The Spider's Web (Wind River Reservation Series #15) »

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 an historian by trade, she is considered an expert on the Arapaho Indians.

Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley find themselves on opposite sides of an investigation.

When Arapaho Ned Windsong is shot to death, his fiancée Marcy is the only witness. Even though she identifies two Arapaho troublemakers, Ned's family clings to the belief that Marcy herself was responsible. Convinced of Marcy's innocence, Vicki agrees to represent the outsider- and finds herself at odds with her own people.

She also finds herself at odds with Father John, because the mission priest has glimpsed something in the beautiful girl that shakes him to his core. And when the men Marcy has accused of murdering her fiancé are found dead in an abandoned barn, Vicky and Father John realize they are caught in a web of lies and deceit woven by a master.

Publishers Weekly

The romantic tension between Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Fr. John O'Malley remains strong but muted in Coel's solid 15th Wind River mystery (after 2009's The Silent Spirit). The murder of Ned Windsong, a troubled young man trying to get his life straight, leaves a trail of confusion and suspicion surrounding his jilted girlfriend, Roseanne Birdwoman; his white fiancée, Marcy Morrison; and thuggish friends Lionel Lookingglass and Dwayne Hawk on the Wind River (Wyoming) reservation. Father John provides refuge for Marcy and finds a hiding place for Roseanne, but he also has doubts about Marcy that anger Vicky, who thinks Marcy is targeted simply because she's an outsider. Meanwhile, Marcy's televangelist father hires Vicky to protect his daughter's interests. Coel concentrates on the lives and traditions of the Arapaho in a tale that breaks no new ground but should satisfy series fans. (Sept.)