THE SPIDER'S WEB

An Arapaho attorney and a parish priest who often work together have different takes on a murder on the rez.

Ned Windsong’s been in trouble in the past. But he moved back to the Wind River Reservation determined to straighten out his life. Now two troublemakers from the rez and his former girlfriend Roseanne Birdwoman have found him shot to death in the house he and his white girlfriend Marcy Morrison have been sharing. Marcy’s wealthy, estranged evangelist father hires attorney Vicky Holden to protect his daughter’s interests. Refusing the FBI offer of a safe house, Marcy continues her stay at the guest house at Father John O’Malley’s mission. Despite being beaten and traumatized, she identifies the men who discovered the body as the killers, but it’s obvious that she’s hiding something. Naturally, the people of the reservation are quick to direct their suspicions at Marcy, the outsider. When Vicky and Father John dig into the past of Ned, Marcy and Roseanne, they find evidence of Marcy’s drug use and bad relationships and Ned’s links to a burglary ring in Jackson Hole. Although Vicky feels sorry for the neglected daughter, Father John has a bad feeling about her past. All their lives may be in danger until the killer is found.

Far from the best in Coel’s Wind River series (The Silent Spirit, 2009, etc.), but still worth reading for its insights into modern reservation life.