Sacred Clowns

The CD's came quickly, and were in great condition. The story was also of Tony Hillerman quality--very good. I also liked the performer's voice. The fact that he was Native American added an extra depth to the reading since he was portraying a Navajo man.

Having grown up near the Navajo reservation and having had Indian friends and classmates, I appreciate the insight and knowlege that Mr. Hillerman brings to his books. I love the mysteries, but even more it makes me feel I am back home.

Tony Hillerman has a well worn formula for crafting great detective stories. At the core of his formula is the contrasting world view of his Native American heroes and the outside Anglo world. What makes "Sacred Clowns" interesting is that we see a wider spectrum of Native American views of the world. In this novel, there are not only Navajos with different levels of assimilation but also a Pueblo Indians and a Cheyenne Indian thrown into the mix. "Sacred Clowns" reminds non-Native Americans that the Indian experience is much more varied than we generally assume. Tony Hillerman had a great formula and it is a pleasure to enter into his world. Highly recommended!

This time we confront a different Pueblo People the Hopi. In the Hopi there are sect or Koshari societies; they do not practice curing; they are concerned with fertility and growth. Their religion is more personal than public and clans are most important.

Along With a new people we are treated to a piece of history; The Spanish had a tradition of The Canes of Office here. Governors and lieutenant governors and the like were issued a cane as a symbol of office. Ten years after the Gadsden purchase. The Indians stayed neutral curing the Civil War. So President Abraham Lincoln has some canes made of black ebony and crowned with silver inscribed with his signature, "A. Lincoln." These where given the nineteen different pueblos, each cane had the pueblo name on it.

Tony Hillerman spins his magic once more in this story of missing people and a death that may be related or religion and again maybe just down right greed. Chee and Leaphorn bust work together to find meaning and reason. In the Hillerman tradition all the clues are laid out in the open allowing you to bet them to the conclusion if you can.

Good companion book for this story is "American Indians of the Southwest" by Berth P. Dutton

This time we confront a different Pueblo People the Hopi. In the Hopi there are sect or Koshari societies; they do not practice curing; they are concerned with fertility and growth. Their religion is more personal than public and clans are most important.

Along With a new people we are treated to a piece of history; The Spanish had a tradition of The Canes of Office here. Governors and lieutenant governors and the like were issued a cane as a symbol of office. Ten years after the Gadsden purchase. The Indians stayed neutral curing the Civil War. So President Abraham Lincoln has some canes made of black ebony and crowned with silver inscribed with his signature, "A. Lincoln." These where given the nineteen different pueblos, each cane had the pueblo name on it.

Tony Hillerman spins his magic once more in this story of missing people and a death that may be related or religion and again maybe just down right greed. Chee and Leaphorn bust work together to find meaning and reason. In the Hillerman tradition all the clues are laid out in the open allowing you to bet them to the conclusion if you can.

Good companion book for this story is "American Indians of the Southwest" by Berth P. Dutton

Sacred Clowns is truly Tony Hillerman at his best. Both Leaphorn and Chee are at a personal crossroad in their lives while attempting to solve two crimes which may or may not be related. A complex mystery is interwoven with the care befitting a sacred blanket as we learn more than ever about the Navajo and their beliefs. The depth of understanding for each man's loneliness and efforts to end it are poignantly portrayed by Hillerman in a mystery as good as any he has penned. Those who relish the way he educates the reader about Native American beliefs while entertaining us in grand fashion will not be disappointed. Perhaps more than any of his novels, Sacred Clowns gives us a better understanding of why the Navajo have survived, while so many other great tribes have all but disappeared.

Chee's new assignment working directly for Leaphorn gets off to a shaky start when the former allows a missing boy to escape during a Tano ceremony soon after locating him. It is the boy's elusive nature and a murder during the ceremony that kick off one of the most satisfying mysteries in this fabulous series. Leaphorn is still trying to move on after Emma's death, and Chee is worried Janet may have a tie to his clan somewhere which would prevent him from romance. A second murder makes this a complex puzzle which has them going in different directions. Chee's carelessness at one point will result in Leaphorn's suspension. Leaphorn's feelings regarding young Chee's conflicting spirit, torn between Navajo tradition and his career as a Navajo Tribal Policeman, are laid to bare here as well.

