doubleace2423's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
acarman1's review
5.0
This is the second book the new TV series is based on. While the first one, Listening Woman, was focused on Lieutenant Leaphorn tracking down a Navajo serial killer, this one focuses on Jim Chee being drawn into a 30 year cover up involving the deliberate murder of Navajo mine workers and ongoing exploitation of the land. It also introduces Chee's first love interest--the white schoolteacher, Mary Landon. Together they delve into the dark underbelly of the Southwest, pursuing a greedy white man enriching himself at the expense of his workers...and willing to kill to cover it up. As always, Chee pursues justice in the Navajo sense, seeking to restore beauty and harmony.
judyward's review
4.0
Published in 1980 and set in the Checkerboard--a series of reservation lands interspersed with private holdings in the southeast corner of the Navajo reservation in the Four Corners area. This is also the first Tony Hillerman novel to feature Navajo Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee. Chee is trying to decide whether to join the FBI--he's already passed all of the tests and has been invited to training in Quantico, Virginia or to remain in New Mexico to continue studying to be a Navajo singer or Shaman. Chee is faced with numerous questions in this book. Why kill a man who is already dying? Why would a widow be willing to pay several thousand dollars for the return of a box of rocks? Why is the local Sheriff warning him off the case? And numerous others. The case involves human greed, uranium mining, a peyote cult, and and mineral speculation. All in all, a compelling read.
srash's review
5.0
I went into this book knowing that three books deep into the series, Hillerman exchanged experienced tribal policeman Joe Leaphorn for the younger Jim Chee for three books before finally teaming them up permanently.
I'd enjoyed the Leaphorn books so much I was a bit suspicious of the protagonist change, but I actually enjoyed this book the most out of all the ones I've read. The mystery was really solid, the antagonists were especially eerie, and Chee is a very likable, compelling main character in his own right.
I'd enjoyed the Leaphorn books so much I was a bit suspicious of the protagonist change, but I actually enjoyed this book the most out of all the ones I've read. The mystery was really solid, the antagonists were especially eerie, and Chee is a very likable, compelling main character in his own right.
amylynn1031's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mpetruce's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I'm filling in the gaps in my reading of Hillerman's Navajo mysteries and this is one of the earlier ones. It's OK. The third star is for George Guidall's narration. The denouement wasn't super satisfying (it was just Chee explaining to the reader's stand-in, a pre-Janet Pete possible love interest (but not really) over a campfire). And the climactic ending has already had the action happen, so the whole motivation/side quest of the villain that we've been following never gets wrapped up or even explained all that much, not to mention his main arc of being this serial bomber the FBI is looking for (that's not a spoiler). But, as with all of these, it's still fun to follow along with Jim Chee (I'd add Leaphorn but his name is mentioned once and he's never seen. Also, why does this book go back and forth calling him Jim Chee and Jimmy Chee?).
linda48's review
4.0
The fourth book of the Leaphorn and Chee series, it introduces Jim Chee as a Tribal police officer. People of Darkness uses the mysticism of the traditional Navajo religion and how non-believers can use the tenets of the religion to further their own greed at the expense of the Dinee. People of Darkness delves deeper than previous books into the mysticism and mythology of the Navajo.
aj113's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0