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horthhill's review
5.0
"Cold Skies" by Thomas King was a light-hearted cozy mystery. Thumps Dreadfulwater is the detective ...a reluctant detective who spends most of the novel humourously avoiding being named acting sheriff. All the while, Thumps is, almost off-handedly, putting an answer to why two people died in small town Montana. Is it even a murder? Double murder? Serial killer? By the time we get to the action of catching the bad guy, we've gotten to know something about the relatives, friends and acquaintances of Dreadfulwater...some Cherokee and some not so much. Excellent mystery and fun read.
mickeymole's review
4.0
This third installment of the Thumps DreadfulWater series may be the best so far. It’s been awhile since I read the first two books, but King does such a nice job of reintroducing the characters, it was like I never left the small town of Chinook. And, what a cast of characters!
Trump DreadfulWater. Once a detective, he left the force after the woman he loved, and her young daughter were murdered, and he was unable to solve the crime. He’s now eking out a living as a landscape photographer, and trying to live a quiet existence in a town full of interesting, yet eccentric characters.
Archimedes Kousoulas. Archie, to his friends, owns a used-book shop, and knows everything and everybody. “Archie’s glasses were too large for his head and made him look like a Greek barn owl. He was the kind of friend everyone needed. Whether they wanted one or not.”
Duke Hockney. The no-nonsense sheriff who walks like John Wayne, and makes terrible coffee.
Cooley Small Elk. Thumps’ nephew. Big and strong. Think, Lou Ferrigno. “What Thumps appreciated most about the man was his innate intelligence and his gentle nature. Cooley seldom had a harsh word for anyone, and you had to work hard to get him angry. Thumps liked the man, but he always had the uneasy feeling that he was standing next to an impending avalanche.”
Claire Merchant. Chief of the Tribe and Thumps’ love interest. Definitely a strong woman with a mind of her own.
Stanley “Stick” Merchant. Claire’s son. “Stick was twenty-two or twenty-three and still lived at home because, to paraphrase the bank robber Willie Sutton, that was where the food was.”
Moses Blood. An elder Indian who lives in a trailer who philosophizes about any subject, no matter how mundane. He is also a great maker of chili. He reminds me of Chief Dan George in “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and “Little Big Man”. My favorite character, other than Thumps, but sadly, he has only a small part in this novel. “He was dressed in jeans, a blue work shirt, a white straw cowboy hat. Normally, he wore a pair of red runners, but today, for some reason, he was barefoot. The red runners had always struck Thumps as curious, but Moses told him that cowboy boots hurt his feet and that red was the color of dawn.”
Roxanne Heavy Runner. “A thick, handsome woman who had been the band secretary through at least six different chiefs. People who didn’t know her might think she was mean. In truth, she was just stern and somewhat inflexible. So far as Thumps could tell, there were few shades of gray in Roxanne’s world. If there were any at all.”
Deanna Heavy Runner. Roxanne’s younger sister. An intelligent, sweet woman working on a degree in criminology who endears herself to Thumps by helping him try to solve the case.
What makes this novel and the others in the series so much fun is the banter between Thumps and the rest of the characters. The mystery is a good one, and King takes us through the story with the reluctant Thumps collecting clues amidst little side stories that only add to the enjoyment.
Trump DreadfulWater. Once a detective, he left the force after the woman he loved, and her young daughter were murdered, and he was unable to solve the crime. He’s now eking out a living as a landscape photographer, and trying to live a quiet existence in a town full of interesting, yet eccentric characters.
Archimedes Kousoulas. Archie, to his friends, owns a used-book shop, and knows everything and everybody. “Archie’s glasses were too large for his head and made him look like a Greek barn owl. He was the kind of friend everyone needed. Whether they wanted one or not.”
Duke Hockney. The no-nonsense sheriff who walks like John Wayne, and makes terrible coffee.
Cooley Small Elk. Thumps’ nephew. Big and strong. Think, Lou Ferrigno. “What Thumps appreciated most about the man was his innate intelligence and his gentle nature. Cooley seldom had a harsh word for anyone, and you had to work hard to get him angry. Thumps liked the man, but he always had the uneasy feeling that he was standing next to an impending avalanche.”
Claire Merchant. Chief of the Tribe and Thumps’ love interest. Definitely a strong woman with a mind of her own.
Stanley “Stick” Merchant. Claire’s son. “Stick was twenty-two or twenty-three and still lived at home because, to paraphrase the bank robber Willie Sutton, that was where the food was.”
Moses Blood. An elder Indian who lives in a trailer who philosophizes about any subject, no matter how mundane. He is also a great maker of chili. He reminds me of Chief Dan George in “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and “Little Big Man”. My favorite character, other than Thumps, but sadly, he has only a small part in this novel. “He was dressed in jeans, a blue work shirt, a white straw cowboy hat. Normally, he wore a pair of red runners, but today, for some reason, he was barefoot. The red runners had always struck Thumps as curious, but Moses told him that cowboy boots hurt his feet and that red was the color of dawn.”
Roxanne Heavy Runner. “A thick, handsome woman who had been the band secretary through at least six different chiefs. People who didn’t know her might think she was mean. In truth, she was just stern and somewhat inflexible. So far as Thumps could tell, there were few shades of gray in Roxanne’s world. If there were any at all.”
Deanna Heavy Runner. Roxanne’s younger sister. An intelligent, sweet woman working on a degree in criminology who endears herself to Thumps by helping him try to solve the case.
What makes this novel and the others in the series so much fun is the banter between Thumps and the rest of the characters. The mystery is a good one, and King takes us through the story with the reluctant Thumps collecting clues amidst little side stories that only add to the enjoyment.
chanelbri's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
megalithic28's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
black_girl_reading's review
4.0
About Thumps Dreadfulwater, a Cherokee man and former police detective, who finds himself living as a photographer in a small town called Chinook abutting tribal land in the prairies, this book is the story of the investigation of a number of murders seemingly related to disputed tribal land and a technology that could lead to the entire tribal aquifer to be drained. This book was a perfect private dick story. The dialogue is impeccable, the story is as funny as it is engaging, the cast of characters are perfect, and Thumps is such an ideal damaged and reluctant acting sheriff; his very human struggles with his health and his relationship were on point. I don’t know what else to say about this book, it was just exactly what it was supposed to be.
suzanneloving's review
5.0
Deadpan hilarity. Literally laughed. A beautiful cadence and casual brilliance. A highly satisfying read.
mlafaive's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mohogany225's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0