Most helpful customer reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Too Many Genres to Satisfy, May 21 2002
It may be that what doomed the Tay-bodal series was the attempt to straddle three genres--mystery, American Indian, and historical. But if you haven't tried these offbeat mystery novels, you are missing a unique experience. Kiowa healer Tay-bodal moves among the great figures of the most famous moment in the tribe's history, the period of Satanta and Satank and the beginnings of the reservation system. He is a traditional herbalist with a probing and inquiring mind, as open to white medicinal practice as he is to the more spiritualist methods of other Kiowa healers. Each of the Tay-bodal stories hinges on a crime that has serious community implications for the tribe, and in each, Tay-bodal finds a solution through a combination of logic and action adventure. And the stories are linked together by the development of Tay-bodal's personal life. In this, probably final, book in the series, Medawar does something daring and touching, casting the entire book as a reminiscence of her hero, deep in his old age. The device works, as the plot involves reconsidering a crime supposedly solved decades ago. As the book ends, the old man has lost most of what mattered to him. Losing him is our loss, as well. This and the first book, *Death at Rainy Mountain*, are the best in the series.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Tay Bodal Rides Again, Aug 6 2000
I loved the Fort Larned Incident, as I have loved all of the previous Tay Bodal mysteries. Ms. Medawar not only infuses these novels with her keen sense of history and tells the story through the viewpoint of a great quirky protagonis, she also makes all of her secondary characters so real you feel like you know them personally. This was a terrific mystery and I never even came close to guessing whodunit. Actually, I wasn't that anxious to find out because I wanted the book to go on and on. Of course, I want time to stand still while the characters play out their dramas, since Tay Bodal lets us know what ultimately happened to his loved ones, friends, and enemies later on. I am not at all anxious to get to that part of history. I like to think these folks maintain their independence and strength forever, as none of us really manage to do. Unlike some of the smug and savvy current day detectives, Tay Bodal isn't sure of anybody. As well as he knows these people of the Rattle Band and as closely as he lives with them, he never quite has anyone figured out completely, least of all his wife Crying Wind or even his best friend Skywalker. This adds that very realistic human mystery that makes each character, as well as each plot, fascinating. Much as I hate for history to roll on, I sure hope Ms. Medawar has another Tay Bodal story in the works now. I miss him and the Rattle Band already.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Best in the series, Jul 29 2000
Just before the ten-year war between the Kiowa Nation and the US Army, the tribe tried to make peace with the whites. The Indians traveled to Ft. Larned, Oklahoma, the site of the first Bureau of Indian Affairs, for a peace celebration. While the tribesmen waited for their supplies, fighting and tribal conflict continued. Three Elks, son of the chief, is killed and the powerful Skywalker asks Tay-Bodal to determine who is the murderer.Tay-Bodal has solved three previous tribal homicides. He agrees to uncover the killer's identity, but becomes very reluctant when he learns White Bear is the prime suspect. Tay-Bodal is having marital troubles; White Bear is trying to court his spouse. While Tay-Bodal investigates the crime, someone else almost loses her life. THE FT. LARNED INCIDENT is a rich exciting historical mystery that places as much emphasis on the period as it does on the investigation. Readers see how the Kiowa lived, loved, and related to one another over a century ago. In his fourth appearance, Tay-Bodal retains his fascination because he believes he is just an ordinary guy even though he performs heroic feats when necessary. Fans will anxiously await the next entry in Mardi Oakley Medawar's wonderful Americana fictional series. Harriet Klausner
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