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Not Dead Enough: A Cal Claxton Oregon Mystery    by Warren C. Easley Amazon.com order for
Not Dead Enough
by Warren C. Easley
Order:  USA  Can
Poisoned Pen, 2016 (2016)
Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

The first closing of the floodgates of the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River drowned the sacred Falls and the Native American village at Celilo, whose inhabitants depended on the Columbia's magnificent fish – salmon. At the same time, Nelson Queah, a Wasco Indian, war hero and vociferous opponent of the dam, after watching 10,000 years of tribal history and fishing tradition disappear, was never seen again. This was in 1957.

Fifty years pass and Cal Claxton, an attorney from Los Angeles, meets his friend's cousin Winona Cloud who is Queah's granddaughter. Winona wants to know what happened to her grandfather. She doesn't believe the story that Queah was drunk and fell into the river. She wants the truth and presses Cal to help her discover it. Knowing that working fifty years back to the time the way of life of the Wasco Indians was destroyed forever will be quite a challenge, Cal isn't too sure he can be of help.

Not Dead Enough by Warren C. Easley moves the story along from the closing of the floodgates to the solving of Queah's disappearance and takes readers through suspense, intrigue, fraud, murder, dirty politics and arrogant power brokers – if it's illegal, it's part of this excellent novel. Made me feel guilty, as many of us do, for the poor treatment of those who were in this country before we were.

Cal Claxton is the prime character of the story. His counterpart, the murderer, has a change of heart, but too late. I wanted Winona to see what she had for the asking. I enjoyed every minute of this book. I know you will also.

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