Raven Mocker

This latest novel in Don Coldsmith's beloved Spanish Bit saga is told through Snakewater, the oldest Cherokee in her village. She provides potions and curative rituals for those who seek her help. In Old Town, she is respected for her skill and knowledge -- until a grieving young woman blames Snakewater for her infant's death. "Raven Mocker!" she accuses, invoking the feared creature of Cherokee legend, who cheats the carrion bird by stealing the life-years of those who die young to ensure his own immortality. The case against Snakewater is strengthened when a warrior dies by his own knife in Snakewater's vacant hut and again when the warrior's brother mysteriously drowns.Fleeing from the suspicion, jealousies, and hatred of Old Town -- and from her own fear that she may in fact be the dreaded Raven Mocker -- Snakewater joins a band traveling west. On her odyssey, she regains confidence as she discovers her talent for storytelling and learns what it means to be part of a family.Snakewater's path takes her across the Mississippi, on perilous trails with a trader and his wife, and to the winter camp of the Elk-dog People, a nomadic nation of buffalo hunters, where she begins to put her past behind her. This gripping story concludes with a surprising confrontation at the Elk-dog People's annual Sun Dance when the mystery behind the unexplained deaths is finally revealed -- or is it?