Genre: Native
American Spirituality/Mystery/Paranormal
Description:
“When medium Sam Firecloud first hears about an Amber Alert on the
Navajo reservation, he is stunned to realize the missing girl is his own young
cousin. He and his partner, Lacey Fitzpatrick, rush to the scene in an attempt
to help find the girl, aided by Sam’s grandfather Ben. When the Fireclouds are
dismissed by the FBI agents that are working the case by standard means, Sam
takes measures into his own hands, and finds the pathway before him leads into
the depths of the supernatural… and death.”
Author:
“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in
a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western,
action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both
traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the
superblog Indies Unlimited. She has a tattoo on the inside of her left wrist
that says IMAGINE. In her next life, she plans to be an astronaut. She lives in
a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier.
She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”
Learn more about Ms. Bowersock and her other books on her website or on
Facebook.
Appraisal:
This story begins with Sam reminiscing about how Lacey has influenced
his life. He was a hardcore bachelor. He never entertained the idea of ever
getting married again. And now, he can’t imagine his life without her. It
wasn’t surprising that Night Walk is
told through Sam’s point-of-view. His introspection is interrupted by an Amber
Alert of an eleven-year-old girl who has been kidnapped from her bed during the
night in Kayenta, Arizona. Her name sounds familiar to Sam. Then he gets a
phone call from his brother Gabe, wanting to know if Sam had heard the news
about Nina Gray Hills. She is indeed who he thought she was, and Nina is about
the same age as his daughter, Kenzie.
It’s off to the Navajo Reservation so Sam can walk the girl’s home, in
particular her bedroom. It’s a hard walk considering Nina Gray Hills is his
cousin. Things get more complicated when the FBI steps in on the case. They
want cold hard facts, not hoodoo crap from a medium. I loved it when Sam calls
Detective Stoneburner, a Tribal Officer, who has turned into a believer from
two previous cases Sam had helped him on. I loved the dialogue between
Stoneburner and Sam as they discuss the FBI agent on the case. Then I cheered
with delight at the way Sam threw back the same words the FBI agent had dismissed
Sam and Ben with earlier.
Oh yes! Ben, Sam’s grandfather, insists on accompanying Sam and Lacey
on this mission. Ben has an innate way of knowing he will be needed in more
ways than one. This book is full of trails, tribulations, and tests for Sam.
The tensions and emotions run high. Now let me tell you Ben has an ace up his
sleeve that he will not share with Sam. I would love to be a fly on the wall
when Sam has a talk with his grandfather, and I assure you there will be a talk.
I can only imagine, because that talk would be in Navajo.
One of the reasons I loved this book is because the whole book is told
from Sam’s point-of-view. It was interesting to see behind Sam’s stoic mask he
portrays in the other stories. Poor Sam was so torn most of the time, but I
loved the way it all came around full circle.
FYI:
Night
Walk is book 27 in Melissa Bowersock’s, A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam
Firecloud Mystery Series.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I was a beta reader for this book and can’t comment on the finished
product.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 25-30,000 words
