Customer Reviews

Bad Medicine: An Ella Clah Novel (Ella Clah Novels)

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Readers who follow the jacket blurb and go into Bad Medicine expecting a Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee mystery will be sorely disappointed.

First, the Thurlos don't have nearly the lyrical voice of Hillerman. You have much less of a feel for time and space and terrain in the Ella Clah books.

Second, the Thurlos spend much more time on external circumstances than on their characters' internal struggles. Even Ella's constant conflict over being a cop and not having time enough for her family seems forced.

Third, the Thurlos give far more play to the supernatural than Hillerman. Progressive though Clah is, her family and her enemies are not. If you're not willing to suspend disbelief, this book won't work for you.

That said, it's not a bad book. I enjoyed reading it, and found it a faster read than all but the most recent Hillerman (i.e. Hunting Badger). The characters are not as deep, but the action is paced well enough to keep the story interesting.

Navaho tribal investigator Ella Clah is isolated form the Navaho community she is sworn to protect because of her FBI training and her family heritage of being vessels of powerful magic. Ella herself is torn between the traditional beliefs of her people and the scientific method employed in the Anglo world. When the Anglo miners form the Brotherhood, a group that preaches hatred and violence, several Navaho retaliate by forming a counter-group, spouting the same violent intolerance.

Both groups operate in secrecy, but when one of the miners is murdered, the escalated tension between the two groups is noticed by the police. Ella, who is in charge of the investigation, concludes that some powerful person, working behind the scenes, is manipulating events to further drive a schism between he two communities. Before the reservation explodes into more deaths, Ella must learn who the enemy is and why he has brought evil to the peaceful area.

This is the third book in the Ella Clah series and it is by far the best one to date, an amazing accomplishment since the first two novels were quite good. Readers feel a real connection to the heroine's angst as she struggles with an inner turmoil caused by having her feet straddle two worlds. It should not surprise fans of the terrific Thurlo twosome that this novel has a haunting quality reminiscent of Tony Hillerman and Louise Eldrich.

Harriet Klausner

Navaho tribal investigator Ella Clah is isolated form the Navaho community she is sworn to protect because of her FBI training and her family heritage of being vessels of powerful magic. Ella herself is torn between the traditional beliefs of her people and the scientific method employed in the Anglo world. When the Anglo miners form the Brotherhood, a group that preaches hatred and violence, several Navaho retaliate by forming a counter-group, spouting the same violent intolerance.

Both groups operate in secrecy, but when one of the miners is murdered, the escalated tension between the two groups is noticed by the police. Ella, who is in charge of the investigation, concludes that some powerful person, working behind the scenes, is manipulating events to further drive a schism between he two communities. Before the reservation explodes into more deaths, Ella must learn who the enemy is and why he has brought evil to the peaceful area.

This is the third book in the Ella Clah series and it is by far the best one to date, an amazing accomplishment since the first two novels were quite good. Readers feel a real connection to the heroine's angst as she struggles with an inner turmoil caused by having her feet straddle two worlds. It should not surprise fans of the terrific Thurlo twosome that this novel has a haunting quality reminiscent of Tony Hillerman and Louise Eldrich.

Harriet Klausner

Having read that Ella Clah was a counterpart to Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, I started this book with great expectations. These were destroyed when I discovered that the book bore little resemblance to reality. Protagonist Ella, unlike most policemen, seems able to interrupt whatever work she's doing to jump in her car and drive to 'nearby' towns at a moment's notice. She always arrives ready and eager to tackle yet another emergency. Of course, the Four Corners region is huge, and travel between towns would have her driving incredible distances. The reader can't help but know that Ella possesses some sort of sixth sense because, in the first 70 pages, Ella feels 'uneasy' at least 70 times. Each colleague, (again mentioned repeatedly), gives great respect to her famous hunches. When an author repeates himself, it's usually because he doesn't have much to say. And neither does Ella!

I have been reading the Ella Clah novels and never was able to find this one, also my son who will get this one when I can finish it. this book arrived in great shape and was as represented. Very pleased to find it.

There were the makings of a good mystery in Bad Medicine by Aimee and David Thurlo. This book in the Ella Clah series has many features that will remind you of Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn Tribal Police series. But unlike Hillerman, Bad Medicine falls short in many ways.

Ella Clah is a former FBI agent and is now a special investigator for the Navajo Tribal Police in Four Corners. While Clah is on her way to a murder site, she is directed to investigate a possible DUI. She encounters a car weaving all over the road and when she pulls even with the car, it is apparent that the driver is having convulsions. The car goes over the side and the driver, Angeline Yellowhair, is dead. Angeline is the daughter of influential senator, James Yellowhair. An autopsy by Tribal Police medical examiner Dr. Carolyn Roanhorse, shows that Angeline died of a drug overdose. But Senator Yellowhair claims that Clah and Roanhorse are both trying to ruin his reputation and accuse the pair of conspiring against him. Meanwhile, the murder victim, Stanley Bitah, is a miner. The mine is located on tribal territory, but run by Anglos. Tensions are simmering at the mine as both groups, Anglos and Indians, accuse the mine operators of discrimination. Clah believes that the cases are somehow related. But as she continues to investigate them both, she is faced with evidence tampering, intimidation, death threats, poisonings, and even, attempts to kill Clah and her fellow investigators.

There is much to like in Bad Medicine that is similar to Hillerman's books. The Navajos distrust the Anglos. The traditional Navajos are at odds with the modernist Navajos. And the Tribal Police do not trust or always get along with the FBI. The scenery is beautiful and the tribal ways are fascinating. But Bad Medicine did have some major distractions. Clah continually sensed danger, which got to be tedious after pages and pages of this. The plot was pretty predictable and I had one of the major bad guys figured out from the start. And there was also a smattering of typos that got to be annoying. I wonder where their editor was on this. Yet, Bad Medicine really came on strong at the end as Clah and her assistants finally started breaking these cases wide open. I couldn't put it down.

I will attempt at least one more Ella Clah. I'm not sure how many more books Tony Hillerman has in him and I'll definitely need a Tribal Police-fix from time to time.