Customer Reviews

Skinwalkers (Thorndike Press Large Print Americana Series)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An unknown person tries to kill Navajo policemen Jim Chee and three apparently unrelated murders on the Navajo reservation puzzle Lt. Joe Leaphorn. The murders, it appears, all something to do with witches (skinwalkers).

"Skinwalkers" is the seventh book in the Navajo Detective series by Tony Hillerman. He wrote three books featuring Joe Leaphorn, then three featuring Jim Chee, and now he brings the two policemen together in the same book. Also, in this book, Hillerman introduces Janet Pete, an agressive Navajo lawyer, as a new love interest for Chee. Hillerman fans will be interested in this book to see how Leaphorn, methodical and reliable, and Chee, a bit flaky but brilliant, get along working together. The answer is: uneasily.

The mystery itself is not overly credible, but weaving the story in and around Navajo beliefs about skinwalkers is fascinating and, as always, Hillerman uses the backdrop of the violent weather and magnificient landscape of the Navajo reservation to frame his story. And as always Hillerman includes a goodly dose of instruction in Navajo etiquette and attitudes and demonstrates -- usually with good humor -- the ineptness of white policeman, especially the FBI, in the Navajo culture and environment.

If you haven't read Hillerman before, this is probably not the best book of the series. He has written more intriguing mysteries. But the settings of Hillerman's books are fabulous and Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are top caliber characters worthy of inclusion in a short list of the best detectives in fiction.

As long time fans of Tony Hillerman know, Navaho Tribal Police officers Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn didn't always work together. In fact, for the first half dozen or so novels in Hillerman's series of mysteries, the two characters were pretty much independent of one another, starring in their own novels without the benefit of each others company (although Leaphorn does get a passing reference in the Jim Chee-centered People of Darkness). But all that changed with Skinwalkers, where for the first time Hillerman has his two principal characters work together side-by-side on a case, and in the process start what has to be one of the best Holmes-Watson combinations in all of literature.

The book starts out with a bang, literally. Someone fires three shots into Jim Chee's dilapidated trailer while he's inside, missing him by inches. Why someone would want to kill him he hasn't the faintest idea, but is there any connection between this and three unsolved murders on the Navaho reservation? And how, of all things, do reports of witchcraft and "skinwalkers" (the evil shape-changers of Navaho myth) fit into the puzzle? Lt. Leaphorn wants to know, Sgt. Chee can't let so personal a mystery go uninvestigated, and before long the two are navigating their way through that trademark intricate array of clues woven with Navaho folklore that have made Hillerman such a staple with mystery fans.

It's hard to dislike any of the novels in this series, and Skinwalkers is one of the best. The mystery is tight and interesting, the characters engaging, and there is that whole fascinating world of the Dinee, the Navaho people, that Hillerman so obviously loves to explore. Skinwalkers is especially a good place to start for those who have never read a Navaho Tribal Police novel before, because it is at the start of the Leaphorn & Chee combination that has dominated the series ever since (although don't forget to pick up those earlier novels!). Highly recommended.

Reading the Hillerman Navajo mystery series is a joy, and this addition to the series is wonderful! If you have been reading the series, this book will intrigue you and allow you to see sides of the two main characters, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, that you have not yet seen.

The first book of the series to join Leaphorn and Chee, Hillerman develops the inner character of both men and this provides further reason to follow the series. The men are very real with their everyday concerns and their doggendness in their pursuit of the solution to the mystery. Hillerman ties the reader to the charcters without pulling at the heartstrings of the reader - in other words, it is not a sappy read, but one that makes one feel they are involved with real people in a desolate, intriguing setting.

The mystery is the best of the series to date, one that has twists, turns, and surprises. As always, the feel of the Navajo culture and the conflicts with the surrounding culture is present. Well researched and set in the time of the late 1980s, this book gives the reader a true life feel. If you are a Hillerman fan, you will love this book. If this is your first look at the Hillerman series, I would strongly recommend reading the series in order - the story within the novels will unravel much more clearly.

*Skinwalkers* is the novel that made Hillerman's reputation, and justly so. Everything comes together here: vivid and believable use of the supernatural that resolves at last into mundane reality, informed current events driving the plot, an intriguing puzzle intorduced on the first page, and a cast of characters we admire and respect.

Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are not sidekicks; they don't like each other very much, as a matter of fact. But with their two different perspectives on the conflict of Navajo values and the contemporary world, Hillerman gives us a convincing and entertaining picture of a world we can only experience secondhand.

The best book in the series is *A Thief of Time.* For complete reviews, visit my web site.

Hillerman's marvelous mysteries pit Officer Jim Chee and Lt. Joe Leaporn against a variety of nefarious evil doers. In "Skinwalkers" the two are brought together and must find out who is trying to kill Chee. Hillerman's intricate plots are set with colorful detail in the Navajo reservation areas of the southwest. Reading the stories yields an appreciation of the nation within a nation of the Navajo Indian. The two tribal policemen have adapted in different ways to life influenced by two cultures.

The pragmatic and more experienced Leaphorn reflects to himself: "Getting old, . . . He had reached the ridge and now the slope was downward. The thought didn't depress him, but it gave him an odd sense of pressure, of time moving past him, of things needed to be done before time ran out. Leaphorn considered this, and laughed. Most un-Navajo thinking. He had been around white men far too long."

