Wolf, No Wolf and Notches (Montana Mysteries) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

"Notches" is the fourth in the series, and while the former features four-legged predators, the latter concerns itself with the two-legged variety.

Rabid or not, such is the power of Bowen's writing and the nobility of his characters in "Wolf, No Wolf" that even clean, green bunny-huggers (like me) might end up voting for the ranchers and against the re-introduction of wolves into Big Sky Country at story's end.

All of the regulars at Touissant Bar are part of the action. Du Pré, master fiddler and part-time brand inspector is cast in the role of peacemaker. With help from his friends, the Shaman Benetsee, Bart the rich-guy-turned-sheriff, Du Pré's long-time mistress, Madelaine, and Booger Tom, the ancient, homicidal cowhand, he braves avalanches, gunfire, and false medicine men in order to prevent open warfare between the ranchers and the Earth First! crowd.

There are good ranchers, and there are really evil ranchers who sell dead horses for dogmeat.

There are good FBI agents (not very many) who are either Montanans and/or part Amerindian. The vast majority of agents are feeble, clueless, and from out-of-state. Some of them are so dim-witted as to try and arrest the Shaman Benetsee, who plays a wonderful joke on them with his coyotes.

All of the environmentalists, New Age mystics, and Yuppies in "Wolf, No Wolf" are easily identified by their expensive, crassly-colored, mail-order garments of many pockets. They are even dumber than the FBI agents, and are easily led astray, even unto death, by the book's villains.

And die they do, by avalanche and grizzly, by gunshot and knife, and by freezing to death in Alberta Clippers. The ranchers rescue as many as they can, but winter in Montana is truly hell-frozen-over. Some of Bowen's leanest, most vivid prose is devoted to descriptions of out-landers and cattle that venture out into the jaws of a Blue Northerly.

Better to stay in the Touissant Bar and drink fizzy, pink, screw-top wine, and listen to Du Pré fiddle the sad, old Voyageur songs.

On the other hand, if you're still in the mood for mayhem, follow him into "Notches" where he is asked to assist police on the trail of two serial killers.

There are good reasons why the police might not want Du Pré at the scene of a crime. He spits a lot as he circles the corpse, rolls his own cigarettes and mashes them out beneath his boot heel. A forensic specialist would find traces of him all over the scene. In "Notches," he even hides evidence because he wants to track a killer without interference from the FBI.

On the plus side, nothing at the scene escapes him. If he is called in to examine one body, he may find two others near by that no one else has noticed--which is exactly what occurs in "Notches." Someone has been killing girls and dumping them "like old guts in the brush for the coyotes to eat," according to Du Pré's long-time mistress, Madelaine.

There are two serial killers on the loose in "Notches" which makes for a confusing plot. There are also two FBI agents (see above "Wolf, No Wolf") who add to the scenery, but don't do much more than engage in slanging matches with Du Pré. Madelaine finally presses Du Pré into tracking the killers down when her own daughter runs away from home.

Du Pré is laconic to the point of partial sentences, but the interrupted staccato of his speech is a perfect counterpoint to the harsh Montana landscape and to the sometimes abbreviated lives of its inhabitants. Over 150 corpses form an even grimmer than usual backdrop to Du Pré's musings on the long history of his people and the land.

"Notches" is not so much a murder mystery as it is a complex landscape of hell from the pen of a Montanan Hieronymus Bosch.

Wolf, No Wolf is about how a bunch of tree huggers (yes I have Montana blood in me!) end up dying. Du Pre and Bart (the sheriff in this book) know its one of the locals, but they aren't sure who. Benetsee is his mysterious self and theres a couple of new characters that play a fairly large role. They don't last long, but they are interesting to see. Bart and Du Pre wrap this case up in usual fashion.

Although some might think that Notches is a bit grim, I did enjoy it. Notches is the story of how Du Pre takes matters into his own hands regarding two serial murder's (skinned little girls keep showing up along Highway 2 and another highway that runs north and south...can't remember the name right now). This book is a quick read and the pace keeps things moving along.