A cane commissioned by Abraham Lincoln will hold the key to a mystery unsolved until the final page. Chee will weigh Navajo justice against the secular law he is sworn to uphold, and come to a startling decision. There is need and loneliness here for both men, Chee trying to begin, and Leaphorn attempting to start over. There is a depth and understanding mingling effortlessly in Sacred Clowns, a mystery engrossing enough to be of merit on its own. We've come to expect this of Hillerman, which is why he has so many fans. That blend of good mystery, Native American beliefs, and depth of character are trademarks of this excellent series. You will come away from this one with a greater understanding of the Navajo, and humanity in general.

If you happened to miss this one when it was first printed, it is certainly worth picking up a copy. In fact, I would consider this one essential for fans. A must read.

Another Navajo-Hopi murder mystery unfolds under Hillerman's pen featuring the team work of Joe Leaphorn and Detective Jim Chee of the Navajo Police. They team up with Cowboy, a Hopi law enforcement officer, to solve a murder that revolves around the Tano Kachina spirit ceremony.

As usual, Jim Chee is actually assigned on what he considers a nuisance case, looking for Delmar Kanitewa, a missing teen. But the case turns into a challenging first-rate mystery. Chee spots Kanitewa at the Kachina ceremony, and while trying to get to him through the crowd, he comes upon the murder.

The murder victim is a Sacred Clown. Myth and culture of the intersecting Native cultures of New Mexico come to life in this rich tale. The rich background cultures come through as major players in the mystery.

The interaction of the different tribes enriches the tapestry of the story and provides insight in to the cultural distinctiveness of each Native people. Gil Silverbird's superb vocal dramatization is spot on as expected!

In this gripping mystery, Joe Leaphorn and his younger colleague Jim Chee team up to investigate two murders miles apart. At first glance, the victims have little in common. Eric Dorsey taught shop to Navajo high school students and drove a water truck on weekends to bring water to elderly Navajo living in the remoter regions of the Big Rez. Francis Sayesva was an accountant, a Hopi who lived in the city but who had returned to his native pueblo to participate in a traditional festival.

Jim Chee is particularly upset by the Sayesva death--the man was bludgeoned to death not forty yards from where Jim was sitting, observing the Hopi festival. Jim had made the mistake of forgetting that he was attending the ceremony on police business, rather than for sightseeing. Even though this crime is the province of the feds, Chee can't let it rest.

In the Eric Dorsey case, Leaphorn isn't satisfied by the charges against a friend of Eric's. The man may have been drunk, but he seemed just as surprised by the silver goods that turned up under his trailer as anyone. Leaphorn has learned to mistrust the all-too-convenient "anonymous call". The more he investigates, the greater the tragedy seems to him. Both the murdered men were quiet pillars of the community, giving time, effort and some of their own money towards doing the right thing. The Hopi term for such people is "Valuable Men". In addition, both brought laughter to the people. Eric Dorsey was a bad ventriloquist, but his puppetry brought smiles to children and old people alike. Francis Sayesva clowned for a purpose; in black and white stripes he enacted the part of a koshare, a sacred clown whose antics at Hopi religious festivals are to remind people of their foibles, failings and imperfections. So who took offense at Sayesva's last performance? One person connects these two men, Eric's student and Francis's nephew. But where has the boy disappeared to?

This riveting mystery is one of Hillerman's best. Setting, character and plot are impeccable and in addition, the reader learns something about the native American cultures in the Four Corners region. Hillerman died in October of 2008. This review is one of a series being posted by a grateful fan who found much pleasure not only in reading his works but in visiting the landscape he wrote about. Tony Hillerman is a valuable man in American literature, especially in the mystery genre. This book is one I highly recommend to people who would like to sample his talent.

Fans of Tony Hillerman knew it was bound to happen: Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee have crossed paths in the past and were getting closer to each other in recent books. And, in this one, Chee has started working for Leaphorn. While the book never tells us how the connection between the two was made formally, Chee is understandably nervous about working with and for Leaphorn with his legendary reputation.

The first assignment Leaphorn gives Chee is to find a runaway boy. This is not normally a task for someone of Leaphorn's caliber but it turns out that the boy's grandmother is an influential politician... in addition, Leaphorn wants Chee to try and solve a mysterious hit and run accident where the killer has left no tracks or clues. All of this is going on while some other murders have taken place in the area and Chee wants to get involved with them as well - but he is firmly told to keep his nose out of them.

Intermixed with all of this are a couple of story lines that deal with the men's private lives. Chee has been very attracted to Janet Pete for several books now, and is dealing with his conflicted emotions about her. Of course, his very traditional Navajo upbringing seems to make this even more of a challenge for him and he ends up involving both his uncle as well as three other old and wise people from the various Navajo clans.

