The Witch's Tongue: A Charlie Moon Mystery

The Witch's Tongue: A Charlie Moon Mystery
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429903791

Strange things are happening near Granite Creek, Colorado, all in the space of less than twenty-four hours. A Ute shaman dreams of being buried alive and hears the hooting of an owl, signaling impending death. A man walks into Spirit Canyon and disappears, leaving his battered wife both relieved and devastated. A private museum is burgled. An Apache is arrested for assaulting a police officer. And a sniper takes a shot through an antique store window, wounding the proprietor. Part-time Ute tribal investigator Charlie Moon would rather be tending to his duties on the Columbine Ranch than playing detective with this puzzling collection of seemingly unrelated events. But when the local police and the FBI-including the beguiling Special Agent Lila McTeague-can't seem to put it all together, Charlie must connect the dots before anyone else dies. In The Witch's Tongue, James D. Doss's complex and absorbing crime novel set on the Ute reservation in Southern Colorado, Charlie Moon's cleverness and his aunt Daisy Perika's intuition-not to mention the spellbinding story behind this hell of a day-share the limelight with the vibrant details of Native life and custom.

Dead Soul

Dead Soul
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2010-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429903805

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.

The Old Gray Wolf

The Old Gray Wolf
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2012-10-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250018099

Colorado rancher and investigator Charlie Moon accidentally kills a purse snatcher with ties to the mob in Doss's latest gem Former police officer, sometime tribal investigator, and current rancher Charlie Moon and Chief of Police Scott Parris didn't mean for things to get out of hand, but the purse-snatching LeRoy Hooten left them with little choice when he made a run for it. When Hooten dies due to his injuries, as bad as they feel about it, there is little that they can do. However, the dead man's mother—a widow to a brutal mobster—wastes no time making a call to an old associate to settle the score. With an assassin on his way, the FBI close behind, and a new P.I. bringing up the rear, Moon and Parris will need to watch their backs in Doss's raucous addition to his wild and witty western mystery series.

Coffin Man

Coffin Man
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2011-11-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429983051

When Colorado rancher and part-time tribal investigator Charlie Moon gets a call from Wanda Naranjo, she's panicked. Not only is her sink leaking, which Moon graciously fixes, but her sixteen-year-old daughter, Betty, has gone missing. For how long? Only a few hours, but she's pregnant. So what about the father-to-be? It's a good question and anybody's guess. Betty has kept her lips sealed on the subject. And that's not all. Betty claimed to be going to see a school counselor on what turned out to be his day off. So was she running away or was she abducted? Moon's best friend, Granite Creek Chief of Police Scott Parris, doesn't believe any of it and suspects that Wanda tricked them into doing a little emergency plumbing. While it's enough to make Parris's blood boil, Moon can't shake the feeling that some other foul play might be at work. James D. Doss's Coffin Man is a witty ride through the Wild West that's chock-full of tall tales, wide-open spaces, and Doss's signature homespun wit.

Shadow Man

Shadow Man
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2010-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429903813

When a local prosecuting attorney is killed by long-range rifle while dining at an exclusive Granite Creek, Colorado, restaurant, it seems obvious that a vengeful criminal is to blame. But orthodontist Manfred Blinkoe was sitting ten feet away and he insists that he was the intended victim. In fact, he claims that just before the shot was fired, he saw his doppelganger--an eerie lookalike--as he has in the past just before a near-death experience. Terrified, Blinkoe hires Charlie Moon to find the lookalike, but before Charlie can get anywhere, Blinkoe is murdered for real. As usual in Doss's clever, intricately drawn mysteries, the cagey Charlie Moon and his Ute shaman Aunt Daisy share the spotlight.

Witch Craft

Witch Craft
Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2009-09-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429929464

Someone, or something, is setting fire to the homes of the city's most infamous non-humans, racking up a body count that's growing by the day. And strange, otherworldly creatures no one has seen before—selkies trolls and harpies—are causing chaos throughout the city. Racing to stop the carnage, Luna turns to sexy federal agent Will Fagin for help. As they work to uncover the source of the bloodshed, Luna's attraction for Will deepens. But just as she learns Will's darkest secret, Nocturne City is thrust into total chaos—leaving Luna and Will in a path of destruction they may not be able to stop...or survive.

Snake Dreams

Snake Dreams
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-02-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429922303

With his Southwestern series, bestselling author James D. Doss and his dryly humorous, no-nonsense Native American sleuth, Charlie Moon, have brought law and what's going to have to pass for order to Charlie's Columbine Ranch and the nearby Ute reservation. Now the seven-foot rancher and part-time tribal investigator wants to carve out a little more space for himself alongside FBI Special Agent Lila Mae McTeague. That's right: Charlie has it in his head that he's going to get hitched. That is, unless Charlie's irascible aunt, her sixteen-year-old niece, and their visions of a dead woman—her throat slit from ear to ear—have anything to say about it. With a bit of romance and full measure of murder, Snake Dreams, the thirteenth in James D. Doss's widely loved Charlie Moon series, is a haunting tale best told under a full moon and beside a crackling fire.

White Shell Woman

White Shell Woman
Author: James D. Doss
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0061869945

The two sandstone monoliths towering over the southern Colorado landscape are wrapped in ancient mystery. To the local tribes, they are the Twin War Gods, sons of the moon goddess, White Shell Woman. Legends tell of strange happenings in their shadows, of lost treasure and Anasazi blood sacrifice. But it is a much more recent history that troubles former Ute policeman-turned-rancher Charlie Moon, specifically the fresh corpse of a young Native American woman unearthed at an archaeological dig.

Spider Lake

Spider Lake
Author: Jeff Nania
Publisher: Feet Wet Writing
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2021-04-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1736337386

A missing federal agent, suitcases full of cash, a secluded cabin in the woods. Spider Lake is no longer the peaceful retreat John Cabrelli needs to recover from gunshot wounds and start a new life. Knowing Cabrelli is a former law enforcement officer, the new chief of police recruits him to help untangle a string of strange events in the little town of Musky Falls. Cabrelli and a colorful team of local residents land in the center of a fast-paced action thriller with a surprise ending that’s sure to make your head spin. Winner of the 2021 IPPY Awards for mysteries. Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist for best second novel. Winner of the 2021 Midwest Book Awards for cover design. Spider Lake is the second book in the Northern Lakes Mystery series. "Nania (again) weaves a plot that is both believable and complex, reflecting real-world scenarios where bad guys ply their criminal trade wherever they can." — Valerie Biel, award-winning author