People of the Mist (First North Americans, Book 9)

How delicious it is to discover a new series by great authors! I picked this book up by chance and I loved it.

The Gears have written an entire series of books, each one of which is a novel set among a different pre-historic culture in North America.

The Gears do an exceptional job at researching and presenting a culture. The archaeological details they provide give their story an authenticity that feels very real. "The People of the Mist" is set around 1300 A.D. in the Chesapeake Bay area. Unlike many other novels set in prehistoric times, this book neither looks down on the characters as "primitive," nor does it glamorize the characters as being unrealistically heroic or noble. Instead, these are very real people caught up in the same political and survival problems as people today, but in a different setting. Interspersed throughout the novel are interesting tidbits on how the people of these coastal villages hunted, cooked, and maintained family and clan relationships.

Set against this fascinating background, the book presents a well thought out murder mystery that has all the twists and deadends you could wish for.

I could hardly put this book down, and spent several late nights and overly-long lunch hours reading it as quickly as I could.

Excuse me while I get back onto Amazon and find and buy all of the rest of the books!

When I sat down to read 'People of the Mist', I was not sure what to expect. The synopsis on the back cover said that the book was about the Native American people in the Chesapeake bay area, and in particular about the murder of a young girl, Red Knot. Well, I was amazed with the writing style of Kathleen O'Neal Gear, and W. Michael Gear. I got into the book after a chapter or two, and couldn't put it down. The authors had me guessing till the very end of the book as to who the murderer was, and I'm usually good at figuring things like that out. If you want a good novel with an excellent mystery componant to it, 'People of the Mist' is the book for you.

This is the latest book in the People series that I have read, and it is a little different from the rest. It was given to me by a friend, and I thought that the storyline didn't sound to exciting (I'm not into that mystery type books), but I was in for a surprise. This book was awesome! Second best that they have written... I liked People of the River the best... and very entertaining. The charachters are not as mystic and dreamerlike as the other People books are, but it makes them more believable, and realistic. The Panther was so intriguing, his past and present life. I liked the way he allowed mostly everyone to think he was a witch, when he really was just an old man who resented his past mistakes but had the Power (a different kind of Power than htat of the other books in this series), to correct those of others. Sun Conch was so regal and brave, she didn't desrve to love such a coward. I almost cried when... well, you gotta read it. Throughout the whole book, I thought I knew who the killer was. I would jump around from character to character changing my ideas, at one time even coming to the conclusion that White Otter and Quick Fawn were in on it together. I would read one part of the book, and backtrack to another part of the book to see if my theory fit, and sometimes it did, but sometimes it didn't. In any case, if you wanna find out who killed the heiress Red Knot, you have to buy this book.

This series, written by a husband/wife team of experts on North American pre-history, cover different groups of the peoples as they migrated into the continent. While there is some chronology that connects the stories, they are not strictly a continuation of the story of the same group of people. Set over different parts of the North American continent, the writers construct many different and plausible societal groups that are very well developed and interesting. I got the first five for my birthday, and ordered all the rest together!

This story took place around the Chesapeake Bay which I grew up around so the location of the story intrigued my curiousity. I have read all of the Gear's books in order and I have watched their artistic historical stories unfold and grow in so many ways. Their first couple of stories seemed to be repetitive but beginning with the 3rd of the series the Gear's have found so many ways to manipulate the story into twists and turns that leaves any reader fascinated and wanting more. It weaves some of the older stories into their current stories and this one was just as great. I had never suspected the ending and I was astonished at how well the story came together. The research is always breathtaking as well and I will continue to be a faithful Gear's reader.

The Gears are among my favorate writers, their books are among the best of pre-historic North American fiction. The poem/vision of "Wolf" has set the stage for the rest of the books(until this one)and has kept us waiting to see where it will lead.
That being said, this book was a wash! It is a complete takeoff from the rest and it is very poorly written. They just about gave away who the killer was while it was being done. I mean really, if you are about to run away with the love of your life to escape from an arranged marriage that your widowed mother has forced you into and you are discovered by the ONE person who could be described as "worst of your fears realized", WHO could the killer be?
Did they use up all of their ideas for a mystery in "Silence", with it's plot twist that you could never guess, and "Earth" that kept you guessing till the end?
This book is not worth your time to read.

This is one of their best novels, a gripping mystery with lots of character development. A very swift read.

I love the Panther, and I love that the heroine is a plain-looking, initially immature girl who grows up and shows her true potential for greatness. Much more well-rounded a character than in most of the People books (and I don't mean anatomically!). Most of the characters here are less two-dimensional, in fact, than in a lot of the Gear's later books. Nobody is flat-out evil, not even Copper Thunder. While the Panther sometimes comes off sounding a little too didactic and like some mind-reading master of all human psychology, he overall is a lot of fun to follow.

This was the last novel I read by the Gears and I truly enjoyed it. I felt like I was a part of the characters lives'. It was as if I myself was trying to solve a mystery. The characters showed how superstition and tales can cloud the opinions of many people.. Sun Conch had the ability to see through the tales and lies to help a friend in need, giving up some of the most important things to her. As the novels winds down, the slueth of the story comes up with some electrifying clues to a very puzzling murder. If you've enjoyed the other Gear novels this one will surely keep you on the edge of your seat..

Catching up on the whole series!