Leaphorn is dealing with his own emotional baggage. It has been 18 months since his wife Emma died and he is getting more involved with Louisa Bourbonette - a professor in a local college. As a matter of fact, they are planning on taking a trip to China together.

All of these elements are deliciously thrown together along with a healthy dose of the Kiva religion of a made up pueblo called Tano. In eyt another view of the religion of American Indians, we are introduced to the Koshane (sacred clown) and get even more involved with them when one of their number is murdered.

I think this is one of Hillerman's best books as the police duo work on their different crimes and their relationship; the duo each deal with their romantic relationships; and the mixture of religions and modern life also intermix in this mystery story. As each element is brought forward in the story, the readers are brought along and the resolutions of the various components is satisfactory and logical.

There are a few twists along the way which show the basic humanity of Chee and Leaphorn. I particularly enjoyed the way the Hit and Run was resolved as appropriately congruent with Chee's view of life and justice.

Overall, this book will take place in my library as a keeper and I recommend it to all Hillerman fans and those who wonder about Hillerman's writing.

Review
By
Judith Woolcock Colombo
Sacred Clowns set within the context of Navajo culture and using the overwhelming physical presence of the Southwest as backdrop, mixes ethnicity, human greed, and romance into an intriguing mystery.
The novel reunites Navajo Detective Jim Chee and Lt. Joe Leaphorn. Chee now part of Leaphorn's two-man Special Investigations Office has been assigned to follow Delmar Kanitewa, a runaway student and grandson of a powerful member of the tribal council.
Chee follows the boy to the Tano Pueblo for a ceremony of koshares, sacred clowns, only to see the ceremony interrupted by a murder. The boy, who is in full site of Chee during the murder at the Pueblo, vanishes. Later it is discovered that he may also know something about another murder, that of shop- teacher Eric Dorsey.
With the boy's disappearance, we are left with the mystery of how exactly the two murders are connected. However, these murders are just the beginning of an intricate plot that involves an unsolved hit and run case, political and religious scandal, and romance for both Chee and Leaphorn.
This is a well-woven story that brings us into the hearts and minds of Hillerman's two very different heroes. The contrast between the lives and characters of the men from their two different methods of problem solving to romancing the women of their choice is as much a part of the story as the mystery itself.
I enjoyed this story very much and was particularly intrigued by the aspects of Navajo culture and tribal law that ran throughout the story. There were some aspects of the methods used, especially by Chee that as both a mystery writer and wife of a retired Sergeant of Detectives, I found questionable. However, I realized that Hillerman is writing as much about a culture as he is about solving a mystery. Police officers like all of us are defined by their culture and act within its bounds.
This is a very enjoyable mystery and I highly recommend it.

Like other Tony Hillerman novels that I have read, Sacred Clowns is like a leisurely visit with some old friends, sharing fascinating and entertaining stories and feelings. Not only do you get to further explore the symbiotic but always tenuous relationship between officers Leaphorn and Chee, but you have the opportunity to learn about indian artifacts, Hopi and Navaho culture, beliefs and ceremonies.
Sacred Clowns is another collaborative effort between Leaphorn and Chee, slowly but surely bringing this story together like solving a complex puzzle. Two seemingly unrelated murders, a valuable artifact and a Hopi ceremony provide the foundation for the intrigue. There is an interesting assortment of characters (a politician, school teacher, environmentalist, lawyers, just to name a few) whose associations and interactions provide the hints and clues upon which the puzzle slowly comes together. As always, you get to experience the imagery that Hillerman describes of the desert southwest, throughout the story.
For me, the really compelling part of this novel, like the other Hillerman novels about the Navaho Tribal Police, is the interactions and personality clashes between Leaphorn and Chee - this provides a very interesting and entertaining way to learn about these characters. You get to know them like close acquaintances who let you know their thoughts about what is happening in the story, and how these events and circumstances touch their personal lives.
Although the story ends a bit abruptly for me, I think that previous readers of Hillerman novels, as well as newcomers, will find this book a worthwhile endeavor.

Tony Hillerman is one of my very favorite mystery writers. Having grown up in the Southwest, the tribal backdrop for the series has always charmed me. Jim Chee is a deeply spiritual Navajo who is also a tribal policeman. His ability to deal with the spiritual and the physical issues makes for interesting plot twists that add important knowledge about one of our oldest and proudest cultures in North America. Joe Leaphorn, the classic thinking detective, is a good contrast -- drawing heavily on inductive and deductive logic to solve cases.

