Solus by Peter Bowen

First Line: Du Pré looked at the young doctor who was looking at a file on his computer screen.

When you're a good man with a family who needs a place to hide out from the bad guys, there's no place better than Toussaint, Montana, and no better man to help you than Métis Indian and former cattle inspector Gabriel Du Pré. Du Pré already has his plate full; he has an ailing granddaughter back home from college, a meddling medicine man, and an eagle hunter from Kazakhstan keeping him busy.

Hoyt Poe was a guard at a Kabul prison and witnessed his fellow soldiers abusing the inmates. His testimony is going to expose the military contractor responsible for the prison's brutal interrogation program. That military contractor wants Poe dead, and he'll do anything to achieve his goal. How long will it be before his mercenaries find Poe and his family hiding out in Toussaint?

I've loved this series since the first book, Coyote Wind, but I do know that it is not for everyone. The main character is a Métis Indian-- a tribe descended from Canadian Indians and French trappers that moved down into Montana. He and his extended family and all their friends there in Toussaint are not politically correct. They speak in a gentle sort of dialect that shows their French roots, and it's amazing how Bowen accomplishes this using little more than well-placed commas and a few missing prepositions. These people may not behave the way we more "civilized" people want them to, but they are good people, fiercely independent, and much more willing to stand up for their principles than most of the rest of us. When Du Pré and his friends are given the task of protecting Hoyt Poe and his family, they take it very seriously indeed.

Solus is more social commentary than mystery, although readers will wonder who survives and how as they turn the pages. If you do not like politically incorrect people and if you dislike good people who speak out against the present government, please don't bother to read this book. It will only raise your blood pressure.

Besides the stories and the humor, one of the things I love the most about this book-- and the entire series-- is the cast of characters. From fiddle-playing Gabriel to his fizzy pink wine-loving Madelaine to Bart's wife who is ex-FBI and a steel-spined force of nature called Pidgeon, each character is special. Even the ones you never get to meet like Hoyt's Granny Dulcie, who "found the good in people and made them live up to it."

Reading Bowen's novels reminds me of my childhood when I would sit behind an easy chair or underneath the kitchen table and listen to the old folks talk. These relatives in their seventies, eighties, and nineties knew the previous century, and they certainly knew how to tell a tale. Listening to them, I learned that you took care of your own, you helped other folks when they needed it, you stood on your own two feet, and you never started a fight-- but when one was forced upon you, you finished it. And since I come from a long line of farmers, it sounds normal to me when customers walk into the Toussaint saloon for a meal and a good time and ask, "Who are we eating tonight?"

Solus ("a man alone" in Latin) isn't just about Hoyt Poe, although he's certainly one of the loneliest people on the planet with so many bad guys after him. It's also about people like Gabriel Du Pré and his friends. As I said before, this may not be a book or a series for you, but if it does sound intriguing, please give it a try. For the right reader, Peter Bowen is a very special writer.

Solus by Peter Bowen

eISBN: 9781504050906

Open Road Integrated Media © 2018

eBook, 226 pages

Law Enforcement, #15 Gabriel Du Pré mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Bitter Creek by Peter Bowen

First Line: Du Pré's sleep dissolved; he heard bacon sizzling in a pan, he rolled to Madelaine and found her gone.

Madelaine's son, Chappie Plaquemines, hasn't had an easy transition from serving in Iraq. When his lieutenant comes to Montana to convince Chappie to accept a medal, he and Du Pré have to find him first. Once he's located, a trip to a sweat lodge is in order, and it's there that things become a little strange.

Otherworldly voices within the lodge begin talking of a place called Bitter Creek and of a band of Métis who were last seen trying to escape from General Black Jack Pershing's men in 1910. The men decide to look for Bitter Creek, which leads Du Pré to the last living survivor of the massacre. Led by the frail, ancient woman, Du Pré finds that he and the others are about to uncover some long-buried secrets that no one in the area wants brought to light. Chappie, Patchen and Du Pré know what they're getting into, but they also know that the massacre victims deserve both justice and to finally rest in peace.

I have long been a fan of Peter Bowen's series. It's been several years since the last book (Nails) was published, so I was thrilled to see this one. It brings back everything I love about these books, although some of those things might not be for everyone.

Bowen writes about the Métis, a group of mixed French and Native American people, living in the wilds of Montana. The author does an excellent job in giving us a feel for the pidgin English they speak. The words that are left out give the Métis' speech a French cadence that is part of their heritage. I love it, but I can see why it might prove to be an annoyance to other readers. The Métis also often have outspoken views and ways of doing things. For instance, Du Pré's grandchildren are growing up to be fine human beings despite parenting of which many modern experts would disapprove. The Métis are a proud people-- independent spirits-- and for all intents and purposes, they are left alone now, mostly because they live where no one else wants to.

