Dead Soul

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant
Review: A pleasant read, and a relatively nice mystery, but, as the
book jacket proclaims, this is a book that "mixes mysticism
and murder." And the mix doesn't work as well as it should.
The "mysticism" part is a bit of an intrusion to most readers,
but, happily, that part is rather minor, so the mystery moves
along and is quite readable.

The hero is a Southern Ute rancher, who doubles as a tribal
investigator on call to the tribal council, and he is likeable
enough, but this character doesn't quite resonate as a mystery
hero should.

In this one, a young woman student at a nearby college goes
missing and has totally disappeared. Or has she? Because she
seems to be appealing to the rancher's elderly aunt, a tribal
shaman, to ask Charlie, her nephew, to meet her and offer some
help. There is a murder of a tribesman, plus the maiming of a
US Senator, that draws Charlie into a mix of local crime and
international intrique, and that combination really heats up the
story.

There are explosions and more murders, plus a run-in with local
drug-running motorcycle gang members, and the action gets diverse, and it moves the reader along.

The author introduces a romance angle, but it has a very hollow
feel to it, as though it was added after completion of the book,
and this angle doesn't ring true at all.

Readable, but not very exciting, this book is a little too easy
to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and moving Native American thriller
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Are you kidding me?
Review: I finally gave up reading this joke around page 200. Doss is an amateur writer who breaks all the conventions of good writing, not for effect but out of incompetence. He is melodramatic and has dialogue that is absolutely unnatural and unconvincing. Doss has accomplished one thing with his writing--he has made it possible to feel pain while reading. Who else can describe two men eating animal crackers as: "...when the animal cookies had been decimated by the pair of voracious carnivores"? Please.