In Sacred Clowns we get lots of both Jim and Joe, something that all of the best Tony Hillerman mysteries have in common.

What makes Sacred Clowns special is that the plot is a nice amalgam of tribal and nontribal culture, bringing up nice opportunities for contrasts. You'll find yourself fascinated by the way the two cultures are intertwined in this very complex story.

Finally, and most importantly, this is one of the hardest mysteries to solve that I have ever had the pleasure to read. It had me confused right up to the end. I even went back and reread the story to be sure I hadn't suffered from temporary amnesia. No, the clues are all there, but they are really subtle. This is a great thinking person's mystery plot.

If you have never read any of Tony Hillerman's work, you have a real treat in store. You'll be amazed how good this novel is. If you have read lots of his work, you also have a big treat. This is clearly one of his finest novels!

There's something special about reading a Tony Hillerman mystery. Not only are you drawn into an excellent whodunit, but an intimate look at the Navajo culture as well. In this new adventure, Officer Chee introduces us to the Tano people and their sacred kachino ceremony. However, something odd occurs at the ceremony and one of the sacred clowns is brutally murdered soon afterward. Both Chee and Lieutenant Leaphorn wonder if there is a connection to another murder on the Navajo reservation. There, a schoolteacher was found bludgeoned to death in his wood and metal shop.

The best part of this novel, besides the mystery, is the growing relationship between Hillerman's main characters, Chee and Leaphorn, and the women they're involved with. Chee tries to find away to express his mounting feelings for Janet Pete, a beautiful Navajo attorney. However, there is a catch; she might be a clan sister. The prospect of violating the incest taboo weighs heavily on Chee. In order to marry Janet Pete and still be Navajo in the traditional sense, Chee must learn whether she is related by blood. Leaphorn, struggling with the absence of his dead wife, must decide whether he is ready to move on. An attractive professor from Northern Arizona University invites Leaphorn on a trip to China. Will he go?

Although I would recommend to readers new to the Hillerman series to start with "Skinwalkers," this is an excellent, enjoyable mystery that shouldn't be missed.

Tony Hillerman is one of my very favorite mystery writers. Having grown up in the Southwest, the tribal backdrop for the series has always charmed me. Jim Chee is a deeply spiritual Navajo who is also a tribal policeman. His ability to deal with the spiritual and the physical issues makes for interesting plot twists that add important knowledge about one of our oldest and proudest cultures in North America. Joe Leaphorn, the classic thinking detective, is a good contrast -- drawing heavily on inductive and deductive logic to solve cases.
In Sacred Clowns we get lots of both Jim and Joe, something that all of the best Tony Hillerman mysteries have in common.
What makes Sacred Clowns special is that the plot is a nice amalgam of tribal and nontribal culture, bringing up nice opportunities for contrasts. You'll find yourself fascinated by the way the two cultures are intertwined in this very complex story.
Finally, and most importantly, this is one of the hardest mysteries to solve that I have ever had the pleasure to read. It had me confused right up to the end. I even went back and reread the story to be sure I hadn't suffered from temporary amnesia. No, the clues are all there, but they are really subtle. This is a great thinking person's mystery plot.
If you have never read any of Tony Hillerman's work, you have a real treat in store. You'll be amazed how good this novel is. If you have read lots of his work, you also have a big treat. This is clearly one of his finest novels!

There are times when reading Hillerman's Southwestern Mysteries that I wish he wasn't constrained by the rules of mainstream crime fiction. You'd think that given the unconventional setting and unconventional characters, you'd be reading an unconventional story. Almost, but not quite. It wraps up neatly as always--bad guys get theirs, justice is done. As in his other books, the author forces his resolution when, quite frankly, the plot is the weakest part of his writing. Or, more to the point, I couldn't care less about the Crime. It's the main characters and their world I find fascinating. Maybe that's the weak point in most of his plots--the bad guys just aren't very well-developed, especially in comparison to the "good guys."
As short novels about the Southwest, this series always succeeds. You'll learn about the world of illegal Anasazi Pot Hunters along with some interesting (although now out of date) facts about the Anasazi themselves. Despite the continuing myth, the Anasazi did not "disappear," they simply moved for a variety of reasons; not least of which was the collapse of the Chaco Phenomenon, due to the sharp drop in demand for turquoise from Toltec Mexico then (1200s) experiencing a long series of wars between petty empires.
Read Hillerman for his Southwestern flavor and you'll never be disappointed. Read him for plot and mystery, and you'll feel a bit short-changed. The ending, as always, will seem contrived and faintly ridiculous, but you'll enjoy the journey. Leaphorn and Chee are both legendary characters now, and this book played no small part in establishing them as such.
RstJ

