April 28, 1997
In 1899, Charity, S.D., is surely misnamed. The tight-knit farming community that serves as setting for Callen's first novel is really a hive of gossip, rumor and spite. Augusta "Gustie" Roemer, the town's unmarried schoolteacher, has a secret life that people sense without having concrete proof. Gustie's love for Jordis, a beautiful Sioux woman, complicates both their lives as they struggle to find a place for their relationship in their respective worlds. Meanwhile, Gustie's one staunch friend in town, Lena, endures the humiliation of her alcoholic husband's decline and ultimately his arrest for the unlikely murder of his own father. When an angry man comes looking for Gustie, demanding a legacy he claimed his deceased sister, once Gustie's lover, stole from him, Gustie stands her ground and discovers that her real defenders are Jordis's people, not the clucking white townspeople. A second murder occurs, and the three women join together to maintain their dignity and solve the crimes. With the exception of the Sioux chief, Little Bull, Callen's menfolk come across as clueless and abusive, in contrast to her well-drawn, strong and independent women. Rich with Sioux lore, Callen's debut is a refreshingly nontraditional western romance that puts a new spin on the old subject of a small-minded, turn-of-the-century prairie town.