Chee is more spiritual and embraces Indian mysticism. He strives to become a healer in addition to being a competent police officer. "Chee believed in penicillin and insulin and heart bypass surgery. But he also believed that something far beyond the understanding of modern medicine controlled life and death."

The complexity of character enriches these entertaining whodunit novels and makes them very satisfying reading.

Skinwalkers are witches in the Navaho legends and can fly or turn themselves into a dog or wolf. This mystery involves the conflict between Skinwalkers and shamen and belegana medicine. Then again it may be a straight forward set of independent murders. In any event it looks like some one is out to kill Navajo Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee and he has not got a clue as to why.

As with all of Tony Hillerman's stories you have the feeling you are there. In fact if you have visited or live in the area (Four Corners canyons) that the mystery takes part in, you will be better able to identify with the people and landmarks. And as with his other books there is an overt and covert story.

I have read the book but the addition of the voice of George Guidall ads a dimension to the story by helping visualize the people and correcting pronunciation of certain words. I suggest you read the book and listen to the recorded version.

I first saw the TV version of Skinwalkers with Robert Redford. He has a habit of redfordizing stories for his own agenda. This book was so strongly written that I thought Redford did not have a chance to modify it. I was wrong.

The book is much more in depth and the motive and additional characters made the mystery much more intriguing.

I found Chee's interest in training to be a shaman fascinating. He is the one with the people skills which is what makes people at the Tribal Police and the Navajos like and trust him (in my opinion is what helps make or break a case. Knowing how people tick and getting them to trust and confide in you. Going by the book doesn't always break a case.)

Even better is Chee's acceptance of his background, while Leaphorn, the big city detective, relies more on "white" ways to solve murders by going strictly by the book.

I really don't find Chee "flaky" as one reviewer put it. There are more than one way to look at things and Chee and Leaphorn represent this.

The whole bit about skinwalkers was wonderful and adds considerable suspense to the story.

Skinwalkers are witches in the Navaho legends and can fly or turn themselves into a dog or wolf. This mystery involves the conflict between Skinwalkers and shamen and belegana medicine. Then again, it may be a straightforward set of independent murders. In any event, it looks as if some one is out to kill Navajo Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee and he does not have a clue as to why.

As with all of Tony Hillerman's stories, you have the feeling you are there. In fact if you have visited or live in the area (Four Corners canyons) that the mystery takes part in, you will be better able to identify with the people and landmarks. In addition, as with his other books there is an overt and covert story.

I have read the book but the addition of the voice of George Guidall on recordings adds a dimension to the story by helping visualize the people and correcting pronunciation of certain words. I suggest you read the book and listen to the recorded version.

I first saw the TV version of Skinwalkers with Robert Redford. He has a habit of redfordizing stories for his own agenda. This book was so strongly written that I thought Redford did not have a chance to modify it. I was wrong.

The book is much more in depth and the motive and additional characters made the mystery much more intriguing.

The Dark Wind (Jim Chee Novels)

Those looking for a great mystery series who have yet to discover Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are in for a treat with Skinwalkers. Tony Hillerman created an entire genre with these novels, and though they've been copied, no one has ever quite found the blend of Native American beliefs and traditions and modern day mystery Hillerman perfected. Skinwalkers is one of Hillerman's finest pairings of young Navajo Tribal Police Officer, Jim Chee, and the legendary Lt. Joe Leaphorn. This one begins when a shotgun blast into Jim Chee's trailer brings he and Leaphorn together in an effort to figure out how the attempt on Chee's life ties together with two other murders in the sprawling Indian territory they have jurisdiction over.

The seasoned Leaphorn begins to have respect for young Chee as they work on different ends to solve this mystery. Leaphorn has his own personal problems to deal with as well in this entry; his beloved wife may have the onset of Alzheimer's disease. It is a distraction he can't afford when things become more and more dangerous. Sprinkled throughout this complex and entertaining mystery novel are insights into the Navajo people, from the way they speak to their customs and broad family ties. But the thread that may tie everything together is something the older Leaphorn despises, and the younger Chee embraces. That aspect of the investigation is the complex mythology of Navajo witchcraft. You see, the killings may involve something very ancient in the Navajo culture, called a Skinwalker.

This is simply a great read. It starts in a languid pace which takes on an urgency as the body count starts to rise and the good police work of Leaphorn and Chee may not be enough to save either of them. Chee is getting noticed for his smart police work in the New Mexico desert, but he is also getting noticed as an Hataalli (Medicine Man) who can perform The Blessing Way, and it will play an integral part in this great book. Skinwalkers is like an orange soda on a hot day in the New Mexico desert. A fine entry in a series mystery fans will devour.

I am reading this book for the second time, after having read all the others in order and enjoying every one of them. After the TV version I felt compelled to go back and re-read the book to find all the discrepancies and distortions that kept me shaking my fist at the TV screen and saying, "That wouldn't have happened that way!" Hillerman writes a good mystery; but, more than that, he evokes a time and place in his kindly and careful delineation of the Navajo culture of the Southwest. The tension among the various characters is sensitive and real. No stereotypes here. He is such a good writer that the writing does not draw attention to itself. There are no snags or quagmires to get in the way of the pure pleasure of a good story.
Meanwhile, Hillerman is teaching us about the Navajo people in a way that textbooks and lectures cannot.