A doctor on a quest to make a difference. A flirty widow with a suspiciously dead husband. Stranded on the Wind River Indian Reservation in a deadly blizzard, Patrick Flint is about to figure out just how much of an outsider he really is. Patrick Flint feels a calling to volunteer at the impoverished Indian Health Services clinic on the Wind River Reservation that he can’t completely explain. His … can’t completely explain. His wife Susanne supports this—usually—but her family is coming for their first Wyoming visit, twelve-year-old Perry is stir crazy and looking for trouble, teenager Trish is dangerously in love, and she and Patrick are in the final stages of negotiations for their dream house. The Christmas holidays are not a convenient time for him to be gone, to say the least, or to be out of communication, which is exactly what happens when a series of blizzards knocks out power and phone lines all over the region.
When Patrick arrives in Fort Washakie to a flirty reception from the young clinic manager, Constance, he discovers Big Mike Teton, a tribal council member, dead in the health center parking lot. The circumstances point toward poisoning, but local law enforcement pooh-poojs that idea the second Patrick brings it up. So does Big Mike’s widow—none other than the lovely Constance.
Stranded in the storm, Patrick follows his heart and the medical evidence in his quest to figure out what killed Big Mike. No one on the reservation seems happy about his involvement. But they aren’t half as unhappy with him as Susanne is back in Buffalo when their realtor calls with a make-or-break counteroffer on the house, and she still can’t reach him after two days of radio silence.
As Patrick’s investigation begins to ruffle the wrong feathers, a frantic Susanne loads up the kids and her extended family for a trek across Wyoming to roust her husband, only to discover she’s not the only woman with a strong interest in the good doctor.
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Dr Patrick volunteers at an Native American medical clinic where he gets snowed in. The power goes and phone lines go out. He finds Big Mike in his truck dead, but he has other patients to attend to. And since it is freezing his body will be ok. This is a suspenseful mystery with twists and turns to keep you reading. Other murders and a cut brake line meant to kill. A real page turner.
This poor man… it seems if he didn’t have bad luck he would have no luck at all. Patrick has a calling to help at a small Indian community clinic. As the saying goes, “no good deed goes unpunished”. He is embroiled in a suspected murder when a man shows up dead in his truck. The widow isn’t grieving. The police don’t want him sniffing around to find the cause of death. He is an outsider and the people don’t want him there. Annnnd his wife shows up with the whole family in tow to the rescue. Abstractly, there is a comedy of errors to go along with the mystery and suspense. Another great written book that I enjoyed immensely!! Plan on a straight read!
Another well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. Just another adventure for Patrick and his family. This one takes Patrick to the Wind River Reservation and puts together a reason for deaths there. He also gets involved but his family again helps get him out of danger. Cannot wait to read more adventures Patrick takes.
An exciting plot with great characters. I felt that the author did an excellent job portraying how people new to the area might find the rural residents standoffish at times, even clannish, until they have been their a decade or so. She definitely has their self reliance and the weather conditions down too. An enjoyable read.
This is an absolutely wonderful read! Lots of detail of Wyoming, a state I have always wanted to visit . The characters are complex and interesting. Fast moving and intense story line. This book will hold your attention and you will not be and you will not be able to put it down! I cannot wait to read the next book!
*some spoilers*Snake oil is the ”magical cure-all’ bogus medicine commonly sold from travelling side show wagons by so-called ‘doctors’ way back when in the ‘Wild West’ days, but nothing could be less appropriately applied to MC Patrick Flint, who’s faithful (in the face of determined temptation) to his lovely wife Susanne, a great Dad to his kids, the waywardly ‘in love’ 15-going-on-21 daughter Trish and 12 year old, adventurous and growing up fast,Perry and a dedicated medical professional, who with his pal Wes Braten,volunteers at the Fort Washakie Indian Health Services clinic on Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation.Nurse/manager at the clinic is the knockout beauty,Constance Taton, wife of a tribal councillor,’Big Mike’ Taton,found mysteriously and suddenly dead in the car park of the clinic. Patrick and Wes are involved in helping a desperate young couple stranded in the snow, as the wife’s about to give birth,so the former doesn’t take any direct action, beyond (getting Wes to notify the ambulance and the ME and), staying with the couple.
