When tribal chairman Oscar Sweetwater asks Charlie Moon to look into the murder of a fellow Ute, Billy Smoke, Charlie agrees, but he doesn`t expect to find anything. After all, Billy`s boss, U.S. Senator Patch Davidson, nearly died in the ambush that night, too, so the FBI handled the investigation and it`s still unsolved. The senator does happen to be Charlie`s neighbor, though-their ranches share a fence line-so maybe the senator will be more forthcoming with him than he was with the FBI.Meanwhile, Charlie`s aunt Daisy, an elderly tribal shaman whose visions are looked upon by Charlie with skepticism even when they ring true, has seen a woman desperate for Charlie`s help. Daisy begins to badger Charlie to look for her, even though she can`t tell him her name, where to look, or why she`s in trouble.All in all, it`s shaping up to be another season in which the gentleman rancher spends more time being a reluctant investigator than working on his ranch, helping with the cattle or in the hunt for Two-toes, the bobcat who`s been sneaking up on his men at work. And truth be told, he`d rather go after the cat, who doesn`t seem as dangerous as Senator Davidson`s enemies or Billy Smoke`s "business" connections. James Doss`s novels are consistently acclaimed for their combination of tight, suspenseful plotting and lyrical, authentic rendering of Native American themes and images, and Dead Soul is no exception.
