The Story Teller

Wind River Reservation #4

by Margaret Coel

Father O'Malley and Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden return! When a sacred tribal artifact disappears from a museum, it's more than Arapaho history that is lost--it's an Arapaho student's life...

From back cover
When the Arapaho storyteller discovers that a sacred tribal artifact is missing from a local museum, attorney Vicky Holden is called to investigate. The lost treasure: a one-of-a-kind ledger book and the only eyewitness account of Arapaho history on the plains. The book is worth millions, so when the museum says they never even had it, Vicky's suspicion is aroused. Then she learns that an Arapaho student mysteriously died while researching the ledger. Vicky and Father John must begin a deadly search for the sacred treasure - and the killer. Lives are at stake, and an irreplaceable piece of Arapaho history could be lost. It is up to Vicky Holden to keep the story alive...

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

241 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

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

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounding up

First off, and very important, DO NOT read the blurbs, descriptions, or covers, or too many reviews about this series of books. There are too many spoilers floating about, and you don't want to miss the enjoyment of reading the book without all the hype. It's that good; you don't want to spoil your sense of mystery!

In this book, Arapaho lawyer, Vicky Holden, seems to take first place in investigation and taking chances while trying to discover whether there is truth to an old Story Teller's recollections. How this becomes a legal and criminal nightmare is part of the excitement.

Father John O'Malley is on another mission, to start a museum of Arapaho artifacts on the Wind River Reservation, and he's determined to have a face-to-face conversation with his superior in Denver.

There was only one place, in Chapter 22, when I felt that the main characters missed an opportunity to preserve their "evidence," but that's a small niggle and does not detract from my decision to round up to five stars for this fourth book in Margaret Coel's wonderful series, begun in the late 1990s.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Coel has become my substitute for Tony Hillerman. Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley are the characters rather than Chee and Leaphorn, while the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming replaces the Four Corners region of Arizona and New Mexico. I enjoy the mysteries but always find myself going to my travel guide or Google Earth and looking at the places that are central to the story. Usually have to google to find out more info on the plot as well. This particular story concerns museums, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the Sand Creek Massacre. As with Hillerman, Coel writes with reverence about the customs and traditions of the Native American tribes in her stories. We feel the loss of their way of life as well as their struggle to keep those customs and traditions from disappearing.

[Bill Plott · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Tony and Anne Hillerman's stories set in Navaho country, you will enjoy this also. This is Book 4 in Coel's series featuring Catholic priest Father John O'Malley and Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden.
There is much about the culture of the Arapahos in these stories as well as good mystery tales. I have to force myself not to binge.

[JulieAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series and would recomend Margaret Coel's books to anyone!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredibly complex tale from Margaret Coel. THE STORY TELLER is an elder of the Arapaho tribe, his position passed down from his father and grandfather. When the government decides to force museums to relinquish sacred and ritual objects from their collections back to the tribes, the old man remembers a special book, created by one of the survivors of a horrendous massacre in Colorado. The museum denies ever owning I,; denies its very existence, but the evidence says otherwise. Meanwhile, a promising graduate student from the Wind River tribe is found murdered, and Father O'Malley along with Vicky Holden get involved.
Margaret Coel is an historian and is considered to be an expert on the Arapaho Tribe, and it shows. Her knowledge of artifacts along with her familiarity of the pervasive attitudes of the Arapahos makes this, not only a great mystery, but a lesson that enriches the readers knowledge. I'm so glad I started reading this series! Highly recommended.

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really loving Margaret Coel's Wind River series. I thought I would have a big gap there when Tony Hillerman died but these are filling it. Very human characters and superb stories... love them!

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I retired, the ladies in my book club "showered" me with books to enjoy at my leisure. This was one of the books, gifted to me by MM.

This is book 4 in the author's series she refers to as the Wind River Series. As the author explains- the two main characters, Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden are fictional characters. However, the stories she describes are real- in terms of actual crimes that occur or injustices unresolved and all involve the Arapaho people who call Wind River Reservation in Wyoming home.

