The Widow's Revenge (Charlie Moon Series #14) »

JAMES D. DOSS is the author of fourteen Charlie Moon mysteries, two of which were named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Originally from Kentucky, he divides his time between Los Alamos and Taos, New Mexico.

James D. Doss’s seven-foot-tall Colorado rancher and Ute tribal investigator Charlie Moon is back in the saddle again—and making sure that, somehow or other, justice is served.

“Insanely good.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A day’s work is never done for part-time P.I. Charlie Moon. As if fighting the toughest hombres and nastiest outlaws roaming the Southwest weren’t enough, Charlie must still save up some strength—and a whole lot of patience—for the little guys. His latest distress call is no exception: Local widow Loyola Montoya is making a fuss about witches. Witches?

“It’s Moon who stands tallest  in The Widow’s Revenge…a nonstop read [in] this solid series.”—Booklist  

Loyola swears there’s a whole midnight brood lurking in the woods, mocking her with lewd songs and harassing her with the carcasses of dead animals. Since she’s been known to cry wolf, Charlie’s loath to take her too seriously—until he arrives and discovers that Loyola took matters into her own hands…with disastrous results. Even though it’s too late for Charlie to save her, his Aunt Daisy—an aged Ute shaman who can communicate with the spirit world—may just have what it takes to help the widow get her revenge after all.

 “Doss does for the Utes what Tony Hillerman has done for the Navajo.”
—The Denver Post

Publishers Weekly

When “witches” bother widow Loyola Montoya at the start of Doss's enjoyable 14th mystery to feature part-time Ute tribal investigator Charlie Moon (after 2008's Snake Dreams), “the strange old Apache woman” phones Charlie, the only man she knows in Granite Creek, Colo., who will listen to her complaints. By the time Charlie arrives at Loyola's remote 10-acre farm, she's perished in a kitchen fire apparently caused by a fallen kerosene lamp. Was her death accidental, or were the people camped on nearby land owned by the Blue Diamond Natural Gas Company somehow involved? As Moon, FBI agent Lila Mae McTeague and police chief Scott Parris pursue what turns into a criminal investigation, the violence only gets worse. While Doss successfully evokes the mysticism of traditional Native American storytelling, his choppy chapters with their frequent point-of-view shifts may frustrate new readers. Series fans familiar with his style will welcome spending time with old friends. (Nov.)