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Blackening Song: An Ella Clah Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

by Aimee Thurlo (Author), David Thurlo (Author) "Ella Clah sat alone in her booth in a northeast L.A. coffee shop..." (more)
Key Phrases: tribal police, Wilson Joe, Peterson Yazzie, Randall Clah (more...)

3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"Mystery readers who like their murders solved by applied intelligence will love Ella Clah."--Tony Hillerman
-- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"Mystery readers who like their murders solved by applied intelligence will love Ella Clah."--Tony Hillerman

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Forge Books (August 15, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812567560
ISBN-13: 978-0812567564
Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces

Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #904,389 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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This is item 1 in The Ella Clah Series.

Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Ella Clah sat alone in her booth in a northeast L.A. coffee shop. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
tribal police

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Wilson Joe, Peterson Yazzie, Randall Clah, Samuel Pete, Reverend Williamson, Herman Cloud, Mist Eagle, Agent Clah, Rose Destea, Fire Hawk, New Mexico, Charley Atcitty, Bessie Tso, Eddie Buck, Ella Clah, Los Angeles, Agent Blalock, Allison Begay, Clifford Destea, San Juan River, Willy Ute

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 9 books:

Second Shadow by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter
Death Walker: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter
The Enemy Way: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter
The Fourth of July (Celebration Press Ready Readers) by Gale Clifford on page 47
Spirit Warrior (Harlequin Intrigue, No 246) by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter

See all 9 books this book cites

39 books cite this book:

Red Mesa (Ella Clah) by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter, and Back Matter
The Enemy Way: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Bad Medicine: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Changing Woman: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Tracking Bear: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimee Thurlo in Front Matter, and Back Matter

See all 39 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Shooting Chant by Aimee Thurlo

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Wind Spirit by Aimee Thurlo

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Changing Woman by Aimee Thurlo

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Red Mesa by Aimee Thurlo

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	72% buy the item featured on this page: Blackening Song: An Ella Clah Novel 3.0 out of 5 stars (9)
	7% buy Death Walker: An Ella Clah Novel 4.3 out of 5 stars (3) $11.96
	7% buy White Thunder: An Ella Clah Novel 4.3 out of 5 stars (7) $6.99
	7% buy Bad Medicine: An Ella Clah Novel 3.4 out of 5 stars (5) $10.85

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

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

Average Customer Review

3.0 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Good As Hillerman!, November 12, 1998

By	tkemp1@icarus.cc.uic.edu (Chicago, Il (wishing in New Mexico)) - See all my reviews

I was looking for a Hillerman-type book and I found it. This was a great book!! It only took me about 3 days to read because I couldn't put it down. This complements/competes very well with Hillerman's style. Loved it! Watch out Tony! :)

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing "Gothic" plot victimizes subjects, readers, March 26, 2003

By	"amatxi" (Mill Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackening Song: An Ella Clah Novel (Paperback)

By the time I finished this overly long (382 pages) mystery, I was thoroughly irritated with the authors for their unfortunate bait-and-switch approach. The Thurlos start off with a potentially interesting main character, FBI agent Navajo Ella Clah, in the naturally attractive Southwest setting. All too soon, however, the nasty, lurid plot repeatedly lurches unevenly between violent physical confrontations and Ella's immature interior monologues -- with timeouts for her brother's allegedly tradition medicine protective rituals. In addition, as another reviewer has noted, the dialogue too often is unnatural, even donwright unlikely. Even more unfortunate is the sensational presentation of the darker aspects of some traditional Navajo beliefs.

Fortunately, mystery enthusiasts and fans of the Southwest can read one or all of Tony Hillerman's better crafted and much more culturally accurate novels! Happily he never victimizes nor insults the Dineh.

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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow, poorly plotted, cardboard characters, August 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackening Song: An Ella Clah Novel (Paperback)

I read a lot of mysteries, including Hillerman, Michael McGarrity, James Doss, James Burke, but I could not finish Blackening Song. The plot was episodic, with events unrelated to each other and no rising arc of development. Characters' motivations were unconvincing and the characters seemed to undergo sudden and inexplicable personality changes. Dialogue was wooden, with Clah frequently asserting that her "special training" made her superior to others. Who talks like that? Clah also ricochets between trusting some characters and suspecting everyone, which was confusing. I've lived close to the Rez and did not find the authors'presentation of the area or culture convincing. You can pass on this one and wait for Hillerman or McGarrity's next book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Blackening Song
A little slow and ploding. I'm anxious to read Death Walker to see if it is a little better. I have read so much Tony Hillerman that I might be spoild. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Sam Jones

4.0 out of 5 stars Blackning Woman
I enjoyed the book very much. This is the first in a series about a
Navajo woman, Ella Clah who left the reservation to become an FBI agent. Read more

Published 12 months ago by P. Ainsworth

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Every bit as good as Hillerman .. have already begun reading the second in the series and am looking forward to the others .. thoroughly enjoyed it!

Published on July 13, 2006 by Thomas D. Gilbert

1.0 out of 5 stars Buffy on the Rez
By the time the book got to the terrible evil lurking in the proposed school yard, I thought that we had been transported to Sunnyvale High. Read more

Published on August 7, 2005 by S. Myers

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a Traditional Cajun Cooking Lyric
The Thurlos got their start writing romances for lines such as Second Chance at Love and Harlequin Intrigue. It shows in this first book in this series. Read more

Published on March 13, 2004 by Sires

4.0 out of 5 stars Tony Hillerman fans will likely enjoy this book.
A murder mystery set on the Navajo rez, Blackening Song reads like a Tony Hillerman novel, but Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn are nowhere to be found. Read more

Published on August 10, 1998

› See all 9 customer reviews...

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