The Eagle Catcher

By Margaret Coel

Book Overview

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 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 ...

• Format: Audio CD
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G8FBVZN7
• ISBN13: 9798228780743
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Tantor
• Length: 1 Pages

Customer Reviews

Entire series

I purchased all at once, the entire 21 books of this Wind Reservation Mystery series. I'm on book 11 now and each book is a separate mystery and all are good. Easy read and I can read one in a day and a half. I read a lot. They are all about Father John and Vicky and I'm waiting to see all about them, probably in the last book but so far, they work together famously. You don't have to have all the books.

Enjoyable mystery

Margaret Coel hits all the right notes in this first book of her series which takes place on an Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Father John O'Malley has been sent to the reservation after his battle with alcoholism during his previous post in Boston. His struggles with drinking have given him insight into the alcohol problem which is so prevalent among the Arapahos that he serves. Just before a festive powwow is to begin, Father John discovers the dead body of Harvey Castle, one of the tribal council members. He teams up with an Arapaho attorney, named Vicki Holden, and the two begin an investigation in order to protect Harvey's nephew who has been accused of the murder. Coel creates interesting characters, and both Father John and Vicki have past problems which give them more depth than many characters in mystery stories. Coel also does a good job of portraying the Arapaho culture and adds interesting details about things such as funeral customs, "Indian time", and the "moccasin telegraph". I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Good start to series of mystery stories...

My mom gave me six Margaret Coel novels, all about Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden. Let me say, that at the time of this review I have already started the second book and it is even better than this one.First off, the characters are realistic, painfully so. Real problems and real life issues insert themselves through-out the story. Yes, there is a murder on the reservation but Father John O'Malley has to worry about everything from a new assistant to his fight against the bottle.The detailed pages within these books allow me to feel the wind off the plain, smell the food at the powwow and see the colors of the sky. A mixture of Rex Stout and Zane Grey!

Can't go wrong

You can't go wrong with any of the Margaret Coel books. They are enjoyable to read and you can hardly believe when you've come to the end that it came so quickly. Fortunately, you can buy them all and continue to the next one in the series. These people become as real to you as your own friends. Don't stop at one - get them all.

An Unusual Mystery...

An unlikely couple of sleuths team up in this mystery to uncover murder and theft. Father John O'Malley, a Jesuit priest at the Wind River Indian Reservation, gets "his nose into other people's business" and so begins a caper that already has three sequels. His alter-ego help comes from Vicky, the Arapaho Lawyer, surnamed Woman Alone. Their disparent skills become all that is needed in finding out the murderer and the one responsible for the great land theft against the Arapaho Nation.But what makes this unusual novel so likeable is its rich respect for two faiths and cultures: the Native-Americans and the Jesuit priests. Coel provides a synthesis of faith in the midst of an entertaining mystery and that is talent. And it makes the reading of the tale a multi-level experience of pleasure.

Great pacing, atmoshere and characters

The novel captures the dual nature of modern Native American life: tradition vs progress. What makes the story wonderful is the realistic characterizations, the descriptions of Wyoming countryside and the crisp pacing. Add to all this a story with as many twists and turns as a dark country road, and "The Eagle Catcher" becomes one of the best stories to be published in the last few years.