Customer Reviews

People of Darkness

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title refers to the members of an underground Native American Church peyote cult whose totem is the mole, "the predator of the nadir." The mystery involves the attempted murder of a dying man, the disappearance of his corpse from the hospital morgue, a uranium mine, a fatal oil-well explosion 30 years earlier, and the theft of a keepsake box filled mostly with black rocks. This novel has the distinction of featuring the scariest, most chilling villain of the series: an emotionless, psychopathic, methodical killer for hire who leaves nothing to chance. The suspense builds as the point of view alternates between the killer's and Navajo policeman Jim Chee's. "People of Darkness" is one of the best in a literate and very entertaining Southwestern series. For other well-written American Indian-related mysteries, try James D. Doss' Shaman series and Margaret Coel's Arapaho series.

To me, this is is Hillerman's second-best mystery (after "Dance Hall of the Dead"). Introducing a new detective seems to have sparked his creativity, and his cast of characters is one of the best he ever created (although he seems to have recycled some of them in later books). His hired killer is a psycho but still sympathetic, the fragile blond schoolteacher is tougher than she looks, and even the minor characters (such as the lab technician in the first scene) are well done. Jim Chee is a complex, interesting personality from the very beginning. As usual, the various settings in which the story takes place are vividly described. And "how he done it" involves, in my opinion, one of the cleverest murder weapons in the history of the detective novel. This is a winner all the way through.

This is the fourth book in Tony Hillerman's masterpiece "Navajo Detectives" series and one of the best of the whole series. In the first three books Lt. Joe Leaphorn is the main character. "People of Darkness" introduces Sgt. Jim Chee, a younger and more complex man who is torn between the white man's world - and a career in the FBI - and the Navajo way as a "singer" or shaman. Also introduced in this book is an appealing, peaches-and-cream Wisconsin girl, Mary Landon, as a mild love interest for Chee.

A bomb goes off in a hospital parking lot, apparently aimed at killing a man who is already dying of cancer, a box containing little of apparent value disappears from a rich man's house, and an oil well explosion thirty years back has some connection to these events. This is vintage Hillerman: a story than ranges over vast areas of time and space. The villain in "People of Darkness" is one of Hillerman's best: a cold professional with the vulnerability of a battered child.

Hillerman's strengths are authenticity and atmosphere. Elements of Navajo culture, religion, and folkways are woven into the fabric of his novels. His landscapes are harsh and spectacular. Nature is magnificent, but also menacing. In this exotic setting, the supernatural seems almost possible and little chilly fingers tickle your spine. If you are an urbanite, you may not like Hillerman; but if you are drawn to big, blank spots on the map you will likely love him. Not the least of his accomplishments is that he has probably taught more people about the Navajo -- and generated more interest in Navajo culture -- than any other writer.

Lt. Joe Leaphorn was author Tony Hillerman's first detective, created for the 1970 novel THE BLESSING WAY. He was a truly original figure: a Navajo employed as a law enforcement officer on Native American lands in the Southwest and a man with both a deep respect and understanding of the ways of his people. The character Jim Chee does not differ greatly from this mold--but he does have one significant advantage. By the time Jim Chee appeared in this 1982 work, Tony Hillerman had learned how to create a tightly woven novel, something that was not always the case in the early Joe Leaphorn books.

THE PEOPLE OF DARKNESS introduces Jim Chee, a young reservation law enforcement officer who struggles to find balance between the traditional ways of the Navajo and the cultural incursions of the white man. In this particular novel, Chee is summoned by a wealthy woman to investigate a theft; the circumstances are, however, extremely unusual--and as he slowly peels through the various layers of deception Chee finds himself tracking members of a cult-like religion with ties to a tragic accident more than three decades in the past.

