Stone Boy

Nate Rosen #4

by Ronald Levitsky

Saul True Sky loves his homeland in the Black Hills country of South Dakota. He will do almost anything to protect the sacred ancestral burial ground that lies on his property. His son, Will, shares none of his father's passion for tradition. A greedy man with little imagination, Will has bargained away a holy medicine bag found among some skeletal remains on True Sky's land.

True Sky will do what he must to keep the medicine bag. He will also do whatever is necessary to stop gambling interests from building an access road across his ranch. The people of Bear Coat, who want gambling, can't have it without True Sky's road.
When a man is found murdered on True Sky's land, with True Sky sitting quietly nearby, the town is only too happy to believe that he is the killer. It's rather convenient to throw True Sky in jail while the access road issue is under debate. With the old man out of the way, his family can be pressured to give permission.

Nate Rosen, a civil liberties lawyer from Washington, D.C., called in to handle the case, is not about to let Saul True Sky or his family be pressured into anything. As Rosen is drawn into the lives of these South Dakotan Native Americans and learns about True Sky's family and heritage, he ponders his own connections - to his faith, his father, his ex-wife, and, most of all, to the daughter who is adjusting to her new stepfather.

Genres: Mystery

245 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I still don't know a lot more about the protagonist Nate Rosen's background than I learned in the first book. But I enjoyed the parallels the author draws between Rosen's Orthodox Jewish upbringing and the Native Wisdom he finds as he tries to clear his client Saul True Sky. And it was just a well-done little mystery, fun to try to puzzle out.

[Joe Pinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly engaging mystery/thriller. I read most of it in one or two days, then took a little while finishing the last few chapters, but it’s a pretty decent little page turner!

[Frank Watson]

THE SPIRIT THAT KILLS by Ronald Levitsky has interesting characters and setting. That is, civil liberties lawyer Nate Rosen from Washington, D.C. is representing an American Indian client charged with murder in South Dakota. It has an interesting mystery plot and courtroom maneuvering.

A negative in my mind is that Rosen dwells far too much on his personal, marital problems. The author is obviously using this as a way to show the main character’s vulnerability and to gain the reader’s sympathies. This is valid, of course, but might be more effective in smaller doses.

A character trait I find more interesting is that Rosen has deep connections to the Jewish faith and culture. Numerous times he finds parallels and echoes between traditional Lakota and Jewish beliefs.

This leads to what may be one of the best courtroom scenes I have read in quite a while, in which the lawyer of Jewish faith and culture representing an Indian quotes a Christian Bible to prove his case. Of course, the judge asks for and receives more substantial evidence.

Justice is served in both the courtroom and in solving the murder.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Book!

I liked this book a lot. I learned some Indian customs and how religions are really a like in so many ways. It was a great plot with wonderful characters. It was a great mystery with a different twist.

[Jae · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was somewhat doubting after the first 10 pages, turned into a good quick read.