Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel

As a reader who devours cozy mysteries, I do enjoy when I find a good series that I somehow missed. It gives me endless pleasure to look at a reading stack with seventeen parts of what promises to be reading joy! That was my first thought when I read the last page of part eighteen in the Wind River Mystrey series, Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel. Yay! I have seventeen more to read now.

From the back of the book:

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…

My thoughts:

Since I am new to the series, I can safely let you know that you can jump right in here and not be lost. I do, of course, want to go back and read the other parts because I like to get know the people I read. I like that even though this is a part eighteen, the story was still full of life and the characters were still growing.

As far as the mystery, it was well written and most readers should be able to solve this one pretty early on in the story. There was interesting history, native legends and a beautiful setting that was easy to imagine. Plus, is has nice background activity going on with Vicki and her romantic life as well as her law practice! You will be drawn in and turn the pages well into the night.

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