ANCIENT ONES
Kirk Mitchell, ANCIENT ONESKirk Mitchell
The unearthing of what seems to be the 14,000-year-old skeleton of a male Caucasian from an Oregon riverbank raises important cultural issues in Mitchell's latest book (after 2000's Spirit Sickness ) about Bureau of Indian Affairs Investigator Emmett Parker and FBI Special Agent Anna Turnipseed, who are both part–Native American. Not only does the discovery go against most theories of when Caucasians arrived in the area, it also looks as though Native Americans ate the victim. Add to this the disruptive presence of a beautiful young woman seeking to have the bones classified under a political hot potato called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and you have enough story for any book. But Mitchell also spends a lot of time on another vital issue: Will Parker and Turnipseed ever have sex? The attraction is certainly there, but Anna's history as an abused child has put up such a serious barrier that she and Emmett have consulted a sex therapist, who advises sneaking up on the problem with a series of games. So, while the discoverer of the skeleton is being gutted, the beautiful Native American woman is being kidnapped and the feds' Explorer is being blown up in a hotel parking lot, Parker and Turnipseed grope in public and swim naked in an attempt to follow the therapist's advice. The trouble is, every time they get close to a magic moment, something terrible intervenes. After a while, that pattern does tend to cool off most of the heat of Mitchell's otherwise involving, learned narrative. (May 8)
Forecast: The April release of
Spirit Sickness in paperback, which includes a preview chapter from this title, and the continued popularity of Native American mysteries bode well for sales.
closeDetailsReviewed on: 03/05/2001
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4417-1570-8
Hardcover - 563 pages - 978-0-375-43247-7
MP3 CD - 978-1-4417-1574-6
Mass Market Paperbound - 400 pages - 978-0-553-57920-8
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4417-1577-7
The unearthing of what seems to be the 14,000-year-old skeleton of a male Caucasian from an Oregon riverbank raises important cultural issues in Mitchell's latest book (after 2000's
Reviewed on: 03/05/2001
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4417-1570-8
Hardcover - 563 pages - 978-0-375-43247-7
MP3 CD - 978-1-4417-1574-6
Mass Market Paperbound - 400 pages - 978-0-553-57920-8
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4417-1577-7
