Death Walker (Ella Clah Novels) [Hardcover]

Aimee Thurlo (Author), David Thurlo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996 | Series: Ella Clah Novels

Former FBI agent Ella Clah, now a Special Investigator with the tribal police on the Navajo Reservation, is astonished when one of the Navajo's "living treasures"--people who hold and teach the culture and religious wisdom of the tribe--is murdered. Ella has barely begun to investigate when two more old wise ones are found dead. Is the work of Navajo witches--or something else?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Thurlos introduced Ella Clah, former FBI agent who is now a special investigator for the Navajo tribal police at Shiprock in what is recognizably Tony Hillerman territory in Blackening Song. Like Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, Clah makes use of both her law enforcement training and her understanding of tribal traditions to investigate crime on the Navajo Reservation. When an elderly Navajo historian is murdered, Clah must separate fact from rumor and myth to find the culprit. Reservation gossip and artifacts at the crime scene point to the skinwalkers witch cult, villains of Blackening Song. Ella Clah is a tough, appealing heroine, who faces personal conflict between professional duty and pride in her heritage. But she's ill served by this loose plot, in which she and her assistant, Justine Goodluck, engage in repetitive interview scenes that slow the pace and blunt the suspense. Two more tribal Elders, specialists in ritual and the Navajo language, die before the investigators get on the right track-more than halfway through the book. Then everything quickly falls into place, and the tale ends with an anticlimactic final chase. Readers may wish that Chee or Leaphorn were around to step in when necessary and set this sidelined plot on a faster course.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA. Ella Clah, a special investigator with the tribal police on the Navajo Reservation, is determined to find the serial killer who is methodically murdering Dineh (Navajo) cultural leaders. Faced with staff shortages, threats to her own family, and the illogic of the psychopathic killer, Clah draws on her experience as an FBI agent and her intuition to solve the increasingly horrific crimes. A strong, intelligent woman, Clah devotes her life to protecting the Dineh, one of the central themes of the story. She provides an eyewitness account of the routines of police work, emphasizing the daily grind of law enforcement as well as finding clues to the murders. Constant attention is paid to the changes in terrain and weather. Characters develop into unique individuals with talents, strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. Even minor characters take on individuality through in-depth and detailed descriptions, which add significantly to the continuity of the story. YAs, especially those looking for strong females in contemporary settings, will find Clah and her assistant and cousin, Justine Goodluck, appealing examples. A fast-paced, intriguing novel.?Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312856512
• ISBN-13: 978-0312856519
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't start it, if you don't have time to finish it., November 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Death Walker: An Ella Clah Novel (Ella Clah Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

As an avid Tony Hillerman fan, I loved this book. It may even surpass many of his efforts. The story grabs you from the start and makes one want to read it through without stopping. Hopefully, we will now have a more steady flow of Navajo-Rez mysteries and lore with both Hillerman and the Thurlo's churning them out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Was hoping things would get better but they didn't, December 18, 2009

By 

Green - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Death Walker: An Ella Clah Novel (Ella Clah Novels) (Paperback)

This is the 2nd book I have read in this series and it will be my last. I was hoping it would be better than "Blackening Song", but it wasn't. I hate it when I can figure out who the murderer is before the end of the book and that is exactly what happened here. Half way through I knew who done it. Very sad when the authors can't be more creative than that.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VERY GOOD BOOK, April 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Death Walker: An Ella Clah Novel (Ella Clah Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a new reader to this genre. I chose this book because I was looking for a "thriller" with a female heroine. While I did NOT find this book a "thriller," in terms of not being able to put it down, the story did keep moving right along, and I did find it to be a very interesting mystery. While I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in Indian lore and the southwest, I would equally recommend it to readers who aren't particularly interested in this setting, as well. Overall, a very enjoyable book.