Dead Soul (Charlie Moon Series #8) » (Reprint)

James D. Doss is the author of seven previous Charlie Moon mysteries, two of which were named Best Books of the Year by Publishers Weekly. He divides his time between Los Alamos and Taos, New Mexico.

During the frigid Moon of Dead Leaves Falling

Billy Smoke had his final beer...and met his destiny.

Where Colorado's border pushes against New Mexico, autumn is short. Rancher and tribal investigator Charlie Moon has fat cattle and a prowling cougar that demand his attention. He doesn't have the time to investigate the assault that killed hard-drinking limo driver, Billy Smoke, and put his boss, a U.S. Senator, in a wheelchair. But Moon has an obligation to the People, the Southern Utes, to look into the murder of one of their own. The FBI couldn't solve the case. Now Moon can walk the same paths and get to the same place. Or he can listen to his acid-tongued Aunt Daisy, a tribal shaman as well as a thorn in Moon's side. She insists a distraught red-haired girl is looking for Charlie. It may be about Billy Smoke's murder. Or-since this involves Aunt Daisy-the girl may be looking for a justice of her own.

"Doss has reproduced the land of the Southern Colorado Utes with vivid affection."

-Dallas Morning News

"Doss could be accused of poaching in Tony Hillerman territory...but Doss mixes mysticism and murder with his own unmistakable touch."

-Orlando Sentinel

Publishers Weekly

A dash of humor and a sprinkling of romance season Doss's eighth Charlie Moon mystery (after 2002's White Shell Woman). The part-time Ute tribal investigator and full-time rancher looks into the death of fellow tribesman Billy Smoke, murdered during an assault that left Billy's high-profile employer, Senator Patch Davidson, permanently crippled. An explosion at a new airport adds to the body count. Meanwhile, Charlie's acid-tongued Aunt Daisy, a shaman and tribal elder, pulls Charlie into more intrigue when her otherworldly visions focus on a missing red-haired campus policewoman. Allan Pearson, Patch's spoiled orphaned nephew, is hiding more than his own insecurity behind his mask of arrogance, while Miss James, Patch's beautiful assistant, seems to be Charlie's fatal attraction. And ranch foreman Henry Buford, formerly with the Defense Intelligence Agency, is clearly a man who would take or give a bullet to defend those who trust him. Despite his good nature and gentle heart, Charlie winds up in plenty of skirmishes, including a slugfest with Half-Ton, a mammoth biker whose entourage later returns with a vengeance. But these guys are the least of his worries. If the killing is ever to stop, Moon must send a certain "dead soul" to his rest. (Sept. 15) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.