The Tumbler

by Peter Bowen

Book Overview

Gabriel du Pre is besieged by a rumour about a parcel containing the lost journals of Lewis and Clark. Outsiders are beginning to invade Toussaint, drawn by the spirit of the legendary explorers, not to mention the payoff for those to come up with the priceless journals. Gabriel must fight it out.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312277334
• ISBN13: 9780312277338
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Up above the world you fly...

It is easy to get accustomed to Peter Bowen's mysteries starring Gabriel Du Pre. In a sense, the Metis Indian is someone we all want to be. Smart, deeply in tough with his community and its environs, a man with strong relationships, good friend, and a wry, penetrating wit. Equally at home with the mysticism of medicine men and FBI agents. And very determined to see his way to the truth. The truth is what is most elusive in The Tumbler. Du Pre and Benetsee (the ageless medicine man) have discovered some important Lewis & Clark artifacts (or have they?) and the government is suing to get them, people are dropping money in an effort to buy than, and someone seems perfectly willing to murder to get their hands on them. In the midst of this Julie, the niece of Bart Fascelli (Du Pre's rich friend) shows up in Toussaint to work on her own issues. All this makes for a rich, multi-layered stew of motives and priorities. In retrospect, the story is even more of a tapestry than Bowen's previous efforts. Thieves, murderers, the law, sorcerers and gymnasts are the threads, and Du Pre, with the help of his companion Madelaine and the mysterious Benetsee must find where the knot is and untie it before the worst happens. Bowen's stories are noted for luring you in with light banter and intriguing characters only to his you firmly over the head at the end. And The Tumbler is no exception. Be prepared. One thing I had not realized is that Peter Bowen is a private person. I was curious about why this particular title was chosen. Young Julie and her boyfriend are gymnasts, which is part of it, but my intuition tells me that there is more. Something like the sacred clowns of the Navaho. After scouring the web I can report that other than book reviews and short bios, Peter Bowen has a very light network footprint for this day and age. Yet another mystery in a book that asks more questions than it answers. In many ways this is the most thoughtful and, perhaps, the best written of the Du Pre stories. Enjoy.

Fans will enjoy it

The latest installment in the DuPree mysteries was a little more convoluted than I expected. Even when I finished, I had to go back and reread parts of the story to figure out just why/what happened. Bowen never spells it out, he leaves you to work it out for yourself, much like Benetsee does to DuPree. As far as the mystery goes, it's not my favorite in the series, Ash Child and Notches worked better in that department. But for pure enjoyment,the storytelling was superb, the humor wry, and the people so real you feel you could eat at the roadhouse next friday. As to the other reviewer who disliked the book, I think this story would be more enjoyable to people who are already somewhat familliar with the series than to a first timer. The relationships of the characters are more important to the story than the mystery. If you can start with the first book and work your way through, you'll get far more out of it. I did like the cast of players in the front. Finally we have a count of and names for Madaline's 4 (+-) children (Although I have to wonder what happened to Stephanie, her oldest from Coyote Wind, Simon and little Sebastian, and the two or three other children named earlier in the series...maybe I'll just chalk it up to DuPree or possibly Bowen having one too many ditches...) But as for The Tumbler, fans of the series will definitly enjoy this latest installment. I look forward to the next book.

Excellent and thoughtful

Violence is never far removed from Gabriel Du Pre's life. It starts when an angry girlfriend breaks in on Du Pre's band and starts shooting the bass player. But things get worse when someone attacks one of his friends and maces the friend's daughter. And the legal troubles Du Pre finds himself in over the journals he's discovered from the Lewis and Clark Expedition suddenly explode when someone starts offering big bucks for the journals--no questions asked. Du Pre isn't selling, but Indian wise man Benetsee tells Du Pre that his troubles are only starting. Before long, there will be death. And Du Pre and his friends will be in the middle of it. Author Peter Bowen tells a fascinating story of old treasure, modern greed, Indian wisdom, and the west. Du Pre, Benetsee, and several of the other characters ring absolutely true and Bowen paints a vivid picture of rural life in Montana. As with the other books in the Gabriel Du Pre series, THE TUMBLER is both a fascinating mystery and an even more fascinating look into character and the land. Du Pre and the other characters don't speak much and when they do, their dialect takes a bit of getting used to, but I found charm, wisdom, and a nice sense of humor combined in what they had to say. THE TUMBLER is a definite winner with plenty of red herrings, lots of people with more money than sense, and an ending that is exciting and satisfying, while being as wistful as is Bowen's picture of the dying west.

Great mystery

Peter Bowen has a knack for capturing the language and customs of the Metis in a way that makes you feel you are really there -- then throws in a mystery that keeps you guessing until the last page.

fascinating who-done-it

Retired Brand inspector Gabriel Dupre hoped to live out the rest of his life in peace and tranquility but his ability to sniff out wrongdoers always seem to land him in the middle of a homicide investigation. This time Dupre is being sued by the U.S. government who wants him to turn over the lost journals of Louis and Clark that he dug out of the ground. When he goes to court Benetsee, an Indian mystic, persuades the judge to issue a six month continuance because the documents are needed in another case.Dupre receives phone calls asking him to sell the documents for a handsome sum of money. Letters with thousands of dollars are left in his car and Benetsee's cabin as an incentive to get them to talk to the agents of the buyer. Reporters flock to the town of Toussaint sensing a juicy story but things start turning violent when someone beats up DuPre's friend Bassman. One of the reporters who got too close to the source of the trouble is killed and one of the private security agents guarding Julie, who was almost kidnapped, simply disappears. DuPre is determined to find out who the perpetrator is or die trying.Montana breeds rugged individualists and nobody is more ornery and determined than the protagonist of THE TUMBLER. He has a lust for living life to the fullest that many people twenty years younger than him would envy and he needs no Viagra to enjoy his loving with Madeline who returns his attentions in full measure. The who-done-it is fascinating and author Peter Bowen deserves an award for creating a vivid sense of place that readers can easily imagine.Harriet Klausner