Gabriel Du Pré Mysteries

A Montana Mystery Featuring Gabriel Du Pré Montana, "the last best place" of the disappearing American West, is the setting of Peter Bowen's splendid first mystery novel in a series featuring Gabriel Du Pré. A cattle-brand inspector and occasional sheriff's deputy, Du Pré moves easily among the ranchers, cowboys, Native Americans, barflies, dreamers, and Eastern dudes who populate what's left of the frontier. In the desolate hills of the Fascelli family ranch, a skeleton has been discovered. The sheriff needs Du Pré's long experience in Montana to identify the bones. What Du Pré finds leads him on a search through the history of a troubled family, a search that brings him closer to a secret from his own past. Along the way, Du Pré meets a range of interesting folk, some to his liking, some decidedly not. "As the best literary novels are able to do, Coyote Wind brings many worlds together and hones the language to create a fresh, memorable character and a profound vision." "Bowen tells his story in short, perfectly crafted scenes. The dialogue, the relationships, the Montana landscape, and, most of all, the quirky and memorable characters are all matchlessly drawn." "Bowen's writing is lean and full of mordant observations. His hardy characters…come to life, and his wry humor provides relief from the haunting, wind-bitten cattle-ranch landscape." "The delight of this mystery is…the characters and the details of life among the Meti people. Christopher Lane shares those details with an intimate voice that drawls but still moves quickly." "The great story and narration make this a most enjoyable production…[Lane's] skill is especially evident in the voices of the secondary characters when he reads scenes such as a shootout involving local law enforcement-the panic and terror of the dispatcher sound perfectly real."

Toussaint, Montana, isn't easily rattled, but an earthquake uncovers an ancient burial ground and the well-preserved bones of a primitive people. When an archeologist is found with a bullet in his back and a dinosaur tooth in his pocket, occasional sleuth Gabriel Du Pré steps in with the wisdom and vision of his Métis ancestors to uncover the answers. But while Indian archeologists and entrepreneurs battle for valuable land and the precious remains of a dinosaur, a predator more dangerous than the great T. Rex walks the Montana plains, hungry to strike again. "Strange, seductive…haunting…The wonder of these voices is that they are…blunt and crude, soaked in whiskey and raspy from laughter, but still capable of leaving echoes." "Wonderful…A wise tale that wears its idealism as casually as a pair of old jeans." "Gloriously unbridled…[Du Pré] resonates with originality and energy." "A terrific writer…Thunder Horse makes this reviewer want to race to the bookstore for the rest of the Gabriel Du Pré series."

Montana native Gabriel Du Pré has been hired as a consultant by a group of filmmakers shooting a documentary on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Du Pré is a descendent of a Métis fiddler and voyageur named Cruzatte who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey. And Du Pré's daughter, Maria, has been cast in the role of Sacajawea. But trouble is afoot. First a fire damages the film props, and then two bodies are fished out of the river. Someone doesn't want them there. Suddenly the site is swarmed with television crews and FBI agents trying to work the mystery. As word gets out and filmmakers, environmentalists, and others threaten to flock to Montana to exploit its resources, tensions rise to the boiling point. "Bowen's exuberant storytelling mines the rich cultural history of the West." "The Du Pré mysteries are never as focused on dead bodies as they are on the clash of cultures…A solid entry in a great series." "Finely crafted Montana scenery." "Over eight outings now [Du Pré] continues a relentless march to his own drummer."

When a secretive millennial cult from California purchases a ranch on the outskirts of the Montana badlands, an eerily silent, dry, and windy dead zone, the Toussaint townsfolk are none too pleased. The cult members keep to themselves, but the suspicious circumstances under which they arrived have Gabriel Du Pré questioning their motives and seeking answers. He soon learns from a friend in the FBI that seven of the cult's recently defected members were killed-each shot to death-but no arrests have been made. Then another shooting occurs at the perimeter of the ranch, and Du Pré finds himself blindly searching for a killer, an explanation for the murders, and the identity of the cult's elusive leader. "Christopher Lane reads the oblique thoughts of Gabriel Du Pré, Bowen's fast-driving, illiterate Western hero, as naturally as possible. Capturing both male and female characters equally well, Lane portrays Du Pré's girlfriend, the strong and stubborn bartender, Madelaine and his wicked 10-year-old granddaughter, Pallas, with clarity and empathy…[An] intriguing mystery." "Actor (Christopher) Lane must be channeling Bowen's out-of-the-ordinary protagonist. How else could he so perfectly capture Du Pré's unique rhythmic speech patterns and blunt style? Other characters are also well represented in Lane's multi-voiced presentation."