Warrior Circle

Howard Moon Deer #2

by Robert Westbrook

"Fans of Hillerman will love this unique and quirky detective duo." —Leslie Glass, bestselling author of Judging Time A Howard Moon Deer Mystery In the deserts of New Mexico, someone has just discovered his inner child . . . and it's about to throw a deadly temper tantrum. When Howard Moon Deer's girlfriend Aria storms from his cabin in the middle of the night, he just considers it another conflict in their tempestuous relationship. But when he finds her Jeep abandoned down the road with no sign of her nearby, his instincts lead him on an investigation that uncovers the dark underbelly of a trendy southwestern town. With the help of blind ex-detective Jack Wilder, Howard follows a trail of clues leading to a men's encounter group known as the Warrior Circle. Its members are prosperous local businessmen and upstanding members of the community . . . or are they? As the pair edge closer to the truth about Aria's disappearance, one thing becomes crystal clear—someone is acting out a murderous fantasy of power and revenge—and Howard and Jack may be the next victims! "Westbrook knows how to mix satire with action." —New York Times Book Review “Westbrook possesses a masterful sense of narration.” —Washington Post, Book World

Genres: Mystery, Detective

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Mike Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Mystery


I enjoyed the book. An easy read with a well developed plot and likable characters. I was surprised by the ending.

Spoilers:
1 This is not close to a Tony Hillerman novel.

2 There is no insight to Indian spirits or lore. The only Indian sounding lore came from a bunch of white guys pretending to be Indians.

3 The only way you know Howie is an Indian is the Indian art on the cover, he tells you he is an Indian and he wears his hair in a pony tail.

4 some reviewers criticized the sex. It was only in chapter 1 and although it may have been a little more than needed, it set up the relationship between Howie and Aria and should not have shocked anyone over 12.

5 Some reviewer’s criticized Howie as a preachy liberal, bashing all things conservative, including McDonalds. Totally missed all of that. I found nothing political in the book or character. Doubt they read the book. But Howie graduated from Dartmouth and is a Graduate student at Princeton University in the field of Culinary Psycho-Sociology. Being a preachy liberal would be right in line with who the character is supposed to be.

Just because Robert Westlake isn’t Tony Hillerman’s replacement, doesn’t mean he doesn’t write a good mystery with likable characters and makes for good escapist reading.

[Paleowin · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can see by the increase in the average rating that the racist bigots didn’t get to this book, still unclear why they felt the need to leave reviews about how “hateful” the first book is. It’s sad really, in that every event yet in the series is something you could go find 100 news articles on in five minutes of looking. Totally enjoyed this continuation of the series. Characters continue to be interesting and engaging with great reflections on their own personal failing and triumphs. Despite being an older book now, many of the racial and sociopolitical issues addressed in this fictional work haven’t changed a bit! Lots of topical parallels to be drawn with the BLM movement, and challenges still faced by BIPOC today. Also found this to be refreshingly not formulaic, certainly several parts to the resolution I did not see coming!

[J.J. Rusz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Robert Westbrook’s “Warrior Circle" by chance, second book in his Howard Moon Deer mystery series, and now I need to read the rest. If there’s a problem in this New Mexican tale of Jack, a blind, former police officer turned PI and Howie, his much younger, almost-PhD Sioux Indian partner, it’s that there’s too much plot. But that hardly matters because the characters are intriguing and the action moves fast. At the heart of the story is a bizarre new-Age men’s group given to chanting around bonfires, ingesting peyote, and raising vapid consciousnesses. Crime ensues. Good fun and excellent writing.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howie Moondeer's girlfriend goes missing in the middle of the night and he is working hard to find her. She left her car running in the lane up to his house. While in the process of looking for her his friend, former detective Jack, is asked to help a woman when her husband goes missing. She says her husband's friends in a men's group say they own her property and business and she wants Jack to figure things out for her. He calls Howie to help and it turns out that Howie's girlfriend was investigating the men's group. Howie and Jack try to find out why and Howie has been invited to join the group by his neighbor so it is the perfect opportunity to find out more information.
Jack was blinded on the job and is still dealing with life related to his blindness. His wife helps out and he uses Howie a lot to do investigating for him. They put together the underhanded and possibly illegal dealings of the men's group in their searches. Howie has his life threatened several times and is dealing with some interesting feelings that have come with some information he has uncovered.
All he wants is to work on his thesis and have his girlfriend back but the investigation changes things.
Love the descriptions of the setting of the story and it is filled with some interesting characters, many are a bit 'out there' in their beliefs, with old hippies and new agers prominent. Howie is Native American and recalled things from his upbringing but doesn't rely on his cultural beliefs a lot. He uses his heritage when it fits into his life and ignores it when he chooses. He can be introspective at times.
This is the first novel I have read in this series and plan on continuing.

[Linette M. Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howie drives me nuts!

But I love reading about him and Jack, and their mystery adventures. I want to see More or Jack getting about with his blindness. But over all the storyline is good and it keeps me in front of my iPad reading the whole weekend and weeknight long.

[Christen McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm hooked!

I have greatly enjoyed the first two books I read in this series. This one kept me guessing all the way to the end, which was fantastic, by the way. I am a fan of this entertaining and likable character, Howard Moon Deer, and I can't wait to read the third book.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interweaving of characters and clues. I'd have preferred less focus on sex, but the main character is a young adult male. The basic plot was good. I just don't think I'll look for others in this series.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warrior Circle is a long story that involves a lot of very unhappy, vengeful, mean spirited people part of a men's group. It is not the kind of book that feels happy at the end. It is not an enjoyable read. Four stars were awarded to this book.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving this series.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. I'm really enjoying this series (even if Moon Deer is a bit of a manic-depressive and an easy touch at times). Keep them coming, Mr. Westbrook! On to Book 3, "Red Moon"!

[Virginia Adi · Rating 5 out of 5]

very entertaining

[MYRNA C. BENNETT · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's next??

I can hardly wait to see what Howie will get into next.
And then how many other situations after that!

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

ANOTHER FUN STORY

This book was fun to read. The characters were each interesting in their own way. The storyline was a little thin but the dialogue made up for it.

[Deborah Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Kept me interested! Twists and turns! Love the small town aspects. Moon Deer is an interesting person. Good book to read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

a Must Read, Just Do It.

First time round I loved the story line and characters.
A few years later, Second time around it just gets better.

[Laura Poppenwimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent follow up to the first book. This is a good new series set in NM. A good mystery and the plot interesting but with a surprise at the end. The books appear to be best read in order.

[Carla Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the way Mr. Westbrook writes. He's one of those authors that, after I read the first book, I found out what other books he wrote and got those also. This is a good series (Howard Moon Deer) and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries, especially mysteries that take place in the southwest (such as Tony Hillerman's).

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this well-written books. Interesting, fully formed characters, including the location (San Geronimo = Taos, more or less), compelling asides/subplots. This is #2 in the series; I will now try to find the first one and read them all.

[Little Fish]

Howard Moondeer Detective!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the mystery, the setting and the characters. A very good look at the southwest, as well. Interesting and promising series.