After adding *Sacred Clowns* to his "Navajo mysteries" series, Hillerman stepped out of the milieu to write a novel best forgotten, *Finding Moon*, about the fall of Saigon. Sadly, when he returned to the series, something was lost, and the books since have felt almost as if they were being ghost-written for him.
*Sacred Clowns* is the last of the best of these books. Set at the fictional "Hano" Pueblo, it explores history, religion, and antiquities, weaving together environmental issues, intertribal rivalries, and a good, solid story with interesting characters. Chee and Leaphorn are dealing with their respective personal problems, and both stories move forward in promising ways.
This is not the best of the series. That honor goes to *A Thief of Time*, because Hillerman got it all right and it dazzles. It's not the most representative. That would be *Skinwalkers*, I think, and hence its selection for the first Hillerman Mystery Theatre production this fall. And it's not my favorite; that would be *Coyote Waits*, with its surprise ending that brings home the potential for tragedy on the reservation better than any mainstream novel I've read.
But it is a good, solid book, entertaining, educational, densely plotted and well written. Of the books added to the series since, the lastest, *The Wailing Wind*, finally suggests that Hillerman is getting back on track, but if you are new to this remarkable and exciting set of novels, begin with one of the three I've recommended above, then, if you like that, go back to the first or second novel and read your way forward. By the time you jump the gully of *Finding Moon*, you will be prepared to forgive some tiredness in the stories that come after.
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee will be gone eventually, like Thomas Perry's wonderful Jane Whitefield. I will miss them.
For a complete discussion of the "Indian mystery" genre, check my web site.

I truly enjoy reading Tony Hillerman's mysteries, for there are always lessons in history therein that I come away with. He shared his love for the Navajo people through the the story he weaved. In this work, it is also something about the Hopi people we learn about. He was a master story-teller, having the ability to weave and twist a story well. It is like watching Law & Order. You can't be away from the book for long!

Chee, Leaphorn, Janet Pete, become characters you love to love. They make the southwest come alive. They make a place anyone would like to visit. I am so sorry he has passed on. He made reading murder mysteries educational as well as entertaining.

Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, Tony Hillerman's crack Navajo investigators, know treachery, deceit, corruption, wickedness, and tribal politics of their fellow Navajos very well. In "Sacred Clowns," Hillerman is in top form, spinning his web of intrigue, murder, and, indeed, mayhem in the Southwest. In addition to a taut plot line, in which Leaphorn and Chee are at their best, Hillerman's penchant for presenting the character of these two is superb. Both are incredibly complex men, yet so vastly different too. A teacher at a local Navajo school is murdered; shortly afterward another murder, this time at the Tano Indian pueblo. With the adroit skill of which his readers have become accustomed, Hillerman unfolds his story with the dexterity of a surgeon. The sacred kachina scenario is one of his finest, as Hillerman evokes the landscape and atmosphere so well. Hillerman seems to have done more for the preservation of the Navajo culture than just about anyone, yet his
story line does not suffer. As the kachinas (sacred clowns) are not what they seem, neither are the murders. This book is refreshing--and compelling--to read! ([email protected])

Love Hillerman's Navajo series and Leaphorn. Chee....not so much. I would have fired his ass if he had caused me the grief he did to Leaphorn. I just have no sympathy for the guy. Mystery was good, but I thought the denouement was a bit rushed.

This is a Jim Chee mystery. Chee has been assigned to find a young boy who has run away from school. Meanwhile, a man has been murdered at the school where the boy ran away from. While Chee is on the trail of the boy, the boy's uncle happens to be murdered almost right in front of him. Coincidence? Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, Chee's boss, doesn't believe in coincidences. But there are no clues linking the three incidents. It's up to Chee to figure out what's been happening in case the boy is in danger.

As with all of Hillerman's books, this tale is rich with detail from Navajo culture. Through Chee's eyes, we witness a Pueblo ceremonial and learn about some of the roles tribesmen play during the ritual. Despite the urgency of the situation, Chee must divide his attention between his job and his personal life, between the ethics of his tribe and the law. This book will draw you in from page one.

Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman
This is only the second Hillerman I've read but I got the same amused intrigued homesickness from this one as the previous. I thought the mystery plot was just a bit contrived but the story around it was really the important part anyway. And the emotional attraction is best exhibited by Ernie. Watch for him. In the last few paragraphs of chapter 26 the best description of hozho as contrasted with Anglo perceptions is presented, another high point to watch for. And will Jim Chee and Janet Pete finally become a couple and how about Joe Leaphorn and Louisa Bourebonette? The patient stoic character of Leaphorn and the starry eyed ambition of Chee offer the world that only another South Westerner could give us - the world where Indian is pronounced In-dun and keeping Navajo time is taken for granted. The Navajo dialogue is outstanding with that exacting slow spoken articulation that teaches patience as its by-product. Being the student of Southwest history that I am I must confess I had never hear of the Lincoln canes, or any of the three different presentations of canes, to the Pueblo nations. A little research brought about a most interesting verification of these canes offered as symbols of the new sovereignty, extending continued authority for the Pueblo form of government recognized by the U.S. federal government. So this novel spurred me on to a fuller concept of that age-old struggle of expansion verses indigent rights. But it took no research to comprehend the amusing view of another culture, that of the Cheyenne, as seen by the Navajo Chee. It is sweetly clever and helps to remind us of the extreme diversity of the Native American cultures. All in all, as much a history lesson as a love story as a panoramic view of the wondrous Arizona/New Mexico high lands as a murder mystery - a good read that warms this tired old heart.

Tony Hillerman's SACRED CLOWNS is one of my favorite mystery novels. It combines the two policeman in a dance of opposites that must find their own balance to survive.
Leaphorn is of the present and has managed to find a place for himself outside the tribe. Chee is of the past whose basic training is to be a shaman, but the conflicts between his spiritual heritage and present reality knock on all door.
A murder while an ancient tribal ceremony unfolds is unthinkable, but this is what happens. Chee and Leaphorn are an uneasy team, but they find a way across many paths to an excellent conclusion.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS

Sacred Clowns examines both the Navajo and Hopi cultural and religeons, steeping the murder mystery in a rich cultural tapestry that Hillerman was known for. As always, the story involves the human elements of both Chee and Leaphorn, their love lives and their personal struggles. This has it all.. mystery, politics, history, intrigue, and yes, two murders to solve.

Tony Hillerman is a wonderful author. A Scared Clown is a very outstanding mystery book.

In little town, Shiprock, Officer Chee and Detective Leaphorn discover a human skeleton. Whoever that was, was brutally murdered and it is up to them to crack the mystery. The characters in this book are described where you can just picture what they look like and what everything else looks like. The author, Mr. Hillerman, did a good job with imagery. It felt as if I were there with them trying to solve the mystery. The author kept me interested with his diction. I couldn't stop reading the book, I just kept going.

I recommend people to read this book if they are into mystery books, because I know they will feel the same way I did when I opened the book and when I closed the book.

Book is excellent, but if you can find an audiobook with George Guidall reading it will make all the difference. Mr. Guidall has a marvelous way of differentiating the characters and is a pleasure to listen to.

Normally, I find the Leaphorn series books quite engrossing and usually finish them in a day. With this one however, the story failed to draw me in the way the others have. I felt this book especially was more of a character introduction for Jim Chee than an outright mystery. It does provide insight into Chee's thought patterns, but I felt it focused on this area a bit too much for one novel.

Hillerman shows how our point of reference colors what we see and hear and how we respond. For instance, clowns may be admonishing rather than entertaining. This one leaves you paying closer attention to your actions and how they may be viewed. Oh, there is a mystery to solve, but I got more wrapped up in the Indian Culture and the contrasts.

Still dealing with the loss of his beloved Emma, Lt. Leaphorn teams up with Officer Chee to investigate murder; one at a Dinee Mission school, another related, but out of their juristiction on another reservation. It's a mix of mystery and religion, loved by Hillerman fans, including Kachini rites.

A complex story where Joe and Jim pursue different situations, while we, the readers, learn more aspects of Navajo culture and some Hopi as well. I lived in NM for two years (many years ago) and I love Hillerman's descriptions of the land I loved.

Hillerman does a great job of featuring Native American (NA) culture. He shows that all NA culture from clan to clan is NOT monolithic (just as all Asian cultures are distinct from each other). His story builds clue upon clue to the ending. As well, Hillerman presents Leaphorn and Chee as humans each with their own concerns. The importance of nature and traditions interweave with the plot to make a satisfying and informative tale.