The Dream Stalker

Wind River Reservation #3

by Margaret Coel

A white Jesuit priest and an Indian woman lawyer hunt for a murderer while keeping mutual attraction at bay. The setting is a Wyoming reservation mired in controversy over the sale of land for nuclear waste.

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

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

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

[Spuddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this series which features Vicky Holden, a Native American lawyer and Father John O'Malley, an Irish-American Catholic priest at a mission on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. The stories are interesting, but right from the beginning of the series you sort of knew there was going to be this massive sexual tension going on between the two main characters. For that reason--because I really, REALLY hate romance trying to disguise itself as mystery, or some other genre--it has taken 8 years for me to get to book 3 in this series. And quite frankly, I don't think it will go any further.

In this book, it isn't even the 'romance' that ticks me off...it's Vicky's whole drama queen exit from Fr. John's study when this stranger to her, a white woman also from Boston, comes into the study with some familiarity. She immediately assumes the worst--that, while Fr. John won't break his vows for her, he would do so, and HAS been doing so, with this white woman that he's been 'keeping' somewhere. Like...what was that speech you just gave about treasuring their friendship, then? Like two minutes ago? Some friend, to automatically think the worst of him. *sigh*

Sorry...I just don't do romantic angst. Especially when I had the mystery figured out by halfway through the book anyway.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of this series and each book just gets better and better. This was kept me up late at night to read to the end. I love the dynamics between Father John and Vicki as well as their interactions with the other characters.

[Susan Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always wonder in mystery series just how many murders can occur in one vicinity and still be believable....but, this series is such absorbing reading. The main protagonist, Father John, is human and endearing. Love the books.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will keep going with this series. It seems respectful to Arapaho culture and I like the two main characters.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid Wind River Reservation effort from Margaret Coel...This is the 3rd & thus far I've read them in order...all featuring the trials & tribulations facing Fr. John O'Malley in running the Jesuit mission on the "rez," and his continued struggles dealing with his weaknesses & now his relationship with the Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden...Tony Hillerman meets Jan Karon as someone is killing the opposition to the proposed nuclear waste disposal site on the reservation. There's is a cast of suspects & Fr.John and Vicki too have their lives in jeopardy...Good stuff!!!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting view of an Arapahoe reservation where a Native American lawyer & Catholic priest become friends. Together they are caught up in murders to stop a nuclear waste disposal facility from being built on the reservation & then have their own lives threatened. Character development with lots of plot.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like this one as much as some of the others in the series. But I like the way that the author includes a lot of the Arapahoe and some Shoshone culture into the books and of course there’s always a mystery and some excitement.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a good exciting ending. A good story as always. The characters are interesting and I enjoy seeing the Native American culture.

[Leslie Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read. I especially enjoyed the part with Vicky’s great grandfather. He is helping her anchor her defense in her culture and dedicate her actions to helping her people. It is a reminder of the Arapahoe attentive and grateful blessings directed to land and sky and our responsibilities in keeping it safe and productive for future generations.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Maze mystery book group 3/7/17.

I'm very impressed with the use of setting in this series. The respect given to the Arapaho nation and its customs is commendable and I think the author reflects these well.

This mystery here is a bit weak and almost overwhelmed by the other events of concern to the characters. Some of the writing shows signs of this being a newish author -- in 1997.

I'm not sure what to make of Fr. John and Vicky. In some respects, I'd just like to know the outcome of their story without going through all of the books.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Margaret Coel and the settings she uses for her Father John O'Malley series. I had a bit of trouble with this because of the relationship between Father John and Vicky Holden. I know it was meant to make people uncomfortable because the main players were uncomfortable but having been raised Catholic it probably bothered me more than someone who was not brought up in that culture.

The plot was fairly simple, Father John is called out one night to a remote (well, everything is pretty remote on the Wind River reservation) location to tend to a man who said he wants to get something off his chest, and that he is dying. By the time Father John gets there the man is dead, but not of natural causes, he has been shot in the face.

At the same time Vicky is involved in trying to stop a Chicago company from building a nuclear waste dump on the reservation. This makes her very unpopular because the company is promising jobs, lots and lots of jobs, as well as long term employment. The Council is for the idea, most of the people on the reservation are for the idea, making Vicky very unpopular.

So, does Father John's dead man tie in with the nuclear waste dump? Only time will tell.

I had an inkling at one point that I might know the killer but Coel was very good at distracting me to the point where I forgot about this person. Interesting ending with a lot of loose ends, glad that there are more in the series to keep reading about these fascinating people.

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently finished listening to this, the third in the series. This series takes place on the Wind River Arapaho Reservation. Here they want to put in a nuclear waste dump on the Reservation. It appears there is one lone voice talking against it, Vicki Holden, Arapaho lawyer. The people for keep saying that they are talking "facts" and she is just trying to rouse the white protestors. So this opens the door for corruption.

It is difficult here to tell which is the back story and which is the front story. Because while there is much ado about the proposed dump which would provide a number of jobs and a lot of money to a couple of people, there is also a story about people getting shot in the face. A group of cowboys who hadn't seen each other in 40 years and they get shot the same way causes Father John to wonder what is going on. Something happened 40 years ago and one of the old cowboys is stirring the pot.

