial site, Native American tribes fight over the remains and a fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex tooth is found in the hands of a murdered anthropologist. Time for Du Pré to start digging. “Strange, seductive . . . The wonder of these voices is that they are . . . blunt, crude, soaked in whiskey and raspy from laughter, but still capable of leaving echoes.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Long Son: After greedy, vicious Larry Messmer inherits his parents’ ranch, the FBI asks Du Pré to keep an eye on the pathological prodigal son. When violence inevitably erupts, Du Pré finds himself caught in the crosshairs. “Bowen’s writing is lean and full of mordant observations. His hardy characters . . . come to life, and his wry humor . . . provides relief from the haunting, wind-bitten cattle-ranch landscape.” —Publishers Weekly