Coyote Wind

By: Peter Bowen

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Montana, "the last best place" of the disappearing American West, is the setting of Peter Bowen's splendid first mystery novel in a series to feature Gabriel Du Pre. A cattle-brand inspector and occasional sheriff's deputy, Du Pre moves easily among the ranchers, cowboys, Native Americans, barflies, dreamers, and Eastern dudes who populate what's left of the frontier.

In the desolate hills of the Fascelli family ranch, a skeleton has been discovered. The sheriff needs Du Pre's long experience in Montana to identify the bones. What Du Pre finds leads him on a search through the history of a troubled family, a search that brings him closer to a secret from his own past. Along the way, Du Pre meets a range of interesting folk, some to his liking, some decidedly not.

©1994 Peter Bowen (P)2003 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Gabe's rhythmic, regional voice and his sly wit take the novel to another level....Let's hope Bowen...finds time to give us many more Gabe Du Pre adventures." (Booklist)
"The great story and narration make this a most enjoyable production." (Kliatt)

I love this

The plot was solid, the characters remarkable, but it was a joy just to listen to the words themselves! On more than one occasion I found myself literally laughing out loud at one comment or another. The resigned confusion of a good man dealing with two adult daughters, and a girl friend, all strong, unique women, all well crafted characters, was a joy to witness. And Christopher Lane's voice made the the characters live and breathe for me. It makes me want to go to Montana! Almost.

A foreign tongue

Takes a while to “get into.” Like listening to someone with a strong foreign accent. I am glad I persevered. I will research more about this history and people

Good use of dialect and bad language

I never leave reviews but feel compelled to offset some prudish criticism I happened to see. I listened to this book in an afternoon of yardwork and thoroughly enjoyed it. For those who had objection to main character's dialect I guess you have never been around Louisiana cajuns or any others who have Working class French as first language. They end up with 'me' on the end of sentences. The dialect was authentic for a person of French-Native American heritage. As for bad language, I too have objections to books, movies or comedy that curses for no good reason, but to tell the truth I did not really notice bad language, which maybe says more about me and the critics than the author. I thought the adjectives furthered the characters and story rather than detracted. I've read a bunch of Tony Hillerman, all of the Longmire books and about six books of the Cort O'Conner series and this book fit in nicely as to having a protagonist of mixed heritage.

Coyote Wind

This author had me captivated from the first line. The use of words to develop the simple mind set of the major characters, their family bonds and easy humor,is a gift.

—Hidden GEM!—

I’d never read anything from Peter Bowen, And obviously didn’t know if I would enjoy the story. But, it sounded somewhat interesting from the summary, I am SO glad I did. I don’t think I’ve listen to a narrator with such talent, hitting the nail on the head so perfectly the entire time! I’d give this more stars/a higher rating if I could!