Hyenas [Hardcover]

Fans of historical mysteries may have noticed that just about every era now has its own detective or series of books. The one exception may have been prehistoric times, but that gap is now filled by Dengler's (Ageless Love, Zondervan, 1996) latest novel. Gar is a revered shaman of his clan of the Real People. When he sees a woman standing over the decapitated body of a man, weapon in hand, he must prove her innocent of the killing before she will be accepted into his clan. Dramatic, powerful, and with a great sense of history, this mystery is certainly a great read that should find readers hoping for a sequel. Highly recommended.?Melissa Hudak, Centegra Health Systems, McHenry,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As far as this reviewer knows, Sandy Dengler has pioneered a new sub-branch of the historical mystery with her prehistoric who-done-it. The adventurous story line is highlighted by an anthropological look into two divergent societies striving for world mastery. Though much is unknown and speculative, Ms. Dengler makes both cultures seem genuine as if recorded history guided her hand. Though the emphasis on food gathering becomes a bit much, the novel remains a superb mystery. For anyone who wants something a bit different with their mysteries, Hynas is the answer, hopefully with future novels starring Gar and company. -- Harriet Klausner, reviewer for amazon.com

At first, the premise sounds preposterous: a murder mystery set in 35,000 B.C. But Sandy Dengler has done a cracking good job of telling a story of greed, sex, intrigue and murder among two prehistoric societies; at the time of the interface between those whom we moderns call the Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnons. A good enough story that I had a hard time putting the book down when I needed to do some work. -- Tom Griffith, reviewer for DorothyL e-mail forum

Dengler is masterful at creating characters that come alive in any era. I loved Gar. Hes so nakedinside and out. Yet at the same time, he is mysterious and secretive. Im reminded of Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael series in the way Dengler has placed a unique individual in a unique settingin a time and place one would least expect to find so astute an amateur sleuth. This mystery buff is already clamoring for more. -- Pat Rushford, author of the Helen Bradley Mysteries

This Pleistocene era mystery takes place in France, when the Real People (Neanderthals) were in decline and the Hairies, or Water People (Cro-Magnons), were in ascendanceI do think the author has promise. -- Murder: Past Tense (The Historical Mystery Appreciation Society)

Gar, a shaman of his clan, discovers a beheaded body in his territory. Now, No-Head's clansmen want Gar to find the killer or they will send evil spirits to destroy his kin. Gar, one of the Real People, or Neanderthals as we call them today, must search out the killer, traveling amid threats from man-eating animals and Hairies - or Cro-Magnons. And a mysterious stranger with the heart and strength of a hyna follows him every step of the way.

"Gar generally did not count himself among those men who paid undue attention to women, but this one was pretty hard to ignore. For one thing, she was quite comely, with golden orange-brown skin and the squared-off form - broad hips, broad shoulders - of a classic beauty. For another, she hovered over the lax body of a decapitated man, a bloodied skinning blade in one hand and a flint bone-chopping adze in the other."

Thus begins an adventure into our most distant yesterdays.

Gar, a shaman of his clan of Real People, is rudely coerced into finding the person who took the fellow's head. The spiritual health and very survival of his clan depend upon his skill - and luck - in uncovering the perpetrator.

Gar holds in his memory the collective lore of 50,000 years, from a time when Real People flourished unchallenged and ice had not covered their ancestral lands. Now they are a remnant, struggling to survive in a shrunken world that increasingly favors Hairies.

Today, we call them Neanderthals. To themselves, they were the Real People. And the Water People, the Hairies? Those were the other folk, the historically recent interlopers with a penchant for travel, strangers with beards and long hair, who didn't mind getting wet.

The world of Pleistocene France may have been much different 37,000 years ago during the Wurm glaciation, with its oddly different animals and uncertain climate, but Love and Death have been with us always. Based upon the latest information we've uncovered of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon ways, HYAENAS is an exploration of that world.