Another Okay book by Coel. It drags somewhat in the middle as many things are repeated over and over as our heroes meet different folks. Also, "you ask me" is used consistently; while it may be reservation lingo, it's probably not popular in 1923. The use of flashbacks to 1923 was often confusing and not well divided. The Vicky and John characters have the same old, same old tension builders going on---boring, trite and used---book 15 is just like book 1 and it gets older and older. I had to drag myself through this book. ( )

Past (about actual 1923 silent film, The Covered Wagon) and Present (young Native American murdered while trying to uncover the unsolved murder of his grandfather) are woven well while Father John and Vicky, an Arapaho lawyer finally uncover the secret (as best as they can). Good read! ( )

The Silent Spirit is the 14th volume in Coel's long-running Wind River Mystery series, featuring Catholic priest Father John O'Malley and Native American attorney Vicky Holden. This particular volume interested me because it involves a lot of historical information about earlier Hollywood and film production. The book is told with plenty of flashbacks, as the death of a reformed young trouble-making Indian on the reservation today is tied into events back in the early 1920s, when a number of Indians from the Wind River reservation went to Hollywood to appear as extras in a now-legendary western film. One of those Indians disappeared, never returning to the reservation -- inspiring his young descendant to start an investigation over 70 years later...an investigation that may, or may not, have contributed to his own death. This is a well-designed mystery, with an intriguing plot. I didn't really feel like I got to know either of the series main leads all that well in this volume...but this rich historical background more than made up for that. I definitely recommend this book! [I also recommend the rest of the Wind River Mystery series, if you like these characters, though this is the only one with the "Hollywood" connection!]

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec12-04.htm ( )

Love all of Margaret's books, great plots, great characters ( )

This is the 15 book in the Windy River mystery series, and it is a winner! In this book Father John and Vicki find themselves investigating an old missing person case from the 1920's when an Arapaho Indian never came home from Hollywood. He had gone there with 500 other Indians to film a silent motion picture called The Covered Wagon. All the other men had come home, but Charley Wallowingbull never did. His great-grandson sets out to find out what really happened to him and finds himself in the middle of a modern-day mess that actually ends up taking his life. Vicki and Father John are trying to piece together what happened to Kiki Wallowingbull and find they are delving into the old Hollywood of the silent screen. Maragaret Coel meshes these two eras together and the story just flows. I have to say that Father John O'Malley is my favourite fictional character. He is so real and so human that I have to keep reminding myself that he is just a character. These books are truly wonderful and I highly recommend them. I get a lot of Indian lore in each book, but also a great mystery and a wonderful story. And the books in the series appear to keep getting better and better. ( )