Friday 2 February 2018

#BookReview Buffalo Jump Blues by Keith McCafferty

Buffalo Jump Blues by Keith McCafferty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the fifth novel in the Sean Stranahan mystery series, Montana's favorite fly fisherman-detective tackles a case of lost love, murder, and wildlife politics

In the wake of Fourth of July fireworks in Montana’s Madison Valley, Hyalite County sheriff Martha Ettinger and Deputy Sheriff Harold Little Feather investigate a horrific scene at the Palisades cliffs, where a herd of bison have fallen to their deaths. Victims of blind panic caused by the pyrotechnics, or a ritualistic hunting practice dating back thousands of years? The person who would know is beyond asking, an Indian man found dead among the bison, his leg pierced by an arrow.

Farther up the valley, fly fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan has been hired by the beautiful Ida Evening Star, a Chippewa Cree woman who moonlights as a mermaid at the Trout Tails Bar & Grill, to find her old flame, John Running Boy. The cases seem unrelated—until Sean’s search leads him right to the brink of the buffalo jump. With unforgettable characters and written with his signature grace and wry humor, Buffalo Jump Blues weaves a gripping tale of murder, wildlife politics, and lost love.

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My first reaction when I started to read this book was puzzlement. Not over the story, but that Martha and Harold Little Feather seemed to be an item (again). I kept thinking, but what about Sean? What about the ending in the last book? Then, it was all cleared up and explained. Sigh, humans, that they never learn. 

As for the story about the mass death of the bisons that was a gruesome scene to read about. I'm not a big fan of death of animals in books and reading about Harold walking around the dying animals and being the one that had to kill the ones that were still alive was horrible. It was an interesting case, although it felt like it took some time for the story to really get interesting when it came to this storyline.

There are two side stories in this book, the death of the man found after the buffalo jump that Martha and Harold have to deal with and Sean Stranahan being hired to search for man by a woman that moonlights as a mermaid at a bar. I found both stories interesting and yes there is a connection between the cases. Then, there is all the circus concerning a young bison calf that part I actually enjoyed the most to read about. And, because of that I really loved the ending of the book!

Buffalo Jump Blues is a good book, not as captivating as the previous, but still a good book!

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