Nails: A Montana Mystery Featuring Gabriel Du Pre [B0902]

2006 HCDJ 1st edition in excellent condition. "Fiddler, father, widower, cowboy, and lover, Du Pré has the soul of a poet, the eyes of a wise man, and the heart of a comic" (The New York Times Book Review). Gabriel Du Pré's precocious granddaughter, Pallas, has returned from her Washington, DC, boarding school, and trouble seems to have come along for the ride. Du Pré's girlfriend's son, Chappie, is also back from serving in Iraq, minus one leg and one eye. As the family tries to help him adjust to civilian life, the town is invaded by a fire-and-brimstone fundamentalist sect, whose preacher is hell-bent on imposing his own beliefs on the easygoing people of Toussaint, where even the most pious prefer to keep God to themselves. Du Pré is content to ignore the evangelists, until a mountain hike turns up the body of a little girl. Although he has no hard evidence, instinct tells him that the fundamentalists may be to blame. Du Pré hunts the countryside for the young girl's killer, wishing as always that the outside world would leave his beloved Montana alone.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Each of the books in this series deepens my appreciation for Peter Bowen. His primary characters are rich in values and joy with one another. His love of Montana makes me want to visit there and his plots are deep and sometimes twisty. I will reread these all again as I seldom do except for Tony Hillerman."; "Any Gabriel Dupree mystery by Peter Bowen is a literary gem, and this novel is no exception. Aided by a wonderful cast of eccentric family and neighbors, Dupree again unravels a knot of murder, greed, and human folly. I particularly enjoyed the prominent role played by the loveably klutzy priest, Father Van Den Heuvel, in this book."; "While in the midst of the story I kept asking myself whether I was reading poetry. After I finished the book I looked, and sure enough, Peter Bowen is also a poet. All of Bowen's books are amazing in their characterizations, Metis flavored dialogue and storylines."; "Probably the most original series I've enjoyed in a long time. The locations and characters along with the history behind them are fascinating. "