Sky Woman Falling

Rating:
Summary: A baffling murder in an atmosphere of animosity
Review: FBI special agent Anna Turnipseed, a California Modoc, again teams up with Bureau of Indian Affairs Investigator Emmett Parker, an Oklahoma Comanche, in a murder case in upstate New York, where friction between Oneida Indians and local whites are high after a court case awarded most of suburban upstate to the Indians.

The victim, Brenda Two Kettles, an outspoken Oneida, fell to her death from the sky - presumably from the airplane she was taking to unstated business in New York City. But time and route implausabilities are only the beginning in this baffling case. As the pair - still caught up in their unfulfilled attraction - explore family and community leads, a picture of conflicts emerges. Conflict between Two Kettles and her impoverished and alcoholic family and tribal leaders. And conflict between angry whites and long-aggrieved Indians.

Mitchell ("Ancient Ones"), a former reservation cop, tells the story from several viewpoints, including a childlike giant who janitors at the Indian museum and harbors some fearful secret. The plot encompasses tribal legends and Anna's prescient dreams as well as ugly racism, modern power struggles and smart police work. An explosive, double-barreled climax and an ingenious resolution top things off. Anna remains an intriguing protagonist in this well-grounded, suspense-filled series.

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly consistent with Iroquois politics/culture
Review: Sky Woman Falling ranks with Tony Hillerman's best books in its stunningly accurate portrayal of contemporary Iroquois society. He takes a very complex situation, the gambling crisis which has ripped apart the Iroquois, and written a novel which describes not only the internal tensions but the tragic results stemming from this latest assault upon the Six Nations. His command of Haudenosaunee cosmology, spirituality and symbolism is truly unique for a non-Native novelist. There is nothing patronizing is this book. The principals in Sky Woman Falling are Native investigators as are the culprits. He correctly portrays the Native gambling advocates as complex humans seduced, and then corrupted, by casino gambling. Mitchell obviously used a lot of shoe leather travelling around central New York; his descriptions of the land and people are without parallel. The story takes place among the Oneidas but could have just as easily described events among the Seneca, Onondaga or Mohawk. As a Mohawk writer I applaud this book and strongly urge anyone who has an interest in the Iroquois to read it and pass it along to your friends. It would make a great film.
Doug George-Kanentiio
Akwesasane Mohawk residing on Oneida Territory

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent Parker and Turnipseed outing
Review: Woven around the good and bad influences of an Indian casino in New York State and the politics involved, Emmett Parker and Anna Turnipseed find themselves in the middle of the Oneida culture and legends. Fast-moving, and inhabited with people you like and hate, this fourth episode featuring Parker/Turnipseed is excellent. Descriptions of the land and characters are evocative; the path to solving the death that took them to Syracuse and Oneida lands twisted and strewn with obstacles. This work is excellent (can't use that word enough) to the very last page.

If this is your first Kirk Mitchell novel, you owe it to yourself to read the preceding three. They just get better.