Description:

From Publishers Weekly

Telling his story the Navajo way, Hillerman ( Coyote Waits ) fully develops the background of the cases pursued by Navajo Tribal Policemen, Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee, so that the resolutions--personal and professional--ring true with gratifying inevitability. A white woodshop teacher at St. Bonaventure's mission school is bludgeoned to death in his schoolroom; a student, a young boy from Tano Pueblo, is missing. The boy's uncle, a koshare, or sacred clown, in a kachina dance, is stabbed to death right after the ceremony in which he has symbolically warned of the dangers of selling sacred objects; an old man is killed on the highway in a hit and run. Chee, who is apprehensive about working for Leaphorn, tries to locate the missing boy, whose grandmother is on the Navajo Tribal Council, and to learn who ran down the old man, but he is distracted by his growing attachment to lawyer Janet Pete and by his desire to be a hataalii , or shaman, as well as a cop. Leaphorn searches for clues while simultaneously grieving for his wife who died 18 months earlier and considering his relationship with linguistics professor Louisa Bourebonette. Jurisdictional conflicts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Apache County Sheriff's Office reflect the cultural differences that obtain among tribes and clans as this first Leaphorn story in three years, steeped in Navajo lore and traditions, draws to its convincing conclusions. 350,000 first printing; major ad/promo; Mystery Guild selection; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-In Hillerman's latest mystery set in the Southwest, Navajo tribal policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee work together with a runaway student as the only link between two seemingly unrelated murders-one of a well-liked art teacher in his classroom on the reservation and the other the uncle of the runaway boy. The author skillfully employs the elements of detection and routine police work while providing readers with an intriguing glimpse of Navajo culture. The relationships between the officers and between the other well-defined characters give depth to the story, which is spiced with both men's romantic interests. The thought processes of the characters are accessible; the narrative holds interest and moves smoothly; and the themes of good and evil, greed and generosity, ethical considerations and environmental issues provide conflict. Unique and masterful.
Linda Sudduth, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.