Thunder Horse
Fans of Peter Bowen's gloriously unbridled books about Montana's Gabriel Du Pre have cause to celebrate withThunder Horse. The part-Medis Indian cattle-brand inspector and occasional deputy sheriff gets involved in a story of murder and greed that links the ancient Indian residents of Montana (and an even older inhabitant, Tyrannosaurus Rex--the titular "thunder  horse") with a present-day Japanese consortium's plans to turn a bucolic spring into a commercial trout farm. Along the way, Du Pre drives his old pickup too fast along Montana's back roads, drinks gallons of cheap wine with a brace of fascinating friends, plays his fiddle, and resonates with originality and energy. Past Du Pre tales in paperback includeNotches,Specimen Song, andWolf, No Wolf.