What do you think?
Rate this book
North America's Forgotten Past #9
People of the Mist
Red Knot has been betrothed to Copper Thunder in order to forge an alliance that will protect both their tribes. When she is murdered on the day of her wedding, it threatens to throw the tribal villages along the Chesapeake into a bloody war. Suspicion for the crime falls on Sun Conch, who had a relationship with the girl before she was promised away. Old Panther, a recluse, and possibly a powerful witch, is asked to look into the situation before it explodes. He is drawn into a convoluted web where it appears that everyone had good reason to wish the girl dead, and even the innocent work to obscure the trail. Eric Robbin
553 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
47 people are currently reading
1510 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen O'Neal Gear
137 books710 followersMy professional life began in the dark basement of the Museum of Cultural History in Los Angeles, where I was cataloguing three-hundred-year-old Guatemalan saint carvings. I quit this fascinating job and moved to Wyoming to work for the U.S. Department of the Interior as a historian and archaeologist. When I finally understood the error of my ways I moved to Wyoming and started writing books. Since then, I've authored or co-authored 54 novels and around 200 non-fiction publications.
I love writing. And buffalo. And hiking the wilds of Wyoming's backcountry.
I'm married (until he comes to his senses) to W. Michael Gear, the novelist and my co-author, and we live at the edge of the Wind River Indian Reservation in the Owl Creek mountains of Wyoming. We're contented watching buffalo and writing books.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/kathle...
I love writing. And buffalo. And hiking the wilds of Wyoming's backcountry.
I'm married (until he comes to his senses) to W. Michael Gear, the novelist and my co-author, and we live at the edge of the Wind River Indian Reservation in the Owl Creek mountains of Wyoming. We're contented watching buffalo and writing books.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/kathle...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
March 23, 2025
This was an IRL book club choice and one that I’d never heard of. Apparently, this is a rather extensive series called the First North Americans which focuses on prehistoric peoples that inhabited North America. This is Book 9 and is set in 1300 Chesapeake Bay —future Virginia ¬— before the Europeans and pre-Jamestown colony. The Algonquian people of this period were heavily studied and researched by the author and her husband who are also archaeologists. They put a lot of their knowledge into this fictional story and created an atmospheric and realistic place that is felt and visualized easily.
I quickly became caught up in this murder mystery which was quite an unusual premise for a book with Native peoples during this particular era. However, we meet a rather large group of characters (afterwards, I realized I should have kept a chart) because there are so many unusual names, different clans, and alliances to keep track of.
A young girl, Red Knot, is found murdered on the night before her wedding to Copper Thunder, a powerful new leader that Hunting Hawk, the Greenstone Clan’s Weroansqua (leader) had forged for political reasons. The War Chief of Greenstone, Nine Killer, is set to go to war against their alliance clan, Three Myrtle, until the Panther, a so-called witch, arrives with Sun Conch who has garnered his help to acquit the accused, High Fox, whom she loves. High Fox and Red Knot were to run off to avoid the marriage. Now that Red Knot has been brutally murdered, political havoc arises, and war seems likely.
The Panther brings a unique aspect to the story as he becomes an ancient detective interviewing the suspects and witnesses and visiting the sites of the murder as well as the Death House (where some interesting carving, molding, and reassembling of
corpses are carried out). He also does the work of the CSI determining what type of weapon was used and of the coroner. He’s quite an interesting and unusual man and we learn of his equally unusual background as the story progresses.
This is not a straightforward mystery to solve. It takes some time and there is quite a bit of intrigue to follow as well as secrets to be revealed. I would say this was quite entertaining, engaging and informative. I learned quite a lot about the Algonquians and was amused and entertained in the process.
I quickly became caught up in this murder mystery which was quite an unusual premise for a book with Native peoples during this particular era. However, we meet a rather large group of characters (afterwards, I realized I should have kept a chart) because there are so many unusual names, different clans, and alliances to keep track of.
