The Drowning Man by Margaret Coel

The twelfth title in the series finds the Wind River Reservation without another one of its sacred petroglyphs. The Red Cliff canyon has been home to these sacred petroglyphs, and their accompanying sacred spirits, for a few thousand years. Seven years ago, however, one was pried out of the canyon and stolen. Travis Birdsong sits in prison for killing his partner in the crime. Yet, he has always maintained his innocence in the death and has never been tried for stealing the petroglyph. Attorney Vicki Holden decides to take the case, much to the chagrin of her law partner and lover Adam Lone Eagle and the Wind River Reservation tribes.

Vicki is convinced that Travis must be innocent because another petroglyph has been stolen out of the canyon. She is even more convinced after the thieves contact the mission priest, Father John O'Malley, in order to get the tribes to buy the artifact back. As Father John tries to get the petroglyph back and Vicki tries to prove Travis is innocent, the two situations collide.

In a side story, Father John agrees to let an ailing priest stay in the guest house at the bequest of John's boss. Soon, however, he discovers that the Church is trying to hide the priest. I thought this storyline was a detraction from the main action and wondered why it was even part of the story, until the aged priest played a small but critical role in the culminating scene of the novel, which felt a little too pat.

Overall, the book is a good addition to the series and certainly furthers the characters and relationships that have grown over the life of the series.