The Old Gray Wolf (Charlie Moon Mysteries)

The dust jacket shows an abandoned campfire in the desert with misty, dusty mountains in the distance. This picture has nothing to do with the plot. It's a farewell message from James D. Doss who died shortly after he finished the book. We have been sitting around the fire with him for years now, enjoying his clever tales of Aunt Daisy, Sarah, Charlie and Scott. Now he has left to go to the canyon of the spirits. I savored every word of this book, not only because it's his last. His writing has gotten better year by year and his last is his best. You don't dare miss a word, because every word has a meaning in the plot. All the threads come together in the end. You won't be disappointed.[[ASIN:0312613717 The Old Gray Wolf (Charlie Moon Mysteries)]]

Well, let's see. To start with, an incredibly old woman has an ongoing love/hate relationship with a mythical dwarf who lives in a badger hole. A woman creates an unending energy source and then swallows it. A young lady gets scared to death by an old French woman wearing a half ping-pong ball over one eye. A mediocre con-artist (named Horace Flye) attempts to fake a mammoth kill site at an archeological dig, only to discover that it actually was a mammoth kill site. A truck driver and a nuclear scientist take a hot air balloon ride through the Rockies. A six foot tall Indian eats copious amounts of greasy food while never gaining a pound. Same Indian is haunted by the ghost of an ancient witch doctor, until his best buddy shoots the ghost (which he can't see) with his .38. A guy who feels the physical pain of his brother's death attempts to blow up the U.S. Senate. A hermit-woman fights a grizzly bear and wins. Cannibals attempt to bomb one of the largest ranches in Colorado. You get the idea...

They called his books mysteries, but really, what James Doss did, was tell tall tales - in my mind, it's an untapped genre. He was the author of a series that was impossible to take seriously. He strung bold-faced lies together with elegant phrases, brash assertions, fascinating landscapes, endearing characters, and laugh out loud humor.

When I learned of his death, I hoped that Doss had managed to complete the series - that Charlie Moon, Scott Paris, Aunt Daisy and the others weren't left in a state of eternal limbo. Despite several rough events toward the end, Doss closed the series nicely.

I've spent over a decade following the stories of Charlie Moon. I will miss him. Many thanks for the great stories Mr. Doss. Rest well!

I really enjoyed all James Doss's Charley Moon Mysteries. I will miss Charley and especially Aunt Daisy. I have read reviews that dismiss James Doss as a writer. I find his low key, intertwined mysteries a delight to escape into. If you enjoy Margaret Coel or Tony Hillerman, you'll enjoy James Doss. This last novel as well as the previous one were written in the 3rd person. It takes getting use to but I felt I was listening to James Doss tell a story around the campfire. Thank you James for your clever and enjoyable mysteries.

I've really enjoyed most of Mr. Doss'es books, some more than others. While I really love the chracters he's created, I'm less enamored with the pointless excursions he makes when you really wish he would get on with the plot...not funny. This book would have been about 50 pages if he would have left out the extraneous stuff. That being said, I feel like his characters are friends I'm never going to see again. I'm sad.

Those already familiar with Charley, Daisy, Sara, Scott, the Wyoming Kid, and the little man in the badger hole will realize fairly early that Doss knew it would be his last effort. I thought it was a good read and liked the plot twist although unprepared for actual mayhem in a Doss novel.
The down side is that I can't share it with the lending circle beause they aren't into Doss, Hillerman, or any other indian detective stories and the book is NOT what you want to start your experience with .

James D Doss passed away. There will be no more Charlie Moon books. I have been following this series since the very beginning and although I did not like it when he changed his style of writing, I still would not have missed a single episode of my favorite Ute Indian rancher/investigator and his crazy family.

I have read many of his books and like his characters and plots. The narrator became intrusive on the story and rattled on with a lot of stream of consciousness drivel. Sorry to hear he won't be writing anymore though.

as always I loved James Doss's book. I am only sorry it is his last. Full of twist and turns and Doss own brand of down home humor. Worth a read and a reread.

I have been a Doss fan since the first book... each book has one or a dozen special touches... he is / was a real story teller.... and his characters done so well...myself and my family and family of friends have been re-reading the series starting with the first book...and keep finding little vinyettes we forgot or missed the first time around. The humor and respect and situations he created have you feeling good about humanity. The mysteries are terrific to...He put it all together for us heavy and lite..and i hope who ever starts the series feels the joy he weaves for us.

Item arrived in a timely manner and was as described.