A young girl, Red Knot, is found murdered on the night before her wedding to Copper Thunder, a powerful new leader that Hunting Hawk, the Greenstone Clan’s Weroansqua (leader) had forged for political reasons. The War Chief of Greenstone, Nine Killer, is set to go to war against their alliance clan, Three Myrtle, until the Panther, a so-called witch, arrives with Sun Conch who has garnered his help to acquit the accused, High Fox, whom she loves. High Fox and Red Knot were to run off to avoid the marriage. Now that Red Knot has been brutally murdered, political havoc arises, and war seems likely.
The Panther brings a unique aspect to the story as he becomes an ancient detective interviewing the suspects and witnesses and visiting the sites of the murder as well as the Death House (where some interesting carving, molding, and reassembling of
corpses are carried out). He also does the work of the CSI determining what type of weapon was used and of the coroner. He’s quite an interesting and unusual man and we learn of his equally unusual background as the story progresses.
This is not a straightforward mystery to solve. It takes some time and there is quite a bit of intrigue to follow as well as secrets to be revealed. I would say this was quite entertaining, engaging and informative. I learned quite a lot about the Algonquians and was amused and entertained in the process.
September 21, 2025
Dit boek was toch wel anders dan de andere uit de reeks. Hier krijgen we te maken met een echt moordmysterie.
De ochtend voor haar huwelijk met Koperen Donder, een nieuwe leider van een andere clan, wordt Rode Kanoet dood gevonden. Ze was van plan om weg te lopen met Hoge Vos, een knappe jongeman van lagere afkomst, waar ze verliefd op was, en hij op haar. Haar schedel is ingeslagen.
Nu blijken er op het tijdstip dat Rode Kanoet vermoord werd, verschillende mensen in de buurt geweest te zijn, die zogezegd allemaal hun reden hadden om daar te zijn, maar ook een reden konden hebben om Rode Kanoet het zwijgen op te leggen.
Hoge Vos is natuurlijk de eerste verdachte. Hij spreekt met zijn vriendin Donderslak, en zij besluit om naar een eiland te varen waar een oude tovenaar woont, de Poema, waar iedereen bang voor is. Ze denkt dat de Poema de waarheid wel kan achterhalen en Hoge Vos buiten verdenking stellen.
Wonder boven wonder kan ze de oude kluizenaar overtuigen om mee te gaan naar het dorp Vlakke Parel, om de zaak te onderzoeken. En de komst van de Poema brengt heel wat opschudding te weeg bij verschillende mensen.
Ik vond het een heel goed verhaal, anders wel dan ik verwacht had van deze reeks, maar de auteur leert ons toch ook weer veel over het leven van de Indianen op een bepaalde plaats in een bepaalde tijd. En het moordverhaal is veel ingewikkelder dan je eerst zou denken!
Goede lectuur.
De ochtend voor haar huwelijk met Koperen Donder, een nieuwe leider van een andere clan, wordt Rode Kanoet dood gevonden. Ze was van plan om weg te lopen met Hoge Vos, een knappe jongeman van lagere afkomst, waar ze verliefd op was, en hij op haar. Haar schedel is ingeslagen.
Nu blijken er op het tijdstip dat Rode Kanoet vermoord werd, verschillende mensen in de buurt geweest te zijn, die zogezegd allemaal hun reden hadden om daar te zijn, maar ook een reden konden hebben om Rode Kanoet het zwijgen op te leggen.
Hoge Vos is natuurlijk de eerste verdachte. Hij spreekt met zijn vriendin Donderslak, en zij besluit om naar een eiland te varen waar een oude tovenaar woont, de Poema, waar iedereen bang voor is. Ze denkt dat de Poema de waarheid wel kan achterhalen en Hoge Vos buiten verdenking stellen.
Wonder boven wonder kan ze de oude kluizenaar overtuigen om mee te gaan naar het dorp Vlakke Parel, om de zaak te onderzoeken. En de komst van de Poema brengt heel wat opschudding te weeg bij verschillende mensen.
Ik vond het een heel goed verhaal, anders wel dan ik verwacht had van deze reeks, maar de auteur leert ons toch ook weer veel over het leven van de Indianen op een bepaalde plaats in een bepaalde tijd. En het moordverhaal is veel ingewikkelder dan je eerst zou denken!