I enjoy these stories. But I am beginning to wonder why it feels like everything I read is about corruption.

[Cybercrone · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far I've enjoyed this series. Though it's formulaic it has been relatively well done and remains fairly interesting.
However the behaviour of the lady lawyer is beginning to grate a lot so hope she straightens out in the next book or two.

[Elkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: The people on the Wind River Reservation struggle financially. Most of the Northern Arapahoe and Eastern Shoshone barely eke out a living. Father John O’Malley, who runs the St. Francis Mission, struggles right along with them. When the United Power Company comes along and promises an influx of much needed cash in exchange for storing some nuclear waste in “safe containers” on the reservation, most of the people jump at the glib promises.

But there are enough dissenting voices to concern the UPC. Their representatives approach Father O’Malley and ask him to support their cause. They know he has a lot of influence in the community. One of the most vocal protestors is a woman named Vicky Holden. Vicky grew up on the reservation, but is now an attorney living in the nearby town. More educated about the hazards than most, she is fiercely and vocally against the UPC’s plan. This puts her at odds not only with UPC, but also with many in the Native community who want to have a better standard of living for themselves and the generations to come.

After Father O’Malley finds a murdered man and Vicky receives death threats, it is obvious that someone will stop to nothing to get the UPC plan approved.

Comments: After I got about a third of the way through this book, I realized this is the one in the series I’d read before, back when it was first published. At the time, I wasn’t very impressed and didn’t read any more of the series. Then, while browsing in my local library several months ago, I came across the second in the series, Ghost Walker, and picked it up. I really liked that book, so picked up the third. I still can’t say I love this one, and I didn’t like it as much as Ghost Walker, but I think that’s partly because it lacked some subtlety in the “evil corporation” lesson.

However, the book did get me to do some research online on the Wind River Reservation. And I’m looking forward to reading more in the series to learn about Coel’s characters as well as the realities of reservation life.

Recommended for mystery readers and anyone interested in learning more about present-day Native American life.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Father O'Malley gets a call for help in the middle of the night, he drives off into the night only to find the body of an Arapaho man who nobody seems to know. Working with the police, he works to figure out why the man called him for help. Meanwhile, Vicki is involved with the Indian council to try to put a stop to a proposed nuclear waste dump on the reservation. It soon becomes clear that a conspiracy is afoot. It doesn't take long for their worlds to collide as they uncover evidence that the dead man and the nuclear waste dump are somehow related.

I really enjoyed this book, with Coel creating a winding and convoluted path to the unexpected ending. I love that she creates a story that is complicated, but doesn't feel forced. (Some books I've read feel like the author just throws in random things to make the story longer and more "devious.") I also love the sub-plot of the unrequited feelings that Vicki and Father O'Malley have for each other. It creates a heartbreaking tension that I hope will some day be resolved. :-)

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in the series and the third which I have read. I am a fan of the series by Tony and Anne Hillerman and the books by Aimee and David Thurlo. Both of these series are based on the Navaho Reservation. Coel's stories are set in the Wind River Valley and involve Arapaho Indians. The tensions between the two main characters adds some spice to the series without becoming a romance novel. I do not think that the details of the mysteries thus far in the series are as highly developed as I see in the Hillerman series, nor are the characters as developed as in the Thurlo series. Nonetheless, the series is interesting and, based on the author's non-fiction book about Arapaho Chief Left Hand, I expect the series to improve as I read more.

It is a good quick read. I think it is ideal for summer reading. I recommend this to mystery lovers, especially those who enjoy the works of the Thurlos and Hillermans and are looking for a different setting.

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting entry in a series centered on the Arapaho Wind River Reservation of Wyoming. The usual principle characters, Father John O'Malley, Jesuit priest of the local Catholic Mission Church, and Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden, are the center figures in this story. The background of this story is a scenario involved in commercial interests attempting to locate an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel on the reservation. O'Malley and Holden are of course in a vocal minority on the res opposed to the facility, based on apparently sound technical arguments. the apparently strongest of which, potential catastrophic meltdown, is completely spurious and technically impossible, a fact conveniently not brought out in the book. Predictably it turns out that there is money-driven skulduggery afoot, making the technical arguments trivial. That aside, as a character-driven mystery the story holds up well.

[Wanda Hargrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father John O'Malley gets a call in the night from a voice he doesn't recognize. A man's dying wish to clear his conscious, but when John gets there the old man is dead. No one seems to know who the old man is, but with protestors running around Wind River reservation saying the Arapaho don't want a nuclear waste facility built on the reservation the killer could be anyone.

Vicky Holden, the Arapaho lawyer, is getting death threats and someone tried to run her down. She and Father John are now in a race to find out how the old man fits into the nuclear waste facility when another Arapaho is murdered. Do they tie in and how? That's the question they ask. And now they are both in the sights of a killer.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with the murder of an unknown cowboy, Father John and Vicky Holden get involved in plans to construct a nuclear waste storage facility on the reservation. Anti-nuclear picketers come in, and the reservation is divided between those who want jobs with the site and those who oppose it. Vicky is attacked because she is against it while many prominent leaders favor it. Deaths occur, and Father John and Vicky must figure out who is/are the murderer(s).