This particular story takes place in the 1980s- when an Arapaho Story Teller discovers that a sacred tribal artifact is missing from a Denver private museum collection. The artifact- is a one of a kind ledger book that serves as the only Arapaho account of the Sand Creek Massacre. Learning of this disappearance, Vicky (the Arapaho native, now attorney) travels to Denver to start to unravel the mystery. Meanwhile- Father John finds himself in Denver-trying to convince the Archdiocese to allow him to build a museum dedicated to the artifacts of the Arapaho people on the Wind River reservation. Their paths collide when a young grad student (who is from the Wind River community, but has been studying in Denver at UC-Denver) reported missing- is found dead. His master's these- was all about this now missing, but priceless ledger book.

For sure- a straight forward murder mystery- written in the 1980s. But what I enjoyed is the setting of Denver- I myself was living in Wyoming at the time of the story- and would travel to Denver with my family on multiple occasions. I could easily picture the era and the setting- which really enriched the story experience for me. My younger child attended UC-Denver- so picturing the campus also helped me form a strong connection to this story.

While a series- it doesn't appear that you need to read these book in order. If you enjoy learning more of the history of the Arapaho people- I think you'd enjoy this author as her writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick read. It was wonderful to have a small sized paperback book to travel with- I usually read Kindle books- but when you are camping- sometimes the digital device needs to be recharged and I still had an actual book alternative to read. It was supposed to be my "back up" book- but I got so engrossed in the story- I couldn't put it down, even after the Kindle was charged back up~.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed immersing myself in the world of the Arapahos thanks to Margaret Coel's series set on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. I've been on a binge read, tagging along as an Arapaho lawyer, Vicky Holden, and a recovering alcoholic Jesuit priest, Father John O'Malley, outsmart both the cops and the criminals.

Every book features at least one murder in which the solution lies in uncovering the motivation behind the crime. Somebody has stolen (or wants to steal) Indian land, Indian babies, Indian cultural artifacts. And, of course, if the crime is in the past, the evil doer wants to cover it up by killing witnesses, destroying evidence, etc.

I enjoyed this one particularly because the plot revolves around a missing ledger book--a pictorial depiction of Arapaho history drawn or painted in an old ledger book for lack of other available materials. This is a recognized art form, which some contemporary artists replicate by purchasing used ledger books they can then decorate. The particular book in The Story Teller is controversial because it describes Arapaho victims of the Sand Creek Massacre, while some people were claiming all the victims were Cheyenne. The book--worth more than $1-million--has gone missing, with its owner, a museum, denying that it ever had it. A young Arapaho graduate student who used the book in his research, turns up dead. As usual, Holden and O'Malley are also in jeopardy, but don't hesitate to put their lives on the line.

As amateur sleuths, Holden and O'Malley, tend to do things like confronting bad guys without weapons or backup. And of course, they never make copies or do enough to safeguard crucial documents/evidence. This one was published in 1998, before cell phones and their cameras were everywhere, but still. They actually take an important computer disk into a computer lab to discover what's on it and do not make a backup while they are there. I wanted to scold them.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book based on all the glowing reviews on the front and back cover. One of the comparisons was to Tony Hillerman, whose books I love. It was interesting to read, but there was one thing that I did not like about this book and that is the attraction between the characters. The main characters are Vicky Holden, a Native American attorney, and Father John O'Malley, a priest on the reservation where she lives. Vicky is a divorced mother of two who survived an abusive marriage. There are men interested in her, but the only interest she shows is to a priest who obviously is not supposed to be entangled in romantic relationships. I realize that priests are human beings and that there is great controversy over allowing priests to marry or to remain celibate, but for now it's still vows of celibacy. This book was released in 1998 so it was before all the major scandals that came out about pedophilia in the church, but I just feel that it's inappropriate for that type of insinuation between the characters. It's always interesting to me to read about Native Americans and their culture. I think that's what I appreciate so much when I read Tony HIllerman's books and his daughter Anne's continuation of them. There is so much information about the culture along with explanations and believable characters. While this book was good, I guess I was comparing it to the Hillermans' and in my opinion, it came up short. I suppose I shouldn't compare this book to the others, but I can't help but base my opinion on what I have previously read.

[Brittany Luebbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Review: The Story Teller by Margaret Coel

The Story Teller by Margaret Coel starts with a premise that holds promise! It is a blend of history, mystery, and a personal journey. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite measure up. One of the biggest issues was the tone, which frequently veered into cheesy territory. Rather than feeling emotionally charged or impactful, nearly every major scene or chapter ended with lines that felt very eye-roll inducing. It wasn’t forced; it just didn’t land.