Goede lectuur.
April 27, 2016
This was actually one of the best of the PEOPLE series. It's set relatively late in the Pre-Columbus era, around 1300 A.D. And instead of showing Native American traveling all over, it sticks to one place, a small village on the Delaware Bay, with people living a very familiar woodland Indian lifestyle.
But what makes this story so much better than the others is the fact that there's a real plot, with a murdered girl and "the usual suspects." Everyone seems to have had a motive to kill the girl. But who actually did it? And the detective on the case is a feared old medicine man who just might be a suspect himself!
One thing that is unique in these books is the Native American approach to good and evil. The young warrior, Copper Thunder, and the old medicine man, basically hate each other like poison. But over the course of the book you see that they both have a legitimate point of view. And at the end balance is restored, instead of just good destroying evil.
But the best thing of all was the air of mystery surrounding the old man's past. The way he keeps dropping hints about lands to the west, where the people live in great cities and build pyramids that reach to the sky, and the chief of all the chiefs can call up 5000 warriors at any time. Bring on the Mound Builders!
But what makes this story so much better than the others is the fact that there's a real plot, with a murdered girl and "the usual suspects." Everyone seems to have had a motive to kill the girl. But who actually did it? And the detective on the case is a feared old medicine man who just might be a suspect himself!
One thing that is unique in these books is the Native American approach to good and evil. The young warrior, Copper Thunder, and the old medicine man, basically hate each other like poison. But over the course of the book you see that they both have a legitimate point of view. And at the end balance is restored, instead of just good destroying evil.
But the best thing of all was the air of mystery surrounding the old man's past. The way he keeps dropping hints about lands to the west, where the people live in great cities and build pyramids that reach to the sky, and the chief of all the chiefs can call up 5000 warriors at any time. Bring on the Mound Builders!
September 11, 2025
3.5 rounded up? This was a very slow start, and maybe could have been edited down: I always find the books in this series very detail-heavy on the day-to-day anthropology. The politics did eventually prove to have a purpose, but it wasn't fascinating to read.
May 24, 2020
People of the Mist by the anthropology team of Kathleen O'Neal Gear and Michael Gear was another well crafted carefully drawn story of Native Culture Eastern Woodland prior to the arrival of Europeans. I haven't read a Gear book in a number of years and I frankly had forgotten how good they are. As with most of their books it starts out in the present day with a Anthropologist exploring some legal options for protecting artifacts these are just throwaway openings and it is one part of their stories that I could deal without, for the most part it doesn't really add anything to the story and it's rather repetitive at this point. Once we move on into the story itself then we settle into a easy story telling rhythm A old man living on a Island by himself feared as a witch is approached by a young woman who seeks him out as the only person she could think of to help her friend accused of murder. The rest of the book unfolds as a classic who-done it with Raven the old man, doing a fairly good imitation of a tanned hide and feather version of Peter Falk playing Columbo. In the end it comes all together and the crime is solved but even though I was following it very closely I was surprised by a number of revelations. Good little book not one of their bests but a fun and entertaining read. Nice way back to my two favorite authors sorry I've been away for so long.
June 22, 2022
5/5
🏹 Un libro donde te metes en los clanes de cada tribu, te sientes rodeadx por la naturaleza. Es como si estuvieras allí.
🏹 La trama me metió desde un principio, no pensé que me encontraría con: misterio, un asesinato y todos son sospechosos. No sé que esperaba pero no eso. Y me fascinó.
🏹 Nunca olvidaré a la Pantera: un viejo sabio y quisquilloso, como hilaba los hechos, las decisiones que tomaba, su humor, sus enseñanzas. Todo quedó grabado en mí.
🏹 Uno se puede perder con tanto personaje que nombran, con el árbol genealógico y la distribución de los clanes. Pues es un libro de misterio pero también de antropología. Pero a medida que lo vas leyendo vas entendiendo un poco más.
🏹 Me encanto la dinámica entre la Pantera, Nueve muertes, Perla de Sol y todos los demás. Personajes muy interesantes llenos de facetas por descubrir.
