Listening Woman [Mass Market Paperback]

Tony Hillerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1979

The state police and FBI are baffled when an old man and a teenage girl are brutally murdered. The blind Navajo Listening Woman speaks of ghosts and of witches. But Lieutenant Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police knows his people as well as he knows cold-blooded killers. His incredible investigation carries him from a dead man's secret to a kidnap scheme, to a conspiracy that stretches back more than one hundred years. Leaphorn arrives at the threshold of a solution--and is greeted with the most violent confrontation of his career.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A good exciting mystery that has everything.” (Pittsburgh Press )

“Hillerman’s mysteries are special . . . Listening Woman is among the best.” (Washington Post ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Tony Hillerman is past president of Mystery Writers of America and has received their Edgar and Grand Master Awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award, the National Media Award from the American Anthropological Association, the Public Service Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Nero Wolfe Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book, an honorary life membership in the Western Literature Association, and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policiére. In addition to his election to Phi Beta Kappa, Tony Hillerman has been named Doctor of Humane Letters at Arizona State University and at Oregon's Portland State University. He lives with his wife, Marie, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 205 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (April 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380435543
• ISBN-13: 978-0380435548
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,337,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Hillerman was the former president of the Mystery Writers of America and received its Edgar® and Grand Master awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award. He lived with his wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leaphorn thinks he's Dirk Pitt, March 31, 2001

By 

Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Listening Woman (Joe Leaphorn Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

The first half of Listening Woman, the third in the Joe Leaphorn series, is vintage Hillerman. There's lots of desert scenery and insights into Native American life. Unlike other books, this book is focused entirely within the Navajoes but even then we learn that there are 58 clans, 57 who keep Navajo time and then this clan that's slow even by Navajo standards. Of course, much of the mystery takes place on their turf.

Joe is investigating a variety of backburner cases as an excuse to be in an area where a motorist had nearly hit him. As he digs deeper, a missing helicopter and an FBI investigation seem to be involved in whatever is going on. Enter the Dirk Pitt side of Joe's personality. I won't spoil the surprise but suffice it to say that Joe endures flame, flood and a host of other harrowing experiences as he solves the crime and saves the day.

Bottom line: Less religion and culture, more action than the other Hillerman's I've read. Still, a fun, entertaining read.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very solid work, November 22, 2002

By 

Thomas Veil "thomasveil" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Listening Woman (Joe Leaphorn Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

There are few things as satisfying in the modern mystery novel as looking into the methodical mind of Detective Joe Leaphorn. While many people read Tony Hillerman for his insights into Navajo culture, I most enjoy his depiction of the always thoughtful Leaphorn.

In Listening Woman, Leaphorn faces his usual intertangled mess of events: being nearly run over by a maniac, the theft of a helicopter, and two unsolved deaths in a remote corner of the reservation. The joy of this book is its window into Leaphorn's mind as he tries to make sense of seemingly random events.

Hillerman's myteries are enjoyable because he keeps the details in front of the reader. His detectives express bafflement, hold erroneous assumptions, and are very much prone to mistaken judgement. As such, they are real and believable.

Listening Woman features a remarkable and intense closing sequence, which I have no intention of ruining. This is one of Hillerman's best novels and I heartily recommend it.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a great punchy mystery, but it also had a whole complex level in it of culture and change, September 16, 2005

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Listening Woman (Joe Leaphorn Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love this book, not only was it a good punchy action/mystery novel - with more action in it than I had previously encountered in Leaphorn books. But I was also intrigued by the underlying messages in it - the complex nature of culture and change and adaptation which the mystery based itself on.

Hostein Tso is troubled and calls Listening Woman and her assistant to his hogan for a song - however, he won't tell listening woman everything she needs to know - he is concealing a secret of his great-grandfather and cannot tell. While she is away in a trance, her assistant and Hostein Tso are murdered.

This is just one of a series of crimes in the reservation which are troubling Leaphorn. There is the missing helicopter which was last seen in the area, a man with gold-rimmed glasses who has tried to run Leaphorn down, a large vicious dog, a lost woman, a catholic priest and a group of boy scouts. And all the problems seem to connect at Hostein Tso's hogan.

This is an intriguing and complex mystery which I enjoyed. The threads do not tie easily together until almost the very last. There is also a good deal more action. Leaphorn is forced to do some fairly hairy things to keep alive - including caving and surviving a brush fire. These aren't always quite believeable - especially in the aftermath where he doesn't seem to suffer much from the after-effects.

What I loved about this book best was the underlying themes which blended Navajo ways and traditions with those of the white people. Not everything came out well, but they weren't judged for it. The ability of the Navajo to adapt their traditions, were contrasted with those who attempted to find a new way. The really interesting one was the mention of the two brothers in traditional legend and the paths they took - which contrasted with the two brothers in this who both chose different paths.

Really good read, and a thoughtful message to it.