Wind River Reservation Books

From New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel comes a tightly crafted mystery that blends Native American culture and history with contemporary issues and fast-paced action—the first in the Wind River series! When the Arapaho tribal chairman is found murdered in his tepee at the Ethete powwow, the evidence points to the chairman's nephew, Anthony Castle. But Father John O'Malley, pastor of St. Francis Mission, and Vicky Holden, the Arapaho lawyer, do not believe the young man capable of murder. Together they set out to find the real murderer and clear Anthony's name. The trail that Father John and Vicky follow winds across the high plains of the Wind River Reservation into Arapaho homes and community centers and into the fraud-infested world of Indian oil and land deals. Eventually it leads to the past — the Old Time — when the Arapahos were forced from their homes on the Great Plains and sent to the reservation. There in the Old Time, Father John and Vicky discover a crime so heinous that someone was willing to commit murder more than a hundred years later to keep it hidden. As they close in a killer who does not hesitate to kill again, they discover they have become the next targets...

New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel explores the nature of evil in this “outstanding entry” ( Booklist ) in the Wind River Reservation Mystery series. Father John O'Malley comes across the corpse lying in a ditch beside the highway. When he returns with the police, it is gone. The Arapahos of the Wind River Reservation speak of Ghost Walkers — tormented souls caught between the earth and the spirit world, who are capable of anything. Then, within days, a young man disappears from the Reservation without a trace. A young woman is found brutally murdered. And as Father John and Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden investigate these crimes, someone — or something — begins following them. Together, Vicky and Father John must draw upon ancient Arapaho traditions to stop a killer, explain the inexplicable, and put a ghost to rest...

Father O'Malley and Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden must uncover a baby-selling scheme at a clinic forty years ago. "Suspenseful...Solid characters and a keen sense of place...keep this tale humming." -- Publishers Weekly

Father O'Malley and Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden return! When a sacred tribal artifact disappears from a museum, it's more than Arapaho history that is lost--it's an Arapaho student's life...

According to legend, Sacajawea — the Native American woman who helped guide the Lewis and Clark expedition through the American wilderness — is buried on the Wind River Reservation. Now, a college professor — and longtime friend of Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden — has disappeared while seeking the truth behind the legend. Vicky and Father John O’Malley soon discover that her missing friend is linked to another female historian who also vanished on the reservation — while researching Sacajawea twenty years ago. The answer to the mystery of the missing scholars may lie in the pages of Sacajawea’s hidden memoirs — and with a culprit who will do anything to ensure they’re never found…

The apparent suicide of a young Arapaho on sacred ground shocks the populace of the Wind River Reservation. But strange events following the death lead Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley to suspect foul play.

With the disappearance of a young man and his old friend Vicky Holden accused of murder, Father John O'Malley must prove his hunch that both events are connected to a dangerous sect leader known as Orlando-who has resurrected the old Shadow Dance religion.

The discovery of a white man's body on the Wind River Reservation has Father John O'Malley trying to keep the peace. Meanwhile, the newly opened Great Plains Casino--with Vicky Holden as its in-house counsel--is fighting for its life against an angry group of protesters. And when Vicky stumbles across some disturbing evidence about the murder, she's suddenly caught in a dangerous game--with her own life at stake.

In Margaret Coel's latest Wind River Reservation mystery, an atrocity from the past has resurfaced with a vengeance. Two murders-a century apart-are linked to photographs taken of the Arapahos on the reservation in 1907, currently on display at St. Francis' Mission. As they begin their investigation, Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden unearth secrets best left buried.

This is for the Indian priest. The cryptic message was clearly meant for Father O’Malley. The unemotional voice on the answering machine, speaking of revenge against old enemies, wanted O’Malley to visit the site of the Bates Battle. In 1874, Shoshone warriors led Captain Alfred Bates’s cavalry to Arapaho tribal grounds, and nearly everyone living there was massacred. As a nation, the Arapaho were finished, but their people survived. Now, someone has left three dead Shoshones on the old battlefield, positioned to mimic the bodies of those Arapaho killed in the historic slaughter. Vicky Holden’s latest client, Frankie Montana, has become the number one suspect in their deaths. Despite his less than sterling background, Vicky doesn’t believe he’s capable of murder. Someone is trying to stir up a war between the Arapaho and Shoshone people—and tear open the painful wounds of the past once more…

In Margaret Coel's latest Wind River Reservation mystery, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley find themselves immersed in the dark underbelly of the illegal market for Indian relics. The Arapahos call it "The Drowning Man"-an ancient petroglyph depicting the haunting image of a human figure struggling under water. A priceless artifact to the tribe, the sacred object is worth a quarter of a million dollars to the thieves who took it. After receiving the ransom demand, Father John is determined to uncover the identity of the culprits and recover the petroglyph. The theft is nearly identical to an unsolved seven-year-old case involving another stolen petroglyph-and manslaughter. Vicky joins Father John to piece together the events of the past seven years. But their quest will put them in the path of a relentless killer who will stop at nothing to remain unknown.

In 1973, Liz Plenty Horses was accused of betraying the militant American Indian Movement, known as AIM, to the FBI after the death of one of their members. She went into hiding with her baby daughter, never to be seen again. Now, a skeleton with a bullet hole in the back of the skull has been discovered at the bottom of a ravine on the Wind River Reservation. The body was that of a woman who was murdered sometime in 1973. With the police reluctant to investigate, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley must unravel the truth-even if it incites the malice of a long-dormant killer.