(Me dieron ganas de estudiar algo de antropología o sobre tribus y nativos de América 🤭)
🏹 Un libro donde te metes en los clanes de cada tribu, te sientes rodeadx por la naturaleza. Es como si estuvieras allí.
🏹 La trama me metió desde un principio, no pensé que me encontraría con: misterio, un asesinato y todos son sospechosos. No sé que esperaba pero no eso. Y me fascinó.
🏹 Nunca olvidaré a la Pantera: un viejo sabio y quisquilloso, como hilaba los hechos, las decisiones que tomaba, su humor, sus enseñanzas. Todo quedó grabado en mí.
🏹 Uno se puede perder con tanto personaje que nombran, con el árbol genealógico y la distribución de los clanes. Pues es un libro de misterio pero también de antropología. Pero a medida que lo vas leyendo vas entendiendo un poco más.
🏹 Me encanto la dinámica entre la Pantera, Nueve muertes, Perla de Sol y todos los demás. Personajes muy interesantes llenos de facetas por descubrir.
(Me dieron ganas de estudiar algo de antropología o sobre tribus y nativos de América 🤭)
March 15, 2014
I am sorry to say that I was not particularly satisfied with the book. I had a hard time following the story. Part of my difficulty was the characters' names did not make me automatically think that they were persons' names, I had to constantly reread sentences when someone's names were mentioned. I probably able to enjoy my reading better if the names were in Native American languages. The other part was the writing styles are not able to make me engage in the time and era the book suppose to cover.
One thing that nags me, the introduction/prolog took place in the modern time (cubicle, office, telephone, electric light, ect.), but this prolog has no follow up.
One thing that nags me, the introduction/prolog took place in the modern time (cubicle, office, telephone, electric light, ect.), but this prolog has no follow up.
January 5, 2020
Brilliant!
I like the first Americans Series but this has to be the best of the bunch. No fantasy elements, no "spiritual" bits. This is a plain detective story set amongst the ancient inhabitants around the Potomac. It is a tale of political intrigue just down the road from the political nest called Washington.
On the morning of an arranged marriage, which will bind two parties together in a strong political alliance, the young bride-to-be is found dead. There are two immediate suspects but suffice it be to say that the consequences could be disastrous. A once-powerful recluse, Panther, is asked to investigate the crime and what follows builds up into a superb story incorporating the foolishness of youth, lust, envy and the grasping for power that all can appreciate.
I like the first Americans Series but this has to be the best of the bunch. No fantasy elements, no "spiritual" bits. This is a plain detective story set amongst the ancient inhabitants around the Potomac. It is a tale of political intrigue just down the road from the political nest called Washington.
On the morning of an arranged marriage, which will bind two parties together in a strong political alliance, the young bride-to-be is found dead. There are two immediate suspects but suffice it be to say that the consequences could be disastrous. A once-powerful recluse, Panther, is asked to investigate the crime and what follows builds up into a superb story incorporating the foolishness of youth, lust, envy and the grasping for power that all can appreciate.
January 12, 2009
Although you have a European writer writing about Natives, it is an entertaining story. It's not very realistic in terms of those of Native Heritage.
March 2, 2020
This is the 8th book in a series, and just like everything else written by the amazingly talented Kathleen O'NEILL GEAR, it is meticulously researched and compellingly written.
Kathleen O'Neill Gear has the uncanny ability to make readers feel as if they are not only reading the story, but are actually experiencing it alongside the characters in her books.
People of the Mist is set in the Chesapeake Bay area six hundred years ago.
It is the story of the brutal murder of a young Indigenous woman who is about to be married - creating an alliance between her clan and the upper Potomac villages.
This marriage would have created an alliance between two of the more powerful clans. This would have been a boon to her people and would have insured peace for many years.
A murder mystery as well as a work of historic fiction, this book provides readers with hours of entertainment. It is a great read. I highly recommend it and have chosen to give it 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
To read more Reviews and to enter terrific Giveaways, Check out my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Also be sure to follow me on Instagram at:
http://www.instagram.com/Amiesbookrev...
