Peter Bowen

Gabriel Du Pré, the Métis fiddler at the center of Peter Bowen’s atmospheric, engrossing series set in the dirty, dusty Montana that’s rarely featured in travel brochures, has a knack for finding trouble. Or rather, trouble has a knack for finding him. There’s a rumor going around that Du Pré and his old sorcerer friend Benetsee have come across a parcel containing the lost journals of Lewis and Clark, and outsiders, drawn by the spirit of the legendary explorers, are beginning to invade Toussaint.

Du Pré won’t say whether he’s got the journals or not, preferring his usual routine of cigarettes, a whiskey ditch or two, and a few fiddling gigs up and down Montana’s highways rather than getting involved in this controversy. Benetsee isn’t talking, either, but when a journalist goes a little too far in trying to get the story of the lost journals, and when the two men’s friends and family are placed squarely in danger, Du Pré doesn’t have much choice but to wade in and set things right.

The Gabriel Du Pré mysteries have become required reading for fans of the vanishing West, and Peter Bowen’s storytelling gift continues to thrive in The Tumbler, the dazzling eleventh entry in what has become a classic series.

“Peter Bowen does for Montana what Tony Hillerman does for New Mexico. Anyone who has not read a Gabriel Du Pré mystery is missing out on something special.”
“Bowen is also an accomplished poet and folksinger. It shows. His Montana mysteries flow with sublime musical dialogue. A fine series that deserves a larger following.”