Thunder in the Dawn

Events immediately preceding Custer's death at the Little Big Horn provide the backdrop for an engaging new novel by the author of Song of Wovoka . Mason Hall has signed on with General George Crook's expedition against the Sioux as a way to exit Leavenworth Prison, where he killed a guard who was plotting to assassinate the warden. Recovering from his wounds from that fracas, he is riding in the wagon for the wounded when his companion dies of exposure. The intense winter cold, in fact, makes it unlikely that Crook can fulfill his mission to secure the return of the Indians to their designated reservations. Murray nicely juxtaposes his narrative of the cavalry expedition with scenes in the opposing Native American camp, where a mysterious prophetess named Ghostwind has the ear of the famed Sioux leader Crazy Horse. Like Hall, she is an orphan, a survivor of Custer's massacre of the Cheyenne at the Washita. These two outsiders come together when Hall saves Ghostwind's life and falls in love with her, setting the stage for an inevitable conflict between duty to his country and his newfound admiration for the Indians. Matters come to a head at the battle of Rosebud Creek, just one week before the Little Big Horn. The author's informative historical afterword provides context for the developments in this solidly written and plotted tale. (Oct.)