Dead Soul

As a recent fan of the Charlie Moon mystery series, I've noticed the author's use of humor in the novels has developed a pattern of slapstick (in its latter novels primarily) that can be overbearing and somewhat unrealistic, but Dead Soul gratefully avoids that trap. In fact, this is inarguably the best novel of the entire series I've read to date. Warning: readers who prefer hard-boiled mystery will not find it in a Charlie Moon novel. The allure of the series is based on its combination of mysticism and humor. Detective noir, it's not, nor does it pretend to be. However, if you enjoy witty dialogue, scenic descriptions, Native American mysticism, outrageous antics, and laugh-out-loud humor, then you are in for a treat. In this latest adventure, Charlie Moon--part-time tribal investigator and full-time rancher--is tapped by the tribal Chief to "unofficially" investigate the murder of fellow tribesman Billy Smoke, chauffeur to prominent Senator Patch Davidson, who was crippled during the attack. Coincidentally enough, the Senator's BoxCar ranch abuts Charlie Moon's Columbine ranch, and the Senator also asks Charlie to "unofficially" investigate a possible national security leak within his ranch headquarters. Charlie is reluctant to wade in waters already tread by the FBI and the Secret Service, but feels obligated to fulfill his responsibility to the tribe. As the two investigations begin to overlap, he is once again thrust into one dangerous (and outrageous) situation after another as he comes into contact with hardened BoxCar's foreman Henry Buford--formerly with the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Senator's stunning assistant Miss James, his spoiled nephew Allan Pearson, and a gang of burly bikers. Meanwhile, Charlie's aunt and shaman elder Daisy Perika's latest vision of a red-haired campus policewoman adds intrigue to the mystery while her mystical conversations with the pitukupf--the dwarf who lives in a badger hole--add a touch of dry humor to the tale. Unlike previous installments, the story ends on a slightly more serious note well worth the buildup of suspense, and the addition of a romantic interest for Charlie Moon enhances characterization of the series' enigmatic and happy-go-lucky main character.

Another in James D. Doss' Shaman series which began with The Shaman Sings in the mid 1990s. The series started off good and just keeps getting better. Doss marries a wry writing style with well-drawn characters, a clever story line and a fine understated humour. His setting is southern Colorado, a land of ranchers, wide spaces and capable country people both matukach (white) and Ute Native Americans. The Shaman of the series, wise old Ute Daisy Perika, doesn't feature to the extent that she has in other books in the series but her contribution via dreams and premonitions is subtle and true. Her character is the stuff the series is built on. She is abrasive and annoying, and takes pleasure in being so, yet the writer has made her irascible while likeable and she is the character the reader will remember long after the rest are forgotten. The story's central character is Charlie Moon, nephew of Daisy Perika and a Ute rancher and sometime policeman for his tribe. Charlie's major trouble in life is a mountain cat terrorising his ranch workers and cattle, until he is asked to find out who injured a U.S. Senator and at the same time killed Billy Smoke, the Senator's driver. The Senator, who runs the neighbouring ranch, has his own agenda and Charlie finds himself also involved in investigating a leak of damaging government information from the Senator's ranch. Charlie finds himself often on the tricky side of guns and dangerous animals (both human and not). It makes for a rollicking and thoroughly enjoyable read. No sex but some violence.

I've been reading Doss's "Shaman" series since it first appeared in paperback, and it just keeps getting better and better. "Dead Soul" is the best of the series. As a stand-alone work, it is excellent. I love the joking, sly, tongue-in-cheek diaglogs Charlie Moon has with the other characters. I can see myself carrying one a similar one with him, since I have do have dialogs like that often. I love Doss's unexpected (and non-PC) observations of life - the human carnivores eating the animal cracker herbivores; the poisonous look of junk food, followed by how good it tastes; how close we here in the Middle World actually are to the those other worlds, above and below and just other. But especially, I love how Doss can get inside a person's head, to examine how faith, hope and belief continue to call to us, no matter how grounded we think we are in this, the workaday Middle World -- and that hearts that truly believe are the same, no matter how different the outer trappings of their belief systems may appear. And all this with wonderful descriptions of the land of the Southern Utes -- both is this world and the other -- and with a murder mystery that, like one of Charlie Moon's dialogs, talks to us on one level, but leads us along to something completely different. I will remember the feeling of this book long after I have forgotten the details of the mystery.

Former Indian Police officer and now Ute investigator Charlie Moon is assigned the task of investigating a drunk Indian's death. The FBI and local police have already done their best and nobody expects Charlie to find much, but he believes in giving the tribe their money's worth. Besides, something about the murder just doesn't add up. With the help of his ghost-seeing aunt Daisy, Charile is able to find some clues that no one else looked for. But death has a way of exacting its price and Charlie ends up facing both physical danger and ghost-touch. Author James D. Doss combines adventure, emotional depth, clever dialogue, and a deep insight into both Native American and Christian spirituality to deliver an outstanding story. Doss's strong writing gripped me from early in the story and made me care about the seven-foot ex-lawman, his friend the local Chief of Police, and the other characters in this rich novel. Charlie Moon makes a wonderful character. His cutting dialogue made me laugh, but his deeper insights are what makes him stand out as a character. Doss combines a cynicism about humanity with a deep optimism--a difficult combination that definitely works. I recommend this fine novel highly.

Senator Patch Davidson, senior member of the Judiciary Committee, waits for his chauffeur Billy Smoke, a member of the Southern Ute tribe of Southern Colorado, to pick him up. However, someone assaults him hitting the Senator in the head and repeatedly in the knees. When Patch wakes up in the hospital, he realizes that he is a paraplegic and Billy is dead. Tribal Chairman Oscar Sweetwater asks Columbine ranch owner Charlie Moon, a part time investigator for the tribe, to make inquiries into the deadly incident.Charlie concludes that no one had a valid reason to kill Billy and lets the matter drop. Four months later, Oscar asks Charlie to meet him at the Senator's Boxcar Ranch because someone is leaking sensitive material to a foreign country. Patch wants to find out who it is and how it's being done. Charlie figures out that there were two men who attacked the Senator and killed Billy and the leak started with them. As Charlie comes closer to identifying the assault duo, he also realizes that the person committing treason will attack him if he knew how close the sleuth has come to uncovering the truth.James D. Doss' protagonist is not a typical private eye as he is a former policeman content to run his ranch; Charlie Moon does not rely on brute strength to get the job done. In his own way the hero is a genius who outthinks his opponent while keeping a sense of humor. DEAD SOUL is a very entertaining thought-provoking novel that grabs and keeps reader attention.Harriet Klausner