Bowen has created an excellent cast of characters that I love to read about. The old cowboy Booger Tom is the focus of most of the humor in Bitter Creek, thanks to a water buffalo named Eustace. The war between those two is hilarious.

The focus of this book is the 100-year-old mystery of exactly who was responsible for the massacre of the band of Métis trying to escape to Canada, and Du Pré and the others are dealing with the descendants of the people who were probably responsible. This creates a lot of tension as the story progresses because the reader is never certain what those people are willing to do in order to keep century-old secrets buried. Those scenes of Booger Tom and Eustace provide much needed levity.

There's also a modern-day murder in Bitter Creek, but it definitely takes a backseat to the old mystery. In fact, it almost feels tacked on-- as if Bowen wanted to prove that not all country sheriffs are stupid (and they're not).

I loved spending time with Du Pré and the others. I've missed them-- and I'm hoping that Bowen may have a Montana story or two left to tell us in the future.

Bitter Creek by Peter Bowen

eISBN: 9781497685123

Open Road Media © 2015

eBook, 237 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #14 Gabriel Du Pré mystery

Rating: A-

Source: NetGalley 

Nails by Peter Bowen

Title: Nails
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 9780312312077
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2006
Hardcover, 240 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #13 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Bookcloseouts.

First Line: Du Pré looked east.

A family member has returned from Iraq missing a leg, an eye, and his grip on reality. His hellion of a granddaughter, Pallas, has returned from her studies in Washington, D.C., and a vanload of fundamentalist Christians has arrived in Toussaint, Montana. Du Pré is pretty sure he's going to have his hands full for a while.

Graffiti on the door of Father Van Den Heuvel's church and a panicked phone call from an unidentified girl cause people in the town of Toussaint to be worried, and when the nude body of a young girl is found by the side of the road, Du Pré and the others know it has something to do with the newly-arrived fundamentalists. The trick is in finding out how and why.

It is depressing when a much-loved series of books comes to an end, but in many ways, Nails is a fitting end to the story of Gabriel Du Pré and the people of Toussaint, Montana.

Throughout the series, Father Van Den Heuvel has been seen as a lovable but almost fatally clumsy man-- a figure of fun. In Nails, we are given a chance to see him fleshed out, and it becomes clear why the townspeople love him.

Gabriel Du Pré lives where he should-- in a land of fiercely independent people who take care of their own and who take responsibility for their own actions. He is the furthest thing from politically correct. He ignores the speed limit, smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, and drinks whisky like most people chug down bottled water. But he also plays fiddle like an angel, takes care of his friends, and defends the weak. These are his passions, and he serves them well.

Throughout the book are little stories that don't do much to advance the plot, but they make me smile and love these characters even more. These people are not rednecks. They are living the life they want to live and raising their families. Their children are scattered around the globe, serving in the military, working for oil companies, studying art.

A friend read one of these books. I had carefully told her about the non-PC elements because I didn't want her to have any rude shocks. When she was finished reading, she started to rant about child abuse and the myriad other things she found wrong. Well... she's thirty years younger than me. She's come to believe that parenting is in effect wrapping children in cotton batting so nothing can hurt them and giving them everything they want. When I read about Du Pré and Madelaine's methods, it feels familiar. I see lots of love, and I see people raising children to be responsible and to work for what they want. If this makes me an old fart, then that's what I am.

Nails is touched with sorrow, showing a small town that's dying around the edges. As a local schoolteacher says, "These days, if you don't have an education and often enough if you do, you work for nothing and you get nothing for a life of work." This book, more than all the others, shows how ignorance and fear beget violence.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew exactly what he was talking about when he said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Peter Bowen reminds us all that there are still people who do not fear to do what is right, and I cherish his portrait of them.

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Stewball by Peter Bowen

Title: Stewball
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 9780312277307
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2005
Hardcover, 224 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #12 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Bookcloseouts.

First Line: Du Pré and Madelaine and Pallas were standing in the Billings Airport.

When Du Pré's Aunt Pauline asks him for help in finding her missing husband, Badger, Du Pré reluctantly agrees. The first thing he finds is Badger's body out in the middle of nowhere with a bullet hole in the base of his skull.

Since Badger was known to be mixed up in all sorts of things that agencies like the FBI would be interested in, Du Pré calls his FBI friend, Harvey Wallace, with the information. Before you know it, Du Pré has gone undercover with a pair of horses and a jockey in the world of illegal brush racing.

