From Library Journal
A Japanese company purchases an isolated patch of Montana called Le Doux Springs with plans for opening a trout-fishing resort. An earthquake changes things, at least temporarily, by draining the springs and exposing an ancient burial site. Good-guy Gabriel Du Pre and friends (Notches, St. Martin's, 1996) remove the contents for study but are interrupted by the discovery of a murder victim. Oddly enough, the victim possesses a large Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth, which of course ignites media attention?and covert attention from the Japanese. Bowen imbues his tale with the strong flavor of colorful characters, Native American legend, and regional dialects?a heady mix destined for all collections. This latest Western mystery by Havill (Privileged To Kill, LJ 2/1/97) is a three-parter. First, unknown vandals burglarize the home of Bill Gastner, aging undersheriff of New Mexico's Posadas County. Second, Gastner's nearest neighbor, who is in his eighties, buries his dead wife on Gastner's property, thus instigating suspicions of murder. Finally, a three-year-old disappears from a mesa campground. Although recuperating from surgery and under the watchful eye of his visiting daughter, Gastner handily deals with all three problems?in addition to personal ones that arise. Crisp writing and clarity of focus make this a pleasure to read and essential for any collection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A fifth adventure for Gabriel Du Pr--Montana's Mtis Indian fiddler and cattle-brand inspector (Notches, 1997, etc.). Here, Du Pr's rich friend Bart has been hired by a Japanese company to dig trout ponds (for a theme park, maybe?) at Le Doux Springs in the rugged foothills of the Wolf Mountains. The work has barely started when a minor earthquake turns up some ancient bones in the rock, possibly of the little-known Horn Star people. There are also rumors of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the area--which would be a find worth millions. Then comes the discovery of the body of archaeologist Robert Palmer--shot to death, a stolen snowmobile and a prehistoric tooth nearby. Du Pr, looking for answers, makes a trip deep into the mountains near the sheriff's ranch and is held for a while by members of a Crow tribe guarding a sacred site of their ancestors. He also has numerous conversations with resident archaeologist Dr. Burdette, aged Indian guru Benetsee, old Professor Morgenstern in Bozeman, and best friend Madelaine, all accompanied by heavy drinking and eating, and liberally laced with obscenities, before those answers emerge. Determinedly oblique goings-on--of interest, perhaps, to students of ancient cultures and the American West--but meager fare for puzzle lovers. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
“Seductive . . . blunt and crude, soaked in whisky and raspy from laughter, but still capable of leaving echoes.” —The New York Times “Idiosyncratic, convincing and marked by thoroughly distinctive rhythms of dialogue, Bowen’s Du Pré series claims unique territory in the genre.” —Publishers Weekly “Hilarious as the satire often is, what makes these stories so rare is the byplay among the natives. . . . Thunder Horse is a wise tale of the land that wears its idealism as casually as a pair of old jeans.” —The Washington Post Book World
From the Publisher
Praise for Thunder Horse: "Strange, seductive...guaranteed to draw you to the campfire." --The New York Times Book Review
"The growing crowds of fans of Peter Bowen's gloriously unbridled books about Montana's Gabriel Du Pre have new cause to celebrate...Du Pre...resonate[s] with originality and energy." --Chicago Tribune
"The Gabe Du Pre books stand alone among other crime series set in the West--a unique and completely involving reading experience...A special book in a special series." -Booklist (starred review)
About the Author
Peter Bowen (b. 1945) is an author best known for mystery novels set in the modern American West. When he was ten, Bowen’s family moved to Bozeman, Montana, where a paper route introduced him to the grizzled old cowboys who frequented a bar called The Oaks. Listening to their stories, some of which stretched back to the 1870s, Bowen found inspiration for his later fiction.
Following time at the University of Michigan and the University of Montana, Bowen published his first novel, Yellowstone Kelly, in 1987. After two more novels featuring the real-life Western hero, Bowen published Coyote Wind (1994), which introduced Gabriel Du Pré, a mixed-race lawman living in fictional Toussaint, Montana. Bowen has written fourteen novels in the series, in which Du Pré gets tangled up in everything from cold-blooded murder to the hunt for rare fossils. Bowen continues to live and write in Livingston, Montana.
