The Redbird's Cry: A Molly Bearpaw Mystery

Among the best mysteries featuring Native American characters and milieu are Hager's stories, especially those starring plucky, part-Cherokee Molly Bearpaw, investigator for the Native American Advocacy League on tribal lands in rural Oklahoma. When storyteller Tom Battle falls to the ground during a festival, all eyes turn to Wolf Kawaya, sworn political enemy of Battle and former husband of Battle's current lover. Wolf belongs to the militant True Echota Band and Tom, a lawyer, had recently won several decisions in the Cherokee Nation's court fights with the Band. Eventually, nicotine poisoning is given as the cause of death and Molly must untangle motivations of the heart and politics among suspects who also include schizophrenic loners and overprotective family members. Although the politics are sometimes cursorily handled, Hager explores the Cherokee culture with trenchant compassion rather than overcareful reverence and deftly inserts hairpin turns into the narrative. Her characters sparkle with humor and sorrow and, occasionally, with treachery. This is the second in a series that began with Ravenmocker. (Apr.)