Kathleen O'Neill Gear has the uncanny ability to make readers feel as if they are not only reading the story, but are actually experiencing it alongside the characters in her books.
People of the Mist is set in the Chesapeake Bay area six hundred years ago.
It is the story of the brutal murder of a young Indigenous woman who is about to be married - creating an alliance between her clan and the upper Potomac villages.
This marriage would have created an alliance between two of the more powerful clans. This would have been a boon to her people and would have insured peace for many years.
A murder mystery as well as a work of historic fiction, this book provides readers with hours of entertainment. It is a great read. I highly recommend it and have chosen to give it 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
To read more Reviews and to enter terrific Giveaways, Check out my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Also be sure to follow me on Instagram at:
http://www.instagram.com/Amiesbookrev...
December 14, 2023
Fantastic read! This was a unique spin on the mystery genre, and I was left guessing until the very end. There are too many noteworthy facets about this book to iterate in this review, but I would readily and enthusiastically recommend it if you even remotely enjoy this genre!
July 31, 2012
I'm reviewing this as part of my "Same Title- Different Book" project! This particular People of the Mist deals with the recreation of Native American 'history' as imagined by the authors. There is a very long series of books that deal with these origin stories for tribes and peoples throughout present-day America. You can absolutely tell that the two authors are not writers by trade. The writing is not strong and definitely not 'literary' in any sense. And yet I keep going back to their books because they are meticulously researched and have so many interesting details about the way that one imagines native peoples lived in our land. I have always been fascinated by this subject matter. The biggest weak spots in the books are the heavy use of dreams/prophecies/magical elements.
January 17, 2020
I overall enjoyed the book and will probably read a few others in this series. My only real complaint is how Shell Comb and Red Knot we’re portrayed. I felt Shell Comb was portrayed as this lusty women whose only focus in life with men and that she lacked any other personality traits. It seemed every man wanted to bone her. Red Knot was ~16-17 year old girl and was frequently said that she was following in Shell Comb’s footsteps (her mom) because she wanted to run away with the guy she loved...
I did like the beginning set in the present day with an archaeologist being concerned about Native American remains/artifacts just being removed willy nilly per NARPA. I ‘d like to have seen that expanded. Maybe even read a whole book about it (preferably by a native person).
I did like the beginning set in the present day with an archaeologist being concerned about Native American remains/artifacts just being removed willy nilly per NARPA. I ‘d like to have seen that expanded. Maybe even read a whole book about it (preferably by a native person).
January 28, 2016
A Book For All Readers Who Love Mysteries, Crime Novels, and Romance!
Once again we see why the Gears are award-winning archaeologists and acclaimed writers!
This book is a little different in the series because the focus isn't on a dreamer. However, it is riddled with intense emotion, plots twists, political agendas from the prehistoric landscape that could rival any seen in today's news headlines, and it brings our American history to life. It educates readers about the Algonquin Nation, located in the Chesapeake Bay with a captivating tale that draws you in and keeps you guessing!
I highly recommend this book and the entire series!
Once again we see why the Gears are award-winning archaeologists and acclaimed writers!
This book is a little different in the series because the focus isn't on a dreamer. However, it is riddled with intense emotion, plots twists, political agendas from the prehistoric landscape that could rival any seen in today's news headlines, and it brings our American history to life. It educates readers about the Algonquin Nation, located in the Chesapeake Bay with a captivating tale that draws you in and keeps you guessing!
I highly recommend this book and the entire series!
September 27, 2019
The "Missing " Leader
Over 600 years ago in the Chesapeake area, this story unfolds. There were clans of people who all wanted the same thing, to rule the lesser people. Through twist and turns a man named Panther, who lived alone on a nearby island and was viewed as a witch, ends up solving the crime of murder of a young girl. In doing this, he must finally admit that he was the only elder of one of the clans and in doing so had to admit his secret and managed to prevent a hugh war. A great novel about North America's forgotten past by archeologists who dug the history up and wrote a wonderful novel!
