Eye of the Raven: A Mystery of Colonial America
by Eliot Pattison
Counterpoint, December 2009, $26.00
In Eye of the Raven Eliot Pattison reprises the characters and French and Indian War from his previous Edgar-winning historical mystery Bone Rattler. This time Duncan McCallum and his Native American mentor and Shaman, Conawago are investigating a series of murders. It seems several land surveyors charged with preparing the way for a huge land grant held by a consortium of well-connected Virginians have been killed. The legality of the grants that encompass much of the land in the Ohio valley are suspect, having been obtained by questionable methods. There are others interested in the lands beyond Penn’s colony too, and, of course, the local Native American inhabitants are concerned and confused about the seizure of their ancestral hunting grounds.
All of this takes place amidst the North American phase of a European war raging around the world. The French and Indian War was particularly bloody as it involved the European powers employing Native American allies, many of them traditional enemies. Both Duncan and Conawago are the last survivors of their clans and find themselves caught in the middle of conflicts beyond their control and facing constant danger from all sides. Pattison’s novels are part history, part Native American primer, part complex whodunit, part James Fennimore Cooper. These novels are exciting as the central characters are swept up into colonial politics and a savage guerilla war.
Reviewed by Charles L. P. Silet
Eliot Pattison, photo by Jerry Bauer
More from Mystery Scene and this author
- The Bone Rattler (September 2007), Eliot Pattison, reviewed by Betty Webb
- Bone Mountain (January 2002), Eliot Pattison, reviewed by Beverly DeWeese
- Author’s website www.eliotpattison.com
- Purchase Eye of the Raven at Amazon.com
