The central character in this fine first novel (no other fiction credits are listed, so I assume this is a first effort) is young David Halliday, part of a pioneering family during the early, turbulent years of Brigham Young's Utah. Drafted into the military, and serving with distinction in the Union army, David returns home to find his town, and others surrounding it, involved in a dispute with a local Indian chief named Black Hawk.

Initially, Black Hawk welcomed the Saints as they settled the valley. He himself was baptized. But as the settlers began taking the best lands, exiling the Indians to less productive reservations, tensions rose to a fever pitch, resulting in land damage, stealing of cattle and other resources, and finally the deaths of settlers and Indians alike.

One young Indian, named Greybird, is adopted into the Halliday family. He is welcomed and became a "brother" to David and the others. During David's absence while serving Grant's army, Greybird is killed. Everyone assumes he was killed by other Indians, but David is convinced otherwise.

When David goes to visit Greybird's grave, he finds the marker turned over and broken, defaced and marred with human feces. This creates a rage in David that will mark his life until he finally learns the identity of the killer or killers, and brings them to justice.

At one level, this book is about David's search for Greybird's killer. There are plenty of candidates, including the Ivie twins, brothers who did nothing to hide their dislike for Indians, and who missed no opportunity to enter into a brawl with David and Greybird.

On another level, The Killing of Greybird is a strong indictment of the overt racism against both blacks and Indians among the Mormons in Utah. While some of the settlers came to terms with the idea of living with people not like them, some retained the attitudes that typified so much of America in that time. The Mormon community is shown as a mixed bag of acceptance of minorities and abject rejection, ironic in that the Mormon's themselves were a despised minority at the time!

There is a love story in the background -- David's infatuation with young Sonja. Her family plays a part in the story, and indeed Sonja herself plays a major role in the unfolding of the mystery of Greybird's death.

There are flaws in the book. For example, if one were to read the book knowing nothing of Mormon history, an impression would be made that Brigham Young carried with him none of the prejudices and biases of the settlers. One need only read the Journal of Discourses, for example, to know that this isn't true -- Young's attitude toward blacks was more reflective of society's views than that of the more progressive brethren. I would have enjoyed a more textured view of Young, who plays a large part in the book.

And, from time to time, the book sounds more like a catechism than a novel. Happily, these instances are few and far between, and can be passed over easily by the mature reader. But they can be jarring, as they interrupt the flow the story. One part of me understood the need for these asides, as the book may be read by a non-Mormon, or even a new member unfamiliar with some of these teachings. In the end, however, I wished they had been woven a little more smoothly into the story.

Despite the flaws, I really enjoyed this book. I was genuinely surprised at the ending, although I realized I might have guessed the identity of the killer had I put things together correctly. And, despite a flat depiction of Brigham Young, there is a brutal honesty about this book with regard to racial relations in the early church. Readers may be surprised at the level of hatred and distrust among the Saints toward minorities living among them.

I am glad to recommend this book, and look forward to future efforts by this author.

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Jeff Needle
December 18, 2004