Father Figure

First, a confession: After a dozen books, I was getting a little tired of Father John O’Malley and his obsession with the mission on the Wind River Reservation (although I could certainly appreciate his love of that rugged Wyoming landscape), not to mention his obsession with Indian attorney Vicky Holden, who, truth be told, was getting a little tedious herself. But with The Girl With Braided Hair, author Margaret Coel has breathed new life into her mystery series. The discovery of a girl’s body takes readers back to a fascinating period of history — the early ’70s and the American Indian Movement — and then up to the present, where it turns out the bloody past is still very much with us. Much of the book takes place in Denver, a hotbed of AIM activity thirty years before and now the home of Holden’s son, a city where racism lurks below the surface and the mystery is finally solved. Although Coel lives in Boulder, she has fans across the country, and she’ll kick off a national book tour tonight at 7:30 p.m. with a free appearance at the Tattered Cover at 2526 East Colfax Avenue (www.tatteredcover.com), followed by a 7:30 p.m. stop tomorrow at High Crimes (946 Pearl Street in Boulder) and at 5:30 p.m. September 6 at Murder by the Book (1574 South Pearl in Denver). Go, and sin no more.

Tue., Sept. 4