Gabriel Du Pré is one of my favorite fictional detectives if not my absolute favorite. He is a simple man (in the best sense of the word), does not search out trouble but does not shy away from getting involved if a friend or sometimes even a stranger needs assistance. His logical mind can make sense of most mysteries, given time and enough facts. He treats all people with respect, whether highly placed or common man or those who are considered "low life" by some. AND he doesn't shy away from the occasional whiskey ditch (had to look it up, it's a Montana term for whiskey and water on the rocks) or from entertaining folks with his fiddle playing, honoring the tunes of his ancestor Métis.
"Bitter Creek" does not deal with a modern mystery at least not at first. Du Pré must deal with the ghosts figuratively and perhaps literally of an ancient massacre. Finding perhaps the only living survivor living in Saskatchewan, he makes a road trip to talk with her, and finds that she wants to return to the scene of the crime before she passes. EXCEPT ... she holds another secret, as well. One she plans to take to the grave. Du Pré learns that even after 100 years, not everyone is wanting the secrets of the massacre to see the light of day. And some are willing to add to the ancient death toll in order to keep the past buried.
Plot, characterization, pacing ... all typically excellent work from author Peter Bowen. (I especially liked the showdown between the XXX clan and Homeland Security.) HOWEVER ... I do not feel that Jim Meskimen was the best choice to narrate the audio version of this book. His vocal adaptations to represent the various characters in the book did not reach the standards set by so many other narrators that I've enjoyed over the years. Also, I had always thought that "Bassman" who played the Bass was pronounced as would the musical instrument with a long "A" NOT, as the narrator did, as the fish with the soft "a" also found in "man". I could be wrong, BUT until corrected, I found the constant "mis" pronunciation especially annoying.
I wish more readers would discover the wonders of Gabriel Du Pré and his friends and family in rural Montana, as described in the "Montana Mysteries" series by Peter Bowen.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, docked down for the narration. HOWEVER, rounded up to 5 stars for those systems that cannot handle half-stars.
"Bitter Creek" does not deal with a modern mystery at least not at first. Du Pré must deal with the ghosts figuratively and perhaps literally of an ancient massacre. Finding perhaps the only living survivor living in Saskatchewan, he makes a road trip to talk with her, and finds that she wants to return to the scene of the crime before she passes. EXCEPT ... she holds another secret, as well. One she plans to take to the grave. Du Pré learns that even after 100 years, not everyone is wanting the secrets of the massacre to see the light of day. And some are willing to add to the ancient death toll in order to keep the past buried.
Plot, characterization, pacing ... all typically excellent work from author Peter Bowen. (I especially liked the showdown between the XXX clan and Homeland Security.) HOWEVER ... I do not feel that Jim Meskimen was the best choice to narrate the audio version of this book. His vocal adaptations to represent the various characters in the book did not reach the standards set by so many other narrators that I've enjoyed over the years. Also, I had always thought that "Bassman" who played the Bass was pronounced as would the musical instrument with a long "A" NOT, as the narrator did, as the fish with the soft "a" also found in "man". I could be wrong, BUT until corrected, I found the constant "mis" pronunciation especially annoying.
I wish more readers would discover the wonders of Gabriel Du Pré and his friends and family in rural Montana, as described in the "Montana Mysteries" series by Peter Bowen.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars, docked down for the narration. HOWEVER, rounded up to 5 stars for those systems that cannot handle half-stars.