Kiki Wallowingbull went to Hollywood to uncover the truth behind why his great-grandfather disappeared back in 1923. But after Kiki's frozen body is discovered on the reservation, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley must find the connection between the two violent deaths separated by nearly a century.

Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley find themselves on opposite sides of an investigation. When Arapaho Ned Windsong is shot to death, his fiancée Marcy is the only witness. Even though she identifies two Arapaho troublemakers, Ned's family clings to the belief that Marcy herself was responsible. Convinced of Marcy's innocence, Vicki agrees to represent the outsider- and finds herself at odds with her own people. She also finds herself at odds with Father John, because the mission priest has glimpsed something in the beautiful girl that shakes him to his core. And when the men Marcy has accused of murdering her fiancé are found dead in an abandoned barn, Vicky and Father John realize they are caught in a web of lies and deceit woven by a master.

After more than 120 years, the regalia worn by Arapaho Chief Black Heart in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show were supposed to be returned to his people. But the cartons containing the relics were empty when they arrived at the Arapaho museum. Rancher and Indian artifact collector Trevor Pratt had them shipped from Germany and believes thieves must have stolen them en route. Vicki and Father John suspect Trevor knows more about the theft than he’s telling—a suspicion that’s confirmed when they witness a car speeding from his home and he’s found murdered inside. To find the killer, they must first uncover the truth about a blood feud between two Arapaho families—and the original theft of Black Heart’s possessions dating back more than a century…

In her pulse-pounding mysteries, New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel interweaves authentic Native American culture and history with modern-day suspense. In the latest Wind River novel, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O’Malley are caught between two cultures that  won’t let go of the past—and a killer who won’t leave any witnesses… The whole town of Lander has turned out for the big parade celebrating the start of the new rodeo season. The main spectacle this year is the appearance of Colonel Edward Garrett—a spot-on impersonator of General George Armstrong Custer—and a troop of men acting as the ill-fated Seventh Cavalry. The problem is they are being followed by a group of Arapaho warriors from the Wind River Reservation, who proceed to encircle Garrett and his men in a “dare ride” just to remind them exactly who won the Battle of the Little Bighorn. But when the ride is over, history seems to have repeated itself: Garrett is dead in the street with a bullet hole in his chest. No one is sure what happened, but public sentiment quickly turns against the Arapaho—and the prime suspect is Colin Morningside, a descendant of Crazy Horse. When a local attorney connected to Morningside disappears, the accusations only grow stronger. Father John O’Malley knows in his heart the Arapaho are not guilty. And Vicky Holden finds herself professionally and personally compromised from getting involved. But what begins as a murder soon reveals itself as a conspiracy that neither Father John nor Vicky could have foreseen. And someone wants to ensure that the truth they discover will die with them…

With her gritty mysteries steeped in authentic Native American culture, New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel is “widely considered the most accomplished heir to Tony Hillerman’s legacy,” (Scripps Howard News Service). In the latest Wind River novel, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O’Malley confront a ruthless killer in the wake of a miraculous event. A mysterious penitent confesses to murder, and then flees the confessional before Father John can identify him. Two months later, Vicky discovers rancher Dennis Carey shot dead in his truck along Blue Sky Highway. With the tragic news comes the exposure of an astonishing secret: the most sacred creature in Native American mythology, a white buffalo calf, was recently born on Carey’s ranch. Making national headlines, the miraculous animal draws a flood of pilgrims to the reservation, frustrating an already difficult investigation. As visitors throw the reservation into turmoil, Vicky and Father John try to unravel the strange events surrounding both Carey’s murder and the recent disappearances of three cowboys from his ranch. It could be coincidence, given the nomadic life of the cowboy trade, but when one of them fails to appear in court to testify on an assault charge, Vicky wonders if Arnie Walkfast and his Arapaho buddies are guilty of more than just assault. And at the back of Father John’s mind is the voice from the man in the confessional: I killed a man …

New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel returns to Wind River with Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O’Malley investigating a lethal link between legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy and a present-day murder… When Robert Walking Bear’s body is found in the Wind River mountains, his death appears to be accidental—except for the fact that he had been hunting for Butch Cassidy’s buried loot with a map he had gotten from his grandfather, a map believed to have been drawn by the leader of the Hole in the Wall gang himself. It isn’t long before rumors circulate that Robert was murdered by his own cousins to get the map and find the treasure themselves. Despite there being no evidence of foul play, the gossip gains credibility when both Vicky and Father John are contacted by an anonymous Arapaho claiming to have witnessed Robert’s killing. When one of Robert’s cousins falls prey to another deadly accident, Vicky and Father John are convinced the victim is the witness who confided in them, and the hunt for the killer is on in earnest—before more die in search of Cassidy’s cache.

Margaret Coel’s New York Times bestselling series continues as Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O’Malley discover that a centuries-old mystery is tied to a modern-day crime on the Wind River Reservation… In the midst of a blizzard, Myra and Eldon Little Shield found an abandoned baby on their doorstep and brought her inside. Five years later, no one has come back to claim the little girl now known as Mary Anne Little Shield. But now that she’s old enough to start school, her foster parents fear social services will take her—a white child—away from them. Determined to adopt Mary Anne, the Little Shields hire lawyer Clint Hopkins, who wants Vicky as cocounsel on the case. But before their meeting can take place, a black truck deliberately runs Hopkins down in the street. Enlisting Father John to help investigate who would kill to stop the child’s adoption, Vicky unravels a connection between the five-year-old girl and a missing alcoholic Arapaho wanted for robbery—only to uncover one of the darkest secrets in Wind River’s history…