Enemy Way [Hardcover]

David Thurlo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah walks a tightrope between her tribe and the Anglo world. Ella's brother says her investigative skills are a gift from the spirits, but Ella swears her FBI training and her years of experience are what have honed her instincts. In Enemy Way those instincts are strained to the limit. Lisa Aspass, engaged to Ella's best friend, is brutally murdered during a burglary, is this more gang activity, or does Lisa's murder spring from a darker motive? Ella's mother is nearly killed by a drunk driver. Perhaps her mother's accident was really a bungled assassination attempt. Ella must help her mother, solve Lisa's murder, and stop Navajo teenagers from trying kill each other, while trying to find, and then fight, her oldest enemies.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Once again, tradition is clashing with the forces of change on the Navajo reservation where former FBI agent Ella Clah (Bad Medicine, 1997, etc.) is a special investigator. Violent confrontations between two rival gangs, the Many Devils and the North Siders, are increasing. Gang members may or may not be responsible for the brutal death of Lisa Aspass, a teacher. Some among the Dineh, or The People, as the Navajo refer to themselves, blame Anglo influences for splitting them into traditionalists and progressives. A traditionalist vigilante group known as the Fierce Ones targets the gangs, while an Anglo group, The Brotherhood, contracts Ella's death. Both groups are Ella's old enemies, yet her real adversaries may be "skinwalkers," Navajo witches with whom Ella and her brother Clifford have dealt in the past. The savage pace of murder and gang violence is exacerbated when Ella's mother is injured by a twice-convicted drunk driver. In a world out of balance, Ella strives to find the harmony between work and family, tradition and modernity. She herself remains an intriguing bundle of contrasts.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-As a special investigator with the Navajo police force, Ella Clah finds herself and her department straining to meet the demands placed upon them. First, Ella's mother is seriously injured in a car accident caused by a drunk driver who happens to have a lot of political clout. Then, vicious gang wars break out, leaving several 16 year olds dead. Next, someone murders the fiancee of Ella's close friend, Wilson Joe. Vigilante groups form to counteract both the gangs and the skinwalkers, or Navajo witches, who are becoming a major component in the gang wars and the murder. Through the law enforcement training she has received as an FBI agent, and the guidance of her brother, Clifford, who is a Navajo hataalii, or medicine man, Ella brings all the differing aspects of the story together in a memorable standoff with the leaders of the skinwalkers. From descriptions of the great beauty of the area and the monumental natural terrain, to the ever-changing weather in the Southwestern desert, each scene includes bits of information that tie the story and the people to the land. Justine, Ella's cousin, best friend, and associate on the force, shows more of her own personality as the story progresses and details about her character begin to surface, adding depth and substance to her initially sketchy profile. The story starts with tremendous energy and never lets up. A book for fans of Tony Hillerman as well as readers who enjoy Nevada Barr's strong female characters.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library,
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312855206
• ISBN-13: 978-0312855208
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,707,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1 part mystery, 1part supernatural, 100% enjoyable, December 23, 1999

By 

"sven-ake" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enemy Way: An Ella Clah Novel (Ella Clah Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

Because this book involves Navajo Police Officers and takes place out on the rez, people are going to compare it to Hillerman...I confess, that's what prompted me to pick it up and read it. I still think that Hillerman is a better writer, But I liked this story more.

The existance of witches and skinwalkers, while dismissed as superstition in the white community, is very much believed by many Navajo. I like how this "supernatural" element is kept in the story making it an enjoyable combination of horror and mystery.

Lots of real life elements in this story that keep us peacekeepers busy around the rez...gangs and alcohol problems are among them.

For real life accounts of Navajo witchcraft, see also Rodney Barker's "The Broken Circle".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good new book from the Thurlos, September 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Enemy Way (Hardcover)

This novel was both very similar and very different toprevious outings in the Ella Clah series. It resembled itspredecessors with its continuing saga of the skinwalkers and their war with Ella's family. This thread was handled with the usual Thurlo aplomb, but I have to admit that my interest in skinwalkers is growing a bit thin. Although the Thurlos are skilled at handling story arcs, I'm beginning to wonder just how many skinwalkers there are on the Rez. They seem to crawl out of the woodwork with amazing frequency.

This one was very different with the way it portrayed the internal workings of Ella and her family as well as the amount of violence in the novel. While this violence may mirror the "real world", does it actually reflect reality on the Navajo Rez today? The Rez is a microcosm of the US at large, but if my communityexperienced the same level of violence seen in this novel, I'd be gone on the first train out of town.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between Ella, her family, and her peers at the police station. She's become far more aware of how her actions affect her family, and although she is perfectly suited to her job, she's started to notice what she is missing from life. Aimee and David are extremely skilled at painting a wonderful portrait of Navajo life with this cast of colorful and utterly believable characters. Their descriptions of the landscape are forceful enough to make you feel the bite of a dust storm and the sting of sand in your eyes. I also appreciate what they might be trying to set up for the next novel. We've had hints of attraction between Ella and Wilson Joe as well as Kevin Tolino. This is not addressed here, but given Ella's reflections in this novel and the death of someone close to Wilson, I think we may have a triangle of sorts in the next novel.

Here's one reader who can't wait for the next book. Great job!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE BEST, November 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Enemy Way (Hardcover)

I am prompted to write this review in rebuttal to the person in Colorado that reviewed this book, giving it one star. I can not believe that we read the same book. I live in New Mexico and feel the Thurlo's discriptions of New Mexico and the Navajo way of life are researced well and portray things as they really are. I doubt that the person in Colorado has ever been out of the "big city" and even been on a Reservation let alone know what it is like in New Mexico. The Thurlo's have an exciting read with this book and you will find yourself unable to put this book down. I find I prefer the Thurlo's writing to Hillerman as I love reading from a female prespective. It is nice to see equality. You should definately read this book to get a true picture of our lovely state and it's Navajo people.