Synopses & Reviews
By 1852, Kentucky had grown too tame for trader Austin Wells, and when he got a letter from his uncle promising him a job with the American Fur Trading Company, he wasted no time heading for Fort Benton, on the upper reaches of the Missouri.
But greenhorns have to prove themselves quickly in a land where man can be more treacherous than the elements and a life can be bought and sold for a jug of whiskey. With a few supplies and no friends, Wells is forced to work with his uncle, a hired bushwhacker, who burns out competing traders for "The Company."
Their first raid is foiled by Eagle's Shadow Woman, whose power as a warrior is feared and respected by all Indians in the region. Wells escapes with his life, but he cannot forget the beauty and ferocity of the woman who almost killed him--or figure out a way to see her again.
Review
"Earl Murray has a narrative gift that never flags." --
El Paso Herald Post"Murray is a gripping storyteller who knows the land and the people he writes about." --Elmer Kelton, Spur Award-winning author of Cloudy in the West
"There is nothing less than exquisite beauty in the power Murray wields to enfold the reader in the simple, yet explosive world of his very real characters." --Terry C. Johnston, award-winning author or The Plainsmen
Synopsis
"There is nothing less than exquisite beauty in the power Murray wields to enfold the reader in the simple, yet explosive world of his very real character at the cross-roads of their culture". -- Terry C. Johnston
"Relying upon the actual journal kept by a Nez Perce woman on an 1841 fur expedition into the far southeast, Murray weaves a gripping tale of greed, betrayal, and courage....Murray's skillfully weaves period detail and Native lore to create an engrossing tale featuring an uncommon heroine". -- Publishers Weekly on Spirit of the Moon
About the Author
Earl Murray once worked in botany and natural resource management. He is the author of thirty-five novels and nonfiction books that deal with the American West. His novel,
Song of Wovoka, was a finalist for the 1992 Western Writers of America Spur Award for historical fiction. Mr. Murray passed away in 2003.