claudia2945's review against another edition
4.0
Another good mystery by Anne Hillerman. As always, her descriptions of the setting and the insights into Navajo culture The book tells two stories, two mysteries that husband and wife Navajo police officers are working separately because they are temporarily working in different places The author handles the two threads beautifully.
floribunda52's review against another edition
3.0
Part of my rating, I have to admit, is based on my dislike of the narrator on the audio version of the book. Her exceptionally slow delivery and weird voices finally drove me to find a print copy for the second half of the book! But I also found the plot to be a bit slow and convoluted, and ultimately up satisfying. Maybe I'm just ready to give up mysteries again...
troy66's review against another edition
4.0
I'm so glad she has decide to continue her Dads stories. I love the Navajo culture and mysticism that are included in these mysteries.
jennms_qkw's review against another edition
3.0
I'd like to give 3.5 stars, and rate this a little higher than Spider . . . This is so complicated. I love the characters and the landscape and the stories. I want Navajo/Dinee' to write books.
linda48's review against another edition
3.0
Anne Hillerman is a gifted writer and her ability to bring the Navajo culture into her books is similar to her father - although Tony Hillerman was more immersed and seemed to have a keener understanding of the culture.
Ms. Hillerman entwines multiple story lines in her book, including Bernie's family, filmmaking in Monument Valley - past and present, industry in Navajoland and the work to bring more work for the people who inhabit it, missing heirlooms, artistry and the different ways Anglos view the natural wonders of the area vs. the traditional way of the Navajo people.
I had problems with this book, though. Chee makes huge leaps to come to his conclusions and solve cases. I read and re-read sections of the book to see how he derived his findings. The best I can come up with is that he had a really good cup of coffee.
A good book with a nice pace, but not one of Ms. Hillerman's better works.
Ms. Hillerman entwines multiple story lines in her book, including Bernie's family, filmmaking in Monument Valley - past and present, industry in Navajoland and the work to bring more work for the people who inhabit it, missing heirlooms, artistry and the different ways Anglos view the natural wonders of the area vs. the traditional way of the Navajo people.
I had problems with this book, though. Chee makes huge leaps to come to his conclusions and solve cases. I read and re-read sections of the book to see how he derived his findings. The best I can come up with is that he had a really good cup of coffee.
A good book with a nice pace, but not one of Ms. Hillerman's better works.
betchkraft95's review against another edition
5.0
Navajo Tribal Police
Excellent sequel to "Spider Woman". Love that Leaphorn &
Chee are now joined by Bernadette Manulito in this great series
Excellent sequel to "Spider Woman". Love that Leaphorn &
Chee are now joined by Bernadette Manulito in this great series
tasjaak's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
ncrabb's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve put off reading this book for quite some time, fearing that I would somehow be disappointed by the fact that someone other than the magnificent Tony Hillerman wrote an installment of the series. I needn’t have been afraid. Since there’s only so much ability you can inherit, it’s safe to say that Anne Hillerman stands in no one’s shadow. Better still, she has written something in which her dad would be proud—something the rest of us can thoroughly enjoy.
Bernie Manuelito and Jim Chee are about to embark on a well-deserved vacation to Monument Valley, the location of the famed John Ford film Stagecoach and many other movies. Chee is going to help a friend who is opening a photography tour company in the valley and to do some police work for local law enforcement. In the final hours of work before vacation, Bernie has arrested a man she believes may be guilty of drug smuggling. He’s definitely guilty of bribing a policeman, and she hopes she caught that all on camera. But the camera failed and there’s some fallout with the arrest that she’ll have to deal with.
Meanwhile, in Monument Valley, a movie company has moved in to shoot a zombie film. While looking for one of the company’s staff, Chee and the movie company staffer literally stumble onto what appears to be a grave. Worse still, it’s later confirmed that there are human remains in the grave.
Back in Shiprock, Bernie works closely with federal authorities on that suspicious arrest she made before her all-too-short vacation, and she and Chee ultimately both benefit from the assistance of their friend and mentor, Joe Leaphorn, who is recovering from a brain injury that resulted from a gunshot wound to the head.
I loved the opportunity to be reunited with Joe Leaphorn, and I grieved to the extent that you can grieve for a fictional character for the loss and disability with which he is forced to deal. It was a most welcome reunion for me, and while I think Tony Hillerman managed to more vividly bring the Four Corners region to life with his descriptions, Anne brings her own style and ability to this series, and hers is a writing style imbued with talent. She, too, breathes life into these characters in a way that is most pleasing to someone such as I who have considered them friends for so many years.
Bernie Manuelito and Jim Chee are about to embark on a well-deserved vacation to Monument Valley, the location of the famed John Ford film Stagecoach and many other movies. Chee is going to help a friend who is opening a photography tour company in the valley and to do some police work for local law enforcement. In the final hours of work before vacation, Bernie has arrested a man she believes may be guilty of drug smuggling. He’s definitely guilty of bribing a policeman, and she hopes she caught that all on camera. But the camera failed and there’s some fallout with the arrest that she’ll have to deal with.
Meanwhile, in Monument Valley, a movie company has moved in to shoot a zombie film. While looking for one of the company’s staff, Chee and the movie company staffer literally stumble onto what appears to be a grave. Worse still, it’s later confirmed that there are human remains in the grave.
Back in Shiprock, Bernie works closely with federal authorities on that suspicious arrest she made before her all-too-short vacation, and she and Chee ultimately both benefit from the assistance of their friend and mentor, Joe Leaphorn, who is recovering from a brain injury that resulted from a gunshot wound to the head.
I loved the opportunity to be reunited with Joe Leaphorn, and I grieved to the extent that you can grieve for a fictional character for the loss and disability with which he is forced to deal. It was a most welcome reunion for me, and while I think Tony Hillerman managed to more vividly bring the Four Corners region to life with his descriptions, Anne brings her own style and ability to this series, and hers is a writing style imbued with talent. She, too, breathes life into these characters in a way that is most pleasing to someone such as I who have considered them friends for so many years.
bollerud's review against another edition
4.0
Love the characterizations of Chee, Manuelito and Leaphorn, the culture and the landscape, but lukewarm on the mystery itself.
jennybeastie's review against another edition
3.0
On the whole, I'm pleased that the series is continuing under Anne Hillerman, and I think she's doing a reasonably good job with it. I feel there's a little something stiff in the characters, a certain formality of phrase that I can read as traditional Navaho culture and thinking, since I am ignorant of that culture, but that somehow makes me nostalgic for the Chee and Manuelito of previous years.
Still, it was a good story in an impeccably wrought setting and I'm glad to have the characters live on, even in slightly altered form.
Still, it was a good story in an impeccably wrought setting and I'm glad to have the characters live on, even in slightly altered form.