Too much whining, introspection and a clueless reporter who drinks too much. Some good Native American history wasted. ( )

The author digs up a dry and dusty Indian land for sale in exchange for a casino story that has a protagonist that is to much of a weepy, wine-soaked victim to liked and finishes of with an ending we all saw coming a mileaway. Shame, as it actually had merit as a story but I wasn't made to care about any of the characters. ( )

Blood Memory is a tremendously good book by Margaret Coel. This is a Catherine McLeod mystery. Catherine is a reporter for a major newspaper in Denver. The story centers on the fact that someone is trying to kill her before she can reveal the true facts on a planned casino. This is a well-crafted story that keeps the reader devouring each page. I highly recommend this book. ( )

Catherine McLeod works for The Journal in Denver. She is covering a story about the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes filing to reclaim their 27 million acres of land. Someone doesn't want her to know the details of this deal because she becomes the target of an assassin. She has narrowly escaped his attacks as she continues to uncover many secrets about a conspiracy that leads way back into the past and the founding of Denver itself. She also learns about her own heritage.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book very much not only for the current mystery but the immense amount of Native American history contained in this story. At times it was a little hard to follow, but after reading this book I did a little research into the treaty and it can be very hard to understand on its own. Coel's ability to wrap a entire story around it is masterful. The author is a historian and said to be an expert in the Arapaho Indians and it shines through clearly in her work. I am sure that is why her other series is so successful as well.

I am a long-time fan of the Windy River Reservation mystery series, and I was a bit disappointed when I got this book to see that it's about a different heroine. But Coel can write, and she sprinkles such fascinating native and Arapaho history in her books, so I decided to read it. I enjoyed the book, but it didn't grip me like Father John. Catherine McLeod, I think, will grow into an interesting heroine, but I missed the heart-stopping suspense of Coel's well-known series. I missed the practicalness of Father John. Catherine is not that, not by a long shot. She's very impulsive, and does things without much thought. That is a bit off-putting when she is supposedly running for her life as she is in this book. Not sure yet whether I will read more of her or not, but I can assure you that I will devour the next Father John mystery that comes out. ( )