I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it!

Bones in the Badlands
by Jane Kerr Colhoff
PublishAmerica, LLLP   http://www.publishamerica.com
ISBN: 1413703895       $21.95       2003         268 pages

In this intriguing tale of long-ago murders, Jane Colhoff early introduces us to the characters, the murders, and brings us up to the present day.  This is a story of cold-blooded murder, heartbreak and mis-justice.  Although a mystery story, it is also an education in relations and treatment of Indians by the white man as a government and supposed caretaker.  The descriptions of the country - North Dakota Badlands - are haunting and beautiful, along with colorful verbal pictures of sunrises and landscapes.  The writer is prolific in telling us of customs, beliefs and the language of the Native Americans.   The story starts with an Indian boy of eight years witnessing the murder of a man, unbeknownst to the killer who has already killed one person and goes on to kill a third.  The book is about the ramifications of these killings on many people, and the grandson who spends his life trying to clear his grandfather's name; and eventually how his wife and the young witness, now aged,  with the help of  an honest FBI agent, bring about justice for all concerned. 

"Swinging gently, Hattie sat quietly, drinking in the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of the landscape that stretched before her....... It pleased her senses immensely but more importantly, it soothed the wrinkles in her soul."   I highly recommend this tale of intrigue, treachery, and triumph.  If you enjoy mystery with danger and a tinge of friendship and love mixed in, you'll love it, too.