Sky Woman Falling
Anna Turnipseed and Emmett Quanah Parker series, No. 4
By Kirk Mitchell

    Kirk Mitchell tried his hand with science fiction before he found his true calling as a mystery writer. His second mystery series, of which this book is the fourth, has been the most successful and the most popular. His partnering of American Indian characters, FBI Special Agent Anna Turnipseed and Bureau of Indian Affairs Criminal Investigator Emmett Quanah Parker, has been sheer genius. As likeable as Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee and Lt. Leaphorn, Turnipseed and Parker give us a glimpse of two other Indian nations, the California Modoc and the Oklahoma Comanche, as well as whatever native tribe they happen to deal with when called out on a case.

    Mitchell also lets his readers see the world through the shifting focus of a highly competent, though personally troubled, female agent and an equally conflicted male investigator. Added to this mix is the tangle and sizzle of two police partners who are engaged in the romantic dance of trust and distrust.

     In this police case, Turnipseed and Parker puzzle over murder amid a tribal land squabble in New York among the Oneida that's tied up with an ancient creation legend of Sky Woman. Mitchell crafts a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. It is a fast paced, intelligent who-dunnit with a unique form of murder used in this story. Mitchell also paints his characters, even subordinate ones, with minute strokes, revealing deep psychological realism. You come to understand even the evildoers so well you have sympathy for them.

     It will be interesting to see what further adventures Mitchell has in store for Turnipseed and Parker.