Customer Reviews

Shooting Chant: An Ella Clah Novel

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

 

 

Former FBI agent Ella Clah works as a special investigator on the Navaho Indian Reservation, New Mexico. Ella's world turns upside down when she learns she is pregnant from a man she cares for but has no intention of marrying. At the same time Ella struggles with her personal dilemma, the reservation becomes a battleground between the traditionalists and the progressives. Someone is slaughtering animals raised using modern Anglo methods. The evidence points towards the traditionalists committing the animal killings, which increases the animosity and the schism between the two groups.

An Anglo owned business that leases reservation land becomes the scene of a murder that appears to be the work of an angry traditionalist or two. Professionals break into the medical clinic and steal the records of pregnant women. Ella investigates all the happenings leading to her becoming a target. She uses her Anglo training and her Native American mystical intuition to uncover the identity of the killer.

Readers who enjoy Tony Hillerman's mysteries will relish the enthralling SHOOTING CHANT. Aimee and David Thurlo show their writing talents as they provide a close look at the efforts of Native American traditionalists to preserve the culture in the modern world. The numerous subplots cleverly tie together with Ella,s pregnancy adding a special touch that humanizes the intrepid law enforcement official. The audience will look forward to future tales while first time readers will search for the previous novels.

Harriet Klausner

This is the best book in the Ella series. It is sure nice to read a book set in the southwest that shows the real southwest. Some authors do not have a clue about New Mexico. The Thurlos have done excellent research. The book is an excellent example of this and is a great read.

I've been a fan of the Ella Clah novels from the beginning, and they just keep getting better and better. This one combines a complex mystery and Ella's personal problems. Even having a baby isn't entirely a personal matter when you factor in the relationships among the Navajo clans and the legendary past of Ella's family. The Thurlos do a terrific job of showing us the problems and conflicts of modern Navajo life. Lots of familiar characters return with Ella: her colleagues Justine, Big Ed and Doctor Roanhorse, her family Rose, Clifford and Lorretta, and her friends Kevin and Wilson. I'm already looking forward to the next adventure, to find out how the realities of motherhood affect Ella's life and career.

This entire book seems half-finished to me. For instance, in the last book, Aimee and David did a masterful job of building romantic tension between Ella, Kevin, and Wilson Joe. It made me want much more. So when I opened this book and discovered that Ella and Kevin had already hooked up and she was pregnant, I couldn't believe it. So where are those lost months? The Thurlos have excelled in the past at interweaving the relationships between these characters, but it all seems rushed here. And what about the news of her pregnancy? Ella's career means a lot to her and she's always felt torn between her family, her tribe, and her work, so I would think that this pregnancy would create a lot more conflict in her. Instead, she has this blase, "I'll deal with it when it happens" attitude. I find that irresponsible, especially given what we know of her clan's history.

In summary, this long awaited novel was a real disappointment and was mediocre at best.

As a big fan of Tony Hillerman, I was extremely excited about new mysteries from the Four Corners region. I was extremely disappointed by this effort. The dialogue is poorly written, the storyline tedious, and, unlike Hillerman, many of the numerous subplots have no bearing on the conclusion. The ending lacks credulity, and the characters are thin and stereotypical. Buy this book only in paperback or as a special from a Mystery book club.

I enjoyed the first novels by the Thurlos but I have been very disappointed in the last two Ella Clah novels. I could not understand why they bothered me until I realized the Ella seems to get getting more Anglo in each novel. For as long as she has been back on the Rez and the types of cases she has been dealing with, i.e. skin walkers, I expected her to be more accepting of her heritage but she totally denies it even though her fetish seems to warn her when there is danger. A disappointing read. I doubt if I will buy Red Mesa.

Too much pregnancy.............
I have read most of the Ella Clah series, including some that come after this one. All have been excellent and read by both my husband and myself. I am only halfway through, but am thoroughly put off by the baby this, baby that, ad nauseum. I do not think I will suggest that my husband bother with this one. The Thurlo team are very good at providing lots of insight into the Navaho culture, but this is not one of their better efforts.