Charlie Moon Series by James D. Doss

Daisy Perika has no place in the modern world of cold, rational science. Hers is the realm of the spirit -- of ancient and sacred magic. But visions of Coyote and fire have awakened the aged Ute shaman once again to the Dark One's workings among the whites of southwestern Colorado.For Granite Creek police chief Scott Parris, the late-night murder of a brilliant female graduate student is a brutal and baffling as anything he encountered during his years as a Chicago cop... moreDaisy Perika has no place in the modern world of cold, rational science. Hers is the realm of the spirit -- of ancient and sacred magic. But visions of Coyote and fire have awakened the aged Ute shaman once again to the Dark One's workings among the whites of southwestern Colorado.For Granite Creek police chief Scott Parris, the late-night murder of a brilliant female graduate student is a brutal and baffling as anything he encountered during his years as a Chicago cop. Now the investigation is leading Parris into worlds he has never known -- and toward a remarkable alliance with a beautiful journalist and an elderly Native American mystic that could prove both enlightening...and deadly. less

For the Ute of Southern Colorado, the annual Sun Dance is among the most solemn and sacred of rituals. But too often recently Death has been an uninvited guest at the hallowed ceremony. None of the deceased has sustained visible, life-ending injuries, so Charlie Moon is reluctant to call it murder. Yet he knows there was nothing "natural" about the unexplained deaths of young and strong dancers, like the blue-armed Shoshone, Joseph Sparrow... moreFor the Ute of Southern Colorado, the annual Sun Dance is among the most solemn and sacred of rituals. But too often recently Death has been an uninvited guest at the hallowed ceremony. None of the deceased has sustained visible, life-ending injuries, so Charlie Moon is reluctant to call it murder. Yet he knows there was nothing "natural" about the unexplained deaths of young and strong dancers, like the blue-armed Shoshone, Joseph Sparrow.Daisy Perika is also aware of the events unfolding around her, but unlike her skeptical policeman nephew, she trusts the rumors of sorcery that travel like smoke on the wind. For there is much the eyes cannot see and the hands cannot touch; and the spirits have sent her words and signs warning there is great evil in her midst...and that there are many more corpses to follow.The return of a childhood friend -- a beautiful Ute woman back from college to write a newspaper story revealing who, or what, is stealing men's lives -- has raised the stakes in Charlie Moon's investigation. With those he cares for deeply suddenly in harm's way, perhaps he should heed his friend Parris's suggestion that he look beyond the rational for answers. But Charlie has seen all too often the lethal results of hatred, bitterness and delusion. And it's these very real human failings he is determined to explore in order to catch a killer before Death darkens the Sun Dance once again. less

The world of Daisy Perika ia a realm of shadows, omens, and restless spirits. In tribal policeman Charlie Moon's world, good and evil manifest themselves in more explainable, human ways. Yet the irascible old Ute shaman and her huge, good-natured nephew inhabit the same hard and lonely Colorado country... moreThe world of Daisy Perika ia a realm of shadows, omens, and restless spirits. In tribal policeman Charlie Moon's world, good and evil manifest themselves in more explainable, human ways. Yet the irascible old Ute shaman and her huge, good-natured nephew inhabit the same hard and lonely Colorado country. And now the parched earth has yielded up the remains of a gargantuan prehistoric beast on the site of a failed dude ranch--a find of enormous scientific importance that is attracting the attention of a wide variety of inividuals, some eminent and seemingly scrupulous...other obviously neither. Moon is also curious about the strange old bones. For things this ancient and rare have been known to inspire malevolent deeds in the past, including avarice, lies...and murder. And all it takes is one mysterious disappearance and one very suspicious death to convince Charlie Moon that his greatest fears have just been realized. less

A lawman with a hardy appetite for life and an unshakable faith in the explicable, Southern Ute Acting Chief of Police Charlie Moon is not prepared to accept a purely supernatural explanation for the recent strange events of April 1. Nevertheless, something carried off Tommy Tonompicket and his unlikely drinking companion, research scientist William Pizinski, in the black chill of the Colorado night. And something ripped the head off a man outside a lonely cabin in the mountains.. moreA lawman with a hardy appetite for life and an unshakable faith in the explicable, Southern Ute Acting Chief of Police Charlie Moon is not prepared to accept a purely supernatural explanation for the recent strange events of April 1. Nevertheless, something carried off Tommy Tonompicket and his unlikely drinking companion, research scientist William Pizinski, in the black chill of the Colorado night. And something ripped the head off a man outside a lonely cabin in the mountains...and left two large, fanglike punctures in his chest. And though Charlie's eccentric old aunt, the shaman Daisy Perika, claims the gargantuan avenging arachnid Grandmother Spider has risen up from the depths of Navajo Lake, the hulking, good-natured tribal policeman feels in his gut that this is murder, pure if not simple, and most probably by human hands. less