The descriptions, while not unnecessary, were poorly executed and often didn’t add anything meaningful to the story. A perfect example is the way the main character’s driving was described (so many times I read about the wheels on a different terrain.) Every single time, I found myself immediately skipping those sections, as they added nothing of substance and only dragged the pace down. Instead of creating an atmosphere or enhancing the character’s journey, these descriptions felt like filler, making the book’s pace slower than it needed to be.

By the end, I found myself skimming through much of the prose, only stopping to focus on the dialogue, which was the one aspect that kept the story moving. While The Story Teller has a solid foundation, the writing style didn’t do justice to its potential. The lackluster descriptions and cheesy moments made it a frustrating read, even if the core idea still had promise.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

#4 of the Wind River Reservation series. In this one, Father O'Malley is returning from a sabbatical and takes a quick trip to Denver to try to convince the Procurate that it's a good idea to turn an abandoned school into an Arapaho museum. Meanwhile, Vicki is hired by the local council to find an Arapaho ledger book that will prove they were part of the Sand Creek Massacre, and important finding of proof of the truth behind Arapaho legend.

Once again, the paths of Vicki and Father O'Malley are destined to converge, as the student that Father O'Malley recommends to run the proposed museum turns up dead, and Vicki finds that he was researching the ledger book that is the center of her investigation. The police insist that it's a drug deal gone bad. How many people will die before the truth is unearthed?

I knew who the villan was the minute they were introduced into the story. But that didn't make the story any less compelling. And a lot of suspects are unveiled, keeping you wondering exactly how many were involved and who was the most guilty.

I love this author's books. The mysteries are carefully crafted, the story is well-written, the descriptions of the land make you feel the vastness of the Wyoming reservation. And I always love the sub-plot of the feelings between Vicki and Father O'Malley.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for this series ... not sure exactly why. This one started of a bit slowly but picked up and then seemed to move along quickly enough. The descriptions of a sacred tribal artifact - the "ledger book" - kept by the Arapaho to tell the story of the native people on the plains were thrilling to me. My mom always told me we had a bit of native American blood, and I always loved the stories of the different tribal nations. For some reason this series calls to me, and I've enjoyed every one so far. This was Wind River Reservation #4, and I just downloaded #5 onto my Kindle! One of the main characters is Father O'Malley, a priest who originally was reassigned to the reservation Mission because he is a recovering alcoholic. The other main character is Vickie Holden, who is Arapaho and an attorney. Together these two solve problems and mysteries, usually getting into trouble along the way. If you're thinking about reading these, it's best to star1 at #1, The Eagle Catcher. Worth your time, IMHO.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had enough material to make a good novella. Unfortunately, it has been stretched to book length with meaningless inner musings and annoying repetition. The concept is strong: Museums across the country are complying with federal orders to catalog their holdings of Native American materials and return any sacred or traceable petsonal property to the tribes. When the Arapaho receive their inventory from the Denver Museum of the West, one of the elders scoffs. An illustrated ledger created by his grandfather and depicting the Massacre at Sand Creek has not been listed. His family has known about the museum’s possession of the ledger for over 100 years and his parents took him there to see it when he was a boy. Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden is asked to investigate the whereabouts of the million+ dollar artifact.
The museum denies any knowledge of the ledger, but Vicky learns that a young Arapaho working on a master’s thesis examined the book only weeks earlier. When his body washes ashore on the Platte River, Vicky feels honor-bound to find his killer - and the ledger.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well written book in the Wind River Reservation Series. I originally found the series while looking on line and finding that Aimee Thurlo had died. I began with the first book in the series and have progressed to number four. The quality of her writing has definitely improved.

Late this Spring I had the pleasure of driving across the country. On the way we stopped at the Sand Creek Massacre National Park in Colorado. (Horrendously, the nearest town is named after the leader of the massacre.) I had always read of the massacre as an attack on the Cheyenne Indians. The museum there did justice to the Arapaho as well. While browsing in the gift shop I found a non-fiction book that dealt with the life of Chief Niwot (Left Hand) - written by Margaret Coel. Having read the first two of her fiction books, I picked this one up. In writing The Story Teller, it is clear where she obtained much of her material.

I highly recommend this book.

