This is the first book I've read by Peter Bowen. Gabriel Du Pré is a Métis cattle brand inspector in Montana. He is confronted with the problem of a large cult moving into his area. Their motives are unclear and when eight former members are murdered at the same time in various parts of the country, the FBI is sent in to investigate. Being new to the series, I'm unsure how Gabriel and some of the agents are connected, but they have respect for his methods and depend on him for help. He depends on his heritage and a bit of magic from the medicine man, though he doesn't understand it.
This is narrated by Christopher Lane, and I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if it hadn't been. There seemed to be far too many attributives, possibly because each character had short lines of speech, or because they weren't necessary in the spoken version with the different voices. It worked though, keeping the native style of speech brief. The cadence was good. I didn't feel that the story wrapped up well at the end, and there were several "magic" moments to achieve goals, but again, it worked with the native background. The language was rough and dirty, but fit the characters. I will be finding more of these books. Audio by Lane, if possible, and I'd like to try a hard copy to see how it reads in my head. ( )

First Line: Du Pré fiddled the last bars of Poundmaker's Reel, drawing the last note out and then fading it to silence.

I'm slowly coming to the end of this series. I keep putting it off, but sooner or later I just have to have a Du Pré fix, and I get one book closer to No More.

Whenever I review one of Peter Bowen's Gabriel Du Pré mysteries, readers seldom comment. Perhaps it's because Du Pré is so unabashedly not politically correct. He likes to smoke. He likes to drink. He likes to drive his old police cruiser at high speed down those empty Montana highways-- usually all three at the same time.

Parker came up to it. She bent over and put her head in. "You OK," she said.

"Yah," said Du Pré. "I am doing the damned speed limit, yes?"

"Yeah," said Parker, "you were, which worried the hell out of me. There's Du Pré I says to myself, and he musta been carjacked cause he is just driving the speed limit. Little under actually. You feel all right?"

That alone is enough to make him anathema in many homes, and it's a downright shame. By not touching these books, readers are missing out on wonderful music, the culture of the Métis Indians, the lilting cadence of Coyote French, and the strong uncompromising landscape of Montana and its fiercely independent inhabitants who know how to take care of their own with no outside interference.

In this tenth book of the series, a ranch family has come on hard times and put their land up for sale. The land is bought by the Host of Yahweh, a cult from California. Soon trucks are delivering all sorts of building materials and supplies. Dozens of homes go up for cult members to live in, and barbed wire starts being strung. The Host of Yahweh's property borders the Badlands where the wild horses live. The cult doesn't want the horses to come on their land for water or grazing, and when they post a couple of members out there to kill the horses, that bothers Du Pré. Of course, he's already bothered because his friend in the FBI has let him know that everyone who tries to leave the cult winds up dead.

Trying to get the goods on the Host of Yahweh isn't the only thing going on in Badlands. Bowen's series is always filled with music and laughter. Du Pré's fiddle provides the backdrop to the real life moments of coping with failing eyesight and headstrong grandchildren and trying to scratch out a living on the land. That California cult may think it can have its way with the country hicks who live around Toussaint, Montana, but these tough folks know how to take care of their own with love, with spirit, and with honesty. Reading a Gabriel Du Pré mystery is reading about America the way it used to be... and the way it still is if you happen to mosey down the right highway. ( )

Another great read ( )