Phew! You’d think that was enough of a storyline to fill a large novel to the brim, but no, Pamela Fagan Hutchins goes above and far. far beyond the zenith of a less dedicated storyteller, as she then interweaves the other side of the family equation,with Patrick’s wife Susanne and their kids left at home, preparing for Christmas and awaiting other family members to arrive for their customary Holiday get-together..That seems pretty mundane,if happy,compared to the challenges Patrick and Wes are facing with the rising storms, (and bearing in mind that back in the 1970s timeline of this story, there was no Internet, social media or cell phones – shock horror, but true dear Reader!!) and literally matters of life and death. We share in Susanne’s struggle to control Trish’s unbridled teen lust for local bad boy Brandon…oh and to keep track of Perry,who,having broken his leg some weeks earlier and being impatient for his plaster to be removed immediately,(so he can have fun in the snow with his cousin Mathew) attempts to cut it off himself, causing more problems.Then there’s the nightmare of (what used to be common in the ’70s) gazumping – waiting til the last minute to pull out of a house sale to bump up the price – that Susanne has to deal with, as the family longs to buy the Wyoming house they’ve set their hearts on. Due to the weather,the phone lines are down and Susanne has to rely on her father ‘Papa Bear as he’s known on the truckers’ CB radio, that again was so popular at the time, to find out why Patrick hasn’t called and what’s happened to him. Add to all that the rumours about Patrick’s ‘attraction’ to new widow,with whom he’s pictured in the local newspaper,the possibly suspicious circumstances of death of ‘Big Mike’, Constance’s unsavoury (to say the least!) relatives by marriage, who,seem to hate her and believe she murdered her hubby and even a serial killer to the mix and I’m sure you’ll agree Snake Oil will blow your mind and make you beg to read not only Switchback (Book 1) but eagerly await Book 3.What are you waiting for – grab your fix of Patrick Flint today and wait for the Snake Oil to work its magic – it’s another 5-star Pamela Fagan Hutchins winner!!
I just love the smooth cadence that Pamela Fagan Hutchins uses to write these books. It is very inviting and encourages the reader to sit back, relax and keep turning the pages toward the end. It is Christmas in the Flint household and things are not going smoothly. Patrick and Wes have gone to volunteer at a clinic on the reservation and get caught up in a death investigation. His wife is entertaining her family and upset that he is not there. Once again she has to set out to find him and ensure that he is ok. This is another wonderful book in the series which sees Dr. Flint in the role of investigator which puts him in peril. The situations he finds himself in are somehow hilarious yet dangerous. I love reading these stories with such wonderful characters and a great plot.
Wow, this book is like a rocket blasting into the unknown. Patrick Flint is a doctor on his way to serve at a medical clinic on an Indian reservation in Wyoming just before Christmas. On his way there, in a blizzard, he encounters serious automobile issues, a plunge through ice and then a baby being born. He also encounters a body hanging half out of a vehicle at the clinic.
While battling power and telephone outages, he is trying to determine if the dead man has been murdered. No one, including the widow, wants to aid in an investigation,. Meanwhile, Patrick’s wife is dealing with family issues many miles away.
What a ride this book is! Lots of intrigue and the characters are dealing with so many issues. I recommend this book.
A dead body and many with a motive. Who is it?
This is the second book in the Dr. Patrick Flint series. Although this book can stand alone, reading the first in the series, Switchback, will provide insight into the characters. As in the Switchback, the story is set in Wyoming in the 1970s. The story begins as Dr. Flint and his friend, Wes, are heading to the Wind River Indian Reservation. Patrick volunteers one day a month at the Fort Washakie Health Center. Most of the time, his wife, Susanne, is totally behind him and his desire to help others. Still, her parents and extended family are making their first visit to Wyoming to celebrate Christmas. She wants everything to be perfect and needed Patrick’s help.
Patrick and Wes find themselves in a blizzard working their way to the Health Center. When they successfully arrive, Patrick notices a truck parked in the parking lot with the door open and one booted leg hanging out and goes over to see if he can help. Upon reaching the pick-up, Patrick finds a man he doesn’t know slumped over the steering wheel. Upon examination, he determines the man is dead and has been there awhile.
By this time, things are getting so busy at the clinic, Patrick leaves the man there and decides he will worry about him later. Eventually, the man’s identity is known. It is Big Mike, the husband of Constance, who is the clinic’s nurse and manager. There is no immediate indication of how Big Mike died, but some find it to be suspicious.
Back in Buffalo, Susanne is trying to get things ready for her parents’ visit and is miffed that Patrick hasn’t called to say he arrived safely at the Health Center. She has no idea the clinic’s staff, including her husband, are stranded due to the blizzard.
Dr. Flint decides he is going to look into how Big Mike died and finds his investigation is not well received by the locals.
Sit back and get ready to become fully immersed in a story full of mystery, adventure, and intrigue.
Pamela Fagan Hutchins promises readers a week not easily forgotten. #2 in Patrick Flint series, Snake Oil, delivers
A blizzardly trip to Fort Washakie Health Center kicks off with a snowy breakdown. Hutchins’ descriptive prose puts the reader in the snowy river with Dr. Patrick Flint as he catches icy water for best friend Wes Braten who is back working on Gussie, his beloved truck. Readers can feel Gussie’s heater kick in as the two men continue their journey to volunteer time at the medical clinic. What follows next includes a birthing Mama and a dead man in a car. While wondering about the birth and the who, what and why of the man’s death, Hutchins introduces Patrick’s wife Suzanne, who is, by the way, struggling to get ready for the family holiday arrival-alone! All this… within minutes of page one. This book is a keeper- you’re hooked!
Such as it is with all Hutchins’ work-a reader steps into the story and lives it. When you’re not actively reading Snake Oil, you’re wondering what is happening. This defines fiction at its finest-the only disappointment is the last page
I love the action in these books! I cant wait for the next one to come out. Great book and easy read. Patrick Flint and his family always find adventure. Set in Wyoming in winter makes you want to grab a blanket and settle in to a great story, but you will find yourself on the edge of your seat.