[Nancy I · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than the fact that it was too easy to figure out "who-done-it," this is an enjoyable mystery that includes a learning point about the Plains Indians. Published in 1998, it is about a the disappearance of a sacred tribal artifact that Vicky Holden is trying to track down. At every turn she is told the relic never existed and that the old Indian who told her he saw it back in 1920 has to be mistaken, as it was oh, so many years ago. The learning point I mentioned is regarding the Sand Creek Massacre, which several characters assert was a massacre of only Cheyenne, but Vicky knows included Arapaho and is set to prove records exist. I had never heard of this massacre, so had to read about it.
I've read a number of Tony Hillerman books and at first thought this one would make me think of his novels. This was not the case, I'm happy to say, but I'm not saying Coel's book was better, it was just different

[Gareld Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some ways I like this better than the previous Wind River books. In other ways, not so much. I thought the suspense buildup for this story was done better than previous books but I felt like the body count was too high. I also thought that the bad guys were almost caricatures of bad guys. I was expecting Snidely Whiplash to pop out at any minute. I prefer stories set in the Wind River Reservation over this book's setting in south Denver. Maybe it would have been better if Father O'Malley and Vicky had seemed more like fish out of water in the big city but they seemed to adapt far too quickly. I felt like the relationship between Father O'Malley and Vicky Holden was better handled in this book than in The Dream Stalker. I hope the rest of the series holds closer to the approach taken in this one with them obviously caring about each other but without so much tension over their love lives (or lack thereof).

[Wanda Hargrove]

Vicky Holden goes to Denver to sign off on receiving Arapaho artifacts at the Denver Museum of the West. Only problem there's an elder who swears in 1920 he saw a book of Arapaho History. A picture book was written by an ancestor of his. But the museum claims they don't have it. Vicky sets out to find it, only a graduate student was murdered and his body found in the river. He was a graduate student who saw that book. Vicky is now determined to find the book.

Father John O'Malley is in Denver to speak with the Provencial about turning one of the buildings at St. Francis Mission into a museum. Only he finds out Vicky is also in Denver and soon the both of them are looking for the missing book. Two other young people are murdered and now Vicky and Father John are on the trail of the book with a pair of murderers chasing them and someone else who's pulling the strings.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father O'Malley and Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden return! When a sacred tribal artifact disappears from a museum, it's more than Arapaho history that is lost--it's an Arapaho student's life...

From back cover
When the Arapaho storyteller discovers that a sacred tribal artifact is missing from a local museum, attorney Vicky Holden is called to investigate. The lost treasure: a one-of-a-kind ledger book and the only eyewitness account of Arapaho history on the plains. The book is worth millions, so when the museum says they never even had it, Vicky's suspicion is aroused. Then she learns that an Arapaho student mysteriously died while researching the ledger. Vicky and Father John must begin a deadly search for the sacred treasure - and the killer. Lives are at stake, and an irreplaceable piece of Arapaho history could be lost. It is up to Vicky Holden to keep the story alive...

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting entry in Margaret Coel's series of mysteries involving the Northern Arapaho of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. This one revolves around proving the Arapaho presence at the Sand Creek Massacre in SE Colorado. A ledger book, prepared by the designated Arapaho historian of the time which has apparently gone missing from a Denver museum. The book, now quite valuable on the black market to collectors, has lead to several murders, which Father John O'Malley of the Jesuit mission on the reservation and Vicky Holden, and Arapaho lawyer, take upon themselves to resolve. The story moves slowly through the first 80% of the book, then moves to resolution, wrapping things up in an action-filled finale. Some interesting history here involving the role of the US government in organized abuse and exploitation of Native Americans.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old man on the Wind River Reservation, who has the position of storyteller (keeper and teller of the oral history of the Arapaho) relates having seen a ledger book at the Denver Historical Museum and long time ago when he was a child. Now that museums are returning sacred objects to the tribes they belonged to, the Tribal Counsel hires Vicky to find that ledger and bring it to the tribe archives along with other pieces. This ledger is a record in pictures of a history showing the Arapaho at an important massacre by one of only a handful of survivors. This leads Vicky and Father John on a dangerous and frustrating search. Excellent. These books are adventure stories set in an unfamiliar (to me) environment and is the fourth one of the series I have read.

[George Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made the mistake of calling the Wind River Reservation series a "cozy mystery." This book disproves that description. This is the fourth book in the series and the characters have been established. Vicky, the Arapaho lawyer and Father John, the mission priest. The sexual tension between them was fully explored in the previous book.