Over 600 years ago in the Chesapeake area, this story unfolds. There were clans of people who all wanted the same thing, to rule the lesser people. Through twist and turns a man named Panther, who lived alone on a nearby island and was viewed as a witch, ends up solving the crime of murder of a young girl. In doing this, he must finally admit that he was the only elder of one of the clans and in doing so had to admit his secret and managed to prevent a hugh war. A great novel about North America's forgotten past by archeologists who dug the history up and wrote a wonderful novel!
October 21, 2024
Leuk verhaal over lang vervlogen tijden.
Een misdaad verhaal met beetje CSI allures.
Een misdaad verhaal met beetje CSI allures.
January 6, 2021
Al no ser el tipo de lectura a la que estoy acostumbrada o que generalmente llama más mi atención, el libro a momentos se volvía pesado.
Su trama es interesante y lo que podrías llegar a pensar de cada personaje en sus primeras menciones, puede llegar a cambiar con el curso de la historia, llevándote por diversos puntos de vista que pueden hacer un enredo de las sospechas del lector y hecho que también puede ser tanto entretenido como confuso y tedioso, al alargar el argumento se pierde un poco de la escencia del misterio en la muerte de Nudo Rojo.
A pesar de que personalmente sentí que había detalles de sobra o momentos específicos de relleno, el libro ha logrado cautivarme al plasmar el legado histórico que los autores han buscado divulgar a través de sus obras y la forma única en que tejen un misterio entre conspiraciones, guerras, magia y una lucha por el territorio y la supervivencia de las tribus.
Su trama es interesante y lo que podrías llegar a pensar de cada personaje en sus primeras menciones, puede llegar a cambiar con el curso de la historia, llevándote por diversos puntos de vista que pueden hacer un enredo de las sospechas del lector y hecho que también puede ser tanto entretenido como confuso y tedioso, al alargar el argumento se pierde un poco de la escencia del misterio en la muerte de Nudo Rojo.
A pesar de que personalmente sentí que había detalles de sobra o momentos específicos de relleno, el libro ha logrado cautivarme al plasmar el legado histórico que los autores han buscado divulgar a través de sus obras y la forma única en que tejen un misterio entre conspiraciones, guerras, magia y una lucha por el territorio y la supervivencia de las tribus.
March 7, 2023
Keep a spreadsheet of characters and tribes and clans. Easily 60 people to keep track of and which tribe and which clan. It just made my head hurt to keep track of everything. Heavily researched to make it accurate, which I love. It needed a character guIde to help the reader along with maps. (Maps I found in the back of the book when I was done. Those would have helped in the front of book lol) overly not really worth the time to keep it all straight. Mediocre story that I had figured out mostly within the first 60 pages.
July 1, 2021
I’ve read many books in this collection over the years. This book was different. It was more a murder mystery than the usual story of early Native life. I guessed the killer early in the book. The last chapter did a nice job tying up loose ends, but I’m still a little disappointed.
October 6, 2023
It started out as a 3 star but went downhill. It did not need to be that long, it just dragged on and on. I was surprised about that they’re actually brother and sister, that’s awkward. Honestly don’t know how this book has such a high rating, but to each their own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2017
An absolutely great read - so please get through all those many, many hard to remember names, because it is so worth it! Enjoy.
March 11, 2018
One of their more simpler novels. Too much of a who-done-it novel. Most of the dialogue is repeating the facts. The solution to the murder doesn't really correspond to the rest of the novel.
September 14, 2018
Very entertaining and historical. The opening however was superfluous.
May 2, 2019
Great characters, but a little long.
December 25, 2019
I wouldn't go out of my way to read this.
May 13, 2020
The devil is in the details
This was a fascinating read chock full of historical fact, folklore and ancient Native American customs. I am so happy I found this series.
This was a fascinating read chock full of historical fact, folklore and ancient Native American customs. I am so happy I found this series.
July 6, 2020
3.5 ⭐
July 12, 2020
Easily the best book of the series so far
March 13, 2021
Of all the books that I have read in this series I enjoyed this one the most as It involves a mystery instead of possible conquest or a mad man threatening a village or what not.
February 24, 2022
Needed to keep notes on this one. Lengthy. A peak into 1300's around the Chesapeake Bay
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews