From Library Journal
Tay-bodel, an aging Kiowa "practical" doctor last seen in Death at Rainy Mountain (St. Martin's, 1996), offers another of his adventures as a young man in the 1860s. During the tribe's winter retreat to the Palo Dura Canyon in northern Texas, rumors of witchcraft and the Dark Way cause dissension among various Kiowa bands: two horses are killed and a woman is murdered. Known for his healing abilities and observational skills, Tay-bodel is asked to prove the absence of witchcraft. Native American traditions, culture, and intelligence lend the whole a meaty authenticity, tempered by Tay-bodel's pragmatism and overweening compassion. A fine work; strongly recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Tay-bodal isn't much to look at; nobody trusts him with weapons; and he's not even a good tracker. At the rate he's going, though, the Kiowa healer will soon be able to hang out his shingle as a detective. Married now to his sweetheart Crying Wind, he's roused from his mental hibernation in the winter encampment of 1867 by the disappearance of his best friend Skywalker, the slaying of two of his wife's relative The Cheyenne Robber's best horses, and the premature death of He Goes Into Battle First's scheming second wife. It's the work of a witch, insists competing healer Red Bird, an adversary of Tay-bodal's ever since Skywalker vetoed his bid to become an Owl Doctor--and the witch is none other than Crying Wind. But Tay-bodal finds that if you scratch an apparition, you're likely to find underneath a distinctly modern explanation: ``A lot of young people have been slipping around in this camp.'' The writing, which takes a refreshingly matter-of-fact approach to Kiowa mysticism, is a big step forward from Tay- bodal's debut (Death at Rainy Mountain, 1996)--though his creator's continued fondness for numberless subplots (is there anybody in camp who's not slipping around, and on so many unrelated errands?) rather blunts the unmasking of the cleverly hidden killer. --
Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