This book is about native American artifacts and museum's responsibility to restore to the tribes that which was removed unlawfully or unwittingly. The hunt for a ledger book that proves the Arapaho were at the Sand Creek massacre is the focus of the story. The lawyer and the priest get involved in the search that becomes deadly.

A reader should read the previous books in the series to fully understand the characters and their relationships.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artifacts are being returned by museums to tribes via a government act, but an inventory missing the ledger is what drew attorney Vicky Holden to Denver where the murder occurred. Father John O'Malley is on the campus of Regis University in Denver to try to secure funding for a museum. Meanwhile a graduate student from the Wind River Reservation is murdered and his death seems to be linked to his thesis.Father John and Vicky assist investigators in finding the perpetrators, but the way they reach their conclusions holds the reader's interest. I listened to the audio book read by Stephanie Brush who does a good job with this series.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting in this case, the information about Indian artifacts and the depth of the characterizations. My gripes have to do with character's behaviors, which can be judged to be entirely realistic. Very stubborn people continue to do reckless things. So often someone should have gone to the police instead of rushing into danger. Vicky keeps tempting a priest, which kind of creeps me out, but the priest ought to wear a little something to remind others (and himself) that he is a priest. The murderer is the classic chatty antagonist. Vicky should give cop Steve a chance, there is obviously no where to go in the direction of Father John.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Coel's Wind River Reservation series is certainly an able replacement for Tony Hillerman and/or his daughter Anne...with a touch of Jan Karon's Fr. Timothy thrown in...in this one Fr. O'Malley and Vicky drawn into a hunt for a priceless "ledger book" that details Arapahoe involvement in the Cheyenne dominated history of the Sandy Creek Massacre by the murder of a young scholar from "The Rez" researching that history...plenty of twists & turns &, like the Hillerman's, a loving look at Native American culture!

[Pattie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4th in the Wind River mystery series. But it’s the first book by this author that I’ve read. I certainly will keep an eye out for additional books by Margaret Coel. Western/ Native American/ Series Mysteries are very popular thanks in large part to Tony Hillerman.
The two main characters , Vicky Holden, an Arapaho attorney, and Fr John O’Malley are well drawn and interesting. The stories include a detailed telling of Arapaho culture and history. Also the challenges of living in the modern world as a Native American.

[Kim Hollstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not going to read more of this series. Perhaps I’m in a bad mood, but I find the characters dull, the love story and mystery predictable and boring. The history about the Arapaho is interesting, but not enough to keep slogging through these books. Absolutely no humor, either. It’s very disappointing to me because I usually enjoy reading about the original inhabitants of this land. I loved Tony Hillerman and Craig Johnson is superb. But when reading this series I keep thinking I’m wasting my time and there are too many good books to read, so why keep reading this one? So I’m not.

[Tami Gandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graduate student working on his thesis concerning a one of a kind ledger book that gives an account
of the Arapaho history on the plains is murdered along with another young student. Vicki Holden is determined to find what happened to the ledger book with the help of Father John. With lots of twists and turns the mystery is solved. In the end, Father John's wish to have a Arapaho museum in the old school on the mission with the many relics of the Arapaho featured along with the ledger book is complete.

[Annelies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books seem to focus on conflict. Here the conflict is between tribes, and it is not a mild discourse. I always wonder how much of our perception of the world is shaped by writers who view the world in this conflict driven way.

It is interesting, and from what I read, there is considerable peer pressure on the rez, and that would logically carry over to interactions between tribes and others off the rez. I need to read Native Americans who write about the current reality. Will that focus on dysfunction, alcoholism and women disappearing without a trace? I will keep at it.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books in this series are really short—usually around 200 pages—but the plots are filled with action and the continuing growth of the main characters. In this book, the action switches from Wind River Reservation to Denver. The plot is fascinating and well-mapped. She focuses less on who-done-it than on unraveling various possible motivations, but I wasn’t sure who the bad guy would turn out to be. She left a few loose ends but nothing of importance.

[Brian Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent character descriptions including their weaknesses. Good story with many murders (maybe more than needed for a good story). Good v. greed at its best. I like how Hillerman's Chee practices the Navajo Way. I miss the spiritual practice aspect in Coel's writing so it is hard for me to give more than 4 stars. Of course maybe Coel presents Arapaho spiritual practice so subtly that I don't recognize it. I do look forward to reading more of Coel's work.