The Thunder Keeper

Wind River Reservation #7

by Margaret Coel

The apparent suicide of a young Arapaho on sacred ground shocks the populace of the Wind River Reservation. But strange events following the death lead Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley to suspect foul play.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Native American, Mystery Thriller, Westerns, Crime, Audiobook

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Margaret Coel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of the acclaimed novels featuring Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden, as well as several works of nonfiction. Originally a historian by trade, she is considered an expert on the Arapaho Indians.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vicky moved to Denver to work at a big law firm. She's finishing up a case involving gas rights on a Navajo reservation. Father John's new assistant priest is called on the carpet for sexual harrassment, and Father John hears a confession by a man who was an accessory to murder. Father John tries to find out who is missing. He and Vicky both learn about the death police conclude must be suicide, but they know no Arapaho would do such a thing in a sacred place. They begin working different aspects of the case, arriving at their conclusions about the same time, and both in danger at the same time in different states. I've enjoyed the audiobooks of this series while commuting or traveling until this installment. The audiobook was not available at my library so I had to read the print version of this one. I'm glad I finally did so I can get on with the series. It was a great installment.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous addition to one of my favorite series.

[Carolyn Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Native American female lawyer w/ Jesuit missionary priest.  Several stories going on, one being their mutual attraction.  Storyline can be a little disjointed but the basic plot--re a murder during an Indian boy's quest--was very good! Learned lots about Native American culture.

[Wanda Hargrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

The death of an Arapaho at a secret site doesn't sit well with Father O'Malley even though the police want to rule it a suicide. Well, the police in Riverton and Lander do, while the BIA police don't think it was a suicide. Father O'Malley tries to change the detective's mine but he isn't budging.

Vicky Holden the Arapaho Lawyer has taken a job in a Denver law office and is now living there. She gets a phone call from a man she's never met who wants to meet her, but as Vicky goes to the meeting a car comes out of nowhere and runs the man down. Her friend a Detective Clark believes it was a drunken driver but Vicky thinks it was murder. The following day his widow is killed, beaten to death.

Father John and Vicky Holden find they're working on the same case but in two separate places. They're now in killers sights from two separate locations but how are the deaths related. Father John and Vicky Holden are determined to find out. But will it cost them their lives?

[Cari Raley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 7th in the series and I am still enjoying the twin sleuths, Father John O'Malley on the "rez" and Arapaho lawyer in Denver, Vicky Holden. One Arapaho warrior was in the middle of a "vision quest" in sacred land and was killed in a way that looked like suicide. Father John only knew it wasn't because of a "confession" he was not allowed to disclose. Father John set off to find a way to make it clear without disclosing the "confession".
In the meantime, Vicky Holden was going to a meeting with a person that had a secret to tell and was killed on the way, which looked like an accident. Vicky began working through the tangled web to find out what she needed to know about the reservation. Both were unknowingly working on the same mystery.
Margaret Coel weaves a story that I just can't put down. I really enjoy her books.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the 7th in the Wind River series and is the best so far. Some of the earlier books were a bit rougher, but like all long running series, they have been getting better with age. I have also read Tony Hillerman and Ian Rankin. Their early books were good, but not as good as their later books. This one focuses on a death, reported as a suicide, related to illegal diamond prospecting on the Arapaho reservation. O'Malley and Holden pursue the case separately, but everything comes together in the end.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting a good mystery read. The true perpetrator remains nicely cloaked until the end. I did think the ending was a bit rushed, but it was still a very enjoyable read.

[Brian Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whenever Vicki Holden or Fr. John O’Malley come across a threat to the people or sacred places of the Wind River Reservation either or both of them become obsessively involved. I enjoy their dedicated investigations and their characters, but sometimes I think the plot is a little weak. I don’t enjoy Holden or O’Malley following hunches or leaps of faith that propel them to come face-to-face with the people who are the threat. I would prefer that someone report a kidnapping or an out of state vehicle hidden in the trees rather than how Ms. Coel described O’Malley’s choice to pursue the threatening people at a specific place. Other than that, the plot is OK and includes good local flavor of Arapaho spirituality and culture and the beauty of the reservation and its surroundings.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 7th in the Fr. O'Malley/Vicky Holden mysteries...Probably my favorite of the series thus far, in that it was paced like an action thriller. rather than the character & culture studies that seem to dominate the 1st 6 works...Fr. John is dragged into investigating a supposed suicide on the Rez & Vicky, working in Denver, witnesses a man being murdered on his way to meet with her...2 disparate deaths that close in on both our protagonists as I ripped through the pages like it was a Baldacci thriller!...the best so far!!!

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the seventh book in a series of twenty. I have really liked these stories set in and around an Arapaho reservation in Wyoming.

This one, in my opinion, is the weakest so far. Vicky Holden, heroine, had more than one TSTL moment here and has lost her focus. I think at the end, she's had a change in life choices....

[Adrianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was inspired to give the series a try as Margaret Coel is this year's author at the 2019 annual fundraising luncheon of the Friends of the Jefferson County Public Library (Colorado). Set in the Wind River, Wyoming area, as similar to the Longmire series, readers will enjoy following Father John O'Malley and Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden grapple with love, death, betrayal, culture, history, and an apparent suicide of a young man on a spiritual quest. Denver itself gets a bit of play in this story. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/friends-...

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am way behind on this series but I do enjoy it and will continue to read it. This is the seventh book in the series and is a good story with a good ending. I agree with some of the other reviewers that it is not her best but is still a good read. I learned a lot about kimberlite pipes and the geology of Wyoming which was interesting. I didn't like that Vicky and Father John were not together until the end. I like them together solving murders and tamping down the ever-present mutual attraction that simmers just beneath the surface. Recommended.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the fourteenth title that I have read read in the Wind River mystery series by Margaret Cole. It is a series one can read out of order which I have and not lose the continuity of what is happening. This title is weaker than the others I have read. The Native American culture seems not as well described and the sentence and the paragraph structure is very elementary. The most interesting aspect of the story was the discussion of geological satellite mapping and how visible various geological formations are from this method.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vicky Holden is working for a big law firm in Denver. She is working on a case to protect the reservations rights to its mineral resources. Father O'Malley hears a confession that troubles him when the confessor tells of a murder and the possibility of more to come. He can't go to the police because he has no proof and can't break the silence of the confessional. Both Vicky and Father O'Malley get drawn into a scheme by a big mining company (Diamonds) and both end up as potential victims of the schemers.

[Bill Plott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is #7 in the Wind River Reservation series and, like the others, it is a page-turner, a description that fits each of the books I've read. In this one Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden has moved to Denver, working with a firm that specializes Indian legal battles. Father John O'Malley is breaking in a new young Jesuit assistant at St. Francis Mission. The parallel mysteries begin when Vicky gets a phone call from a diamond industry executive who mysteriously wants to met her for lunch. As she approaches the restaurant, she sees a black sedan deliberately run him down. Back at the Mission, Father John gets an unexpected confession from a stranger who claims to have seen a young Indian on a vison quest deliberately thrown over side of a mountain. Then, the young priest is charged with sexual abuse. It all comes to together at the end through Coel's masterful storytelling.

[John Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I resumed reading this series with this book. It’s another superb book in this consistently excellent series. The characters of Father O’Malley and Vicky Holden are among my favorite people in fiction. Their courage, persistence, and deep friendship are admirable. Plus, I love that the stories are set in Wyoming. And a appreciate the author’s deep respect for the Arapaho people. The fact that Vicky is Arapaho adds to the stories. The mystery in each book is well-drawn and intriguing. A very, very satisfying read.

[Tami Gandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the Wind River Reservation the Arapahoes are visibly shaken by an "apparent" suicide of a young Indian. He was on his vision quest. A stranger's confession to Father O'Malley reveals the young man was murdered. More deaths follow. But why?

Vicky Holden lives and works in Denver. She receives a mysterious phone call about a urgent matter regarding the reservation.

It seems the murder is connected to diamonds. No one thought there were diamonds that could be found on the reservation land. But apparently there is. And men are willing to kill to hide their secret.

[Lkowalczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't read back to back in a series, but I guess I was lonesome for these characters. Glad I read this now I can move on to something else for awhile. This was very good! Suspenseful, full of new dynamics and several new characters. Fast paced, was hard to put down. Looking forward to more.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father John and Vicky end up working on a homicide together again but from different angles...trying to maintain distance....but, eventually have to work together. There's a side plot with the assistant pastor who gets sued for sexual harassment. This series goes through more assistants than there are historical road signs in Texas.:-) Fun book, good read!

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts of this book that made it most interesting were the geological underpinnings of the plot. I learned quite a lot of facts about diamond prospecting. As usual, the book begins with a murder, adds two more, and Vicky Holden and Father O’Malley solve the case. The drama is quite decent and propelled me through. And like a boomerang, Vicky returns home…

[Lorraine McCleary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young Native man on a vision quest is murdered, although it is ruled a suicide. Father O'Malley receives word that a Native man has been murdered during a confession and he starts investigating. Meanwhile Vicky in Denver assists and also starts discovering shady diamond prospecting by a major corporation on the Rez.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that Wyoming is a big producer of quality diamonds? They seem to be located, however, along the state’s southern border. Could they also be found further north on the Arapahoe Wind River Reservation? Vicky Holden finds herself investigating some interesting background on how diamonds are created and discovered.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The apparent suicide of a young Arapaho on sacred ground shocks the populace of the Wind River Reservation. But strange events following the death lead Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley to suspect foul play.

[Gareld Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! The interaction between Vicky and Father O’Malley at a distance is different. At least the focus shifts from their relationship to the actual whodunits, which were very well done with interesting plot twists.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vicky is back in Denver. Father John is told of a murder (ruled suicide by the authorities) in the confessional. The Father expects more murders. Who would have ever thought there would be diamonds in Wyoming? Well, they are there. Muder and intrigue, Margaret Coel delivers yet again.

[Tessa in Mid-Michigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes these just stretch credulity a little much. Still. I liked it.

[Eloise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Coel writes just the sort of mystery I love. She does not add endless pages of unnecessary what-ifs nor pads her story with unnecessary baggage. This one really grabbed me.

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok story. Good way to pass a rainy afternoon.

[Virginia Adi · Rating 5 out of 5]

engaging series

[Cybercrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoy these books mainly for the ambiance. Stories are enjoyable too.

[Caroline Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vicky gets on my nerves 3/4s of the time, but as usual, the plot is excellent!