This is one of the better Hillerman novels. As always, the author is extremely respectful of native American tradition, and he paints a fascinating portrait of traditional beliefs and patterns of behavior. Unlike such novels as THE BLESSING WAY and LISTENING WOMAN, the plot is tightly constructed and winds back upon itself in such a way that one can honestly consider it a mystery novel--something that cannot always be said for a Hillerman work. Well written, PEOPLE OF DARKNESS is a fast and entertaining read. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This book is my favourite of all of Tony Hillerman's work.

The plot is perfect,it is full of action and the landscape is fabulous .

The book is a story of a murder. The story is about a policeman, Jim Chee,who is Navajo and shows the reader into the life on the Navajo reservation. It is a great book which keeps you reading not only to find out about the mystery but to understand Jim Chee's views on the world of the Navajo and the world of the White Man.

In "People of Darkness", Navajo tribal police Sargent Jim Chee stumbles onto a mystery and unravels multiple crimes after being asked to find a keepsake box belonging to a wealthy man outside of Chee's jurisdiction. The wealthy man's second wife specifically requested Chee as investigator because Jim Chee is considered an authority on his Indian tribe's religion, studying to be a "yataalii" (a medicine man or "singer") and the suspects are thought to be The People of Darkness.

It is in this book that blue-eyed blonde, Mary Landon first makes her acquaintance with Chee. I found her to be an unlikable character with an aggressive, pushy, prodding, provocative, smart-mouth personality and arrogant attitude and was glad to know, from reading subsequent books of this particular series, Chee and she never married.

Alas, it is also in this book that Chee is on another mission - to learn more about white people and their culture. His yataalii uncle, who was to train him in the art along the path of balance and beauty, instructed Chee that he must first truly understand the value system of the white people, knowing everything it contains, before fully being able to embrace his decision of following the traditional Navajo walk.

Tony Hillerman packed this book full of relevant Navajo culture and lore, as always. Near the end of the story, Chee explains, "We don't have much violence, we Navajos. What there is is mostly associated with witchcraft. Changing Woman taught us how to cope with the Navajo Wolves. We turn the evil around so it works against the witch." The story ends with Chee's spirit in need of repair: "But he knew the cause and the cure. Changing Woman had taught them about it when she formed the first clans of the Dinee from her own skin. The strange ways of strange people hurt the spirit, turned the Navajo away from beauty. Returning to beauty required a cure." Hence the planning for a traditional Enemy Way ceremony to be held.

As with all of the Tony Hillerman books, I would give more than five stars if I could.

Tony Hillerman gives Anglos like me who grew up near the Navajo Nation and other reservations and are curious about these cultures but have no real means of accessing them a way of learning more about them and how members interact with mainstream America in modern times. I've read 5-6 Hillerman titles, and I've enjoyed each one. But this one is an especially good one.

If you like Hillerman's books, try The Shaman Sings and others from the Charlie Moon Mystery series by James D. Doss. These books are set in the Ute reservation of southern Colorado and, to my mind, they portray the Utes and Ute culture in a way that is equally realistic and detailed and respectful to what Hillerman does for Navajos. These books celebrate Native cultures in a way that is long overdue.

In addition, there is a series of novels about a Mayan detective in the Cancun area of the Yucatan Peninsula that are a pretty good read. I tried to track down the name of the author with an Amazon search, but I had no luck. I'll add that name and a couple of titles to this review later if I can track it down.

PS I notice that Hillerman has also published several non-fiction titles. If you enjoyed this book and his other fiction, some of these may be worth checking out, as well. I plan to do so.

Tony Hillerman has to be one of the finest authors of American Southwest mysteries plus the wonderful insights into the Navajo lifestyle. You always learn something from how the Navajos relate to the natural world and of course, how the modern life intrudes onto the reservation life. I've never read even one bad Hillerman, each and every one carries you off to a different place, keeps you guessing up to the end and is just a joy to read.

I always enjoy Tony Hillerman. He has great, interesting characters with vivid descriptions of the landscape and a fascinating story. The characters and description were there; however, this was not my favorite storyline. Overall enjoyable.