I enjoy the interactions of Du Pré, his partner of many years, Madelaine, and his children and grandchildren, and this book has plenty of that. When Stewball goes into the world of brush racing, it is as if the book has wings. Bowen could easily have included a hundred more pages about this and I would not have tired of it.

This is another strong entry in one of my favorite series, but I can't help being rather sad. There's only one book left, and then there will be no more new entertaining tales of this wonderful, colorful fiddle player.

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The Tumbler by Peter Bowen

Title: The Tumbler
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 0312277334, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #11 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Bookcloseouts

First Line: "She was some pissed," said Bassman.

It is said the lost journals of Meriwether Lewis are somewhere to be found in Toussaint, Montana. It is also said that Gabriel Du Pré is the only person who knows where they are. Technically that's not true, but Du Pré's old friend Benetsee isn't exactly the type of person to do anything he doesn't want to do (which is precisely why Gabe gave him the journals). The federal government believes that he should hand over the journals free of charge, and while Du Pré's lawyer has the Feds tied up in knots, other less pleasant forces make it clear that they want the journals, too.

Du Pré throws back the cash-filled envelopes they leave on his car seat; he has no use for them. Unfortunately the stakes are raised when two friends are kidnapped with the journals sought as ransom. Will Du Pré be able to settle everything to his satisfaction with none of the good guys getting hurt?

I love this series, and I've always been clear about Du Pré being about the furthest away from a Politically Correct character that a reader can find. He drinks too much, he smokes too much, he drives too fast (often all three at the same time), he ekes out a living playing a fiddle in local roadhouses-- even his child-rearing techniques won't pass inspection with today's modern mothers.

What he doesn't lack is a moral center made of flawless diamond. Evidently all that cigarette smoke and alcohol not only fuels his fiddling but adds to this man's unshakable integrity. The beauty of Montana and the history of a small segment of its population are two reasons why I love this series so much, but there's another reason for my love. Du Pré's Montana is shown as a battleground where technology and greed smash headlong into the concept of personal integrity.

Long live responsibility and integrity.

Badlands by Peter Bowen

Title: Badlands
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 0-312-26252-3, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2003
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #10 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: B+

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.

[Source: Purchased through Bookcloseouts.com.]

Ash Child by Peter Bowen

Title: Ash Child
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 0312288506, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2002
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #9 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: B

First Line: Du Pré was pissed off.

This is one of my very favorite mystery series. I'd like for it to be one of yours, too, but in order for that to happen, you'll have to check any political correctness you may have at the door before you walk into the Toussaint Saloon to meet with characters that are so fully fleshed you'd swear they were alive. They are also farmers and ranchers, and their language may be a tad saltier than you're used to.

Gabriel Du Pré is a Métis Indian and occasional cattle brand inspector in the wilds of Montana. Nowadays he helps out the local sheriff when he isn't playing some of the best fiddle music you've ever heard in your life. Du Pré is probably more than a little bit different from the characters you're used to reading about:

"I checked you out," said Vook. "Du Pré is a good guy, they say, real good guy, runs on Bull Durham and bourbon and he pisses on the little laws but he's good about the big ones."

Maddy Collins was an old lady who lived on the edge of Toussaint and pretty much kept herself to herself, but everyone in town is upset when her body is found inside her small house. Someone had bashed in her head. Who on earth would want to do something like that to a person who'd never caused harm to another soul? Maddy's death doesn't set well with Du Pré, and he starts looking for the murderer. When he and Madelaine, the lady in his life, find out that drugs might have something to do with the woman's death, they ask an expert what they should be looking for. The expert gives them some things to look for, and--since they live in a small town--they know exactly who's involved.

An old woman's death, drug trafficking in a small Montana town...and then the Wolf Mountains start to burn. Everything Du Pré holds dear, including his own life, is at risk.

Peter Bowen is a master craftsman. The Métis speech patterns, at first strange to the ear, become more familiar with each book until they're completely natural. The independent spirit of all the people living in and around this small town feels familiar. When faced with a problem, they prefer to deal with it themselves. No agencies or government bureaucrats for the people of Toussaint. Even Du Pré's fiddle playing has a life of its own. Bowen's prose are lean and totally evocative of the place and the people of which he writes. There's not an unnecessary scene or phrase to be found.

If you'd like to spend a couple of hours with some real characters taking care of business, if you'd like to get a feel for the real West, you can't go wrong with a Gabriel Du Pré mystery by Peter Bowen.