I've read a number of Ms. Coel's Wind River Reservation stories and have enjoyed them. Native American books are an interest (Tony and Anne Hillerman's included). There is always sexual tension between the Father and Vicky because he is a Roman Catholic priest.

[John Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, this has been a consistently excellent series. Father O'Malley and Vicki Holden are fascinating, believable characters, with flaws, but basically good people. Margaret Coel's respect for the Arapaho people is quite evident in her treatment of them in each story. She is also very good at scene setting. The mystery itself is involving. Too often in other mystery series, authors have fallen back on "humor" that is often repetitive and frankly, lame. Margaret Coel pretty much has avoided humor, and for that I am quite happy. I want a good solid story that doesn't give away the mystery and at the same time avoids cliched characters and situations. In this, Margaret Coel has exceeded my expectations.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father John O”Malley answers a late night phone call from a man asking for help. But, by the time he reaches the caller the man has been shot. Angry at himself for not arriving a few minutes earlier, Father John cannot help getting involved in the investigation. Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden is almost the only one speaking out against the tribe agreeing to a nuclear waste site on the reservation. For some months, she has been avoiding Father O’Malley, but inexorably their two projects bring them together. Characters and mystery plot are intriguing. The plot involving the nuclear waste site is a bit melodramatic but definitely topical.

[George Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These Wind River Reservation books are cozy mysteries at their best. The Dream Stalker is a real page turner. Father John gets a call in the middle of the night that turns his life around. A murdered cowboy is found in an old cabin, a proposed nuclear waste depository is proposed, the protesters vs. the destitute tribal members and a stalker for the attorney Vicky make this book a pleasure to read. Read to the end of the book. The plot twists and turns like a Jeffrey Deaver novel on steroids.

This novel is from 1997 and is the third in a series. Read the series from the first book to get the most enjoyment.

[Sandy Natale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have been disappointed if Father John and Vicky had connected because of "in the moment feelings" on Father John's part. In the past, he turned his back on love and family to follow a greater calling.
To suddenly throw that away, to follow his love of another women, goes against everything he holds true in his heart. This is a formula to failure.
Father John has strong beliefs for his calling, so his turning away from this without time to think everything out, would be totally out of character for him.

[Gareld Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good story although I thought Vickie's arguments against a nuclear storage facility were fairly irrational. There are plenty of rational arguments without going where she did. I'm not wild about the star-crossed lovers story line between Father O'Malley and Vickie. Why can't the stories be kept friendly but professional without going down this path? I suppose some people felt like this just had to happen and were waiting for the this but not me. Nice plot twists and multiple story lines - which I thought were carried out well.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This episode in the John O’Malley/ Vicky Holden series has murder, greed, and nuclear waste as its themes. The romantic and sexual tension persists between the two central characters. My only concerns are the disappearance of characters from previous books. Thus far, three new assistants to Father John, Ben and Susan Holden have no updates, and a new FBI agent (simpatico with Father John his love of opera) make appearances. More satisfying to this reader would be a couple of cameo appearances. The plot is truly quite cleverly conceived and supported.

[Tami Gandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father John is called in the middle of the night by a stranger. He finds an old cowboy dying in an abandoned barn. Vicki a lawyer on the Wind River Reservation gives a speech of why outside forces should not be allowed to build a nuclear storage bunker for spent rods on the reservation. Residents are split on the decision and the community meeting becomes mayhem after Vicki concludes her speech. A stalker is following her and threatening to do her harm if she doesn't redact what she spoke of at the community meeting.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written mystery with more than one plot going on. Smart look at nuclear waste, the Arapaho reservation and culture, and some smart, tough women. Stupid risks by our main characters, putting themselves in danger, and cliche romance novel conventions including jealousy based on misunderstanding.

This is the second mystery I've read in a row in which a Christian clergy person is deeply attracted to someone who's completely unavailable to them. What was going on with clerics in the 1990's anyway?

[Bill Plott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent mystery series. Reminds me of the Hillerman novels but completely different kinds of characters in Arapaho country. Father John O'Malley, a Catholic priest, and Vicky Holden, an attorney who left the Rez but has returned, deal with murder and other crimes. Like the Hillerman books, she gives us a good look at the social, environmental and economic problems facing most native Americans on reservations.

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 star rating for this one. I like the characters, they are well developed and interesting with real personal issues. Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden, Arapaho lawyer, both oppose the building of a nuclear waste disposal facility on the reservation even though many in the tribe want the new jobs it will bring. Things become very tense and violent, threatening both their lives and their friendship, while John continues to struggle with his own demons and the welfare of the Mission.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coel deals with the nuclear waste -vs- the environment issue. The two main characters deal with life in their own ways. Plot is pretty simple, Father John helps investigate a murder and lawyer Vicki dives into the nuclear waste proposal. Lots of jobs for the Arapaho are balanced with hazardous waste...reminiscent of the Navajo uranium miners. Author treats the subject very well...I'll be back for book #4.