Reading Tony Hillerman’s novels are, for me, like a nice second course from a chef who understands its place in the overall meal. Given my predilection for dense material, his ability to deliver an enjoyable story at a much slower pace fits well for me.
The First Eagle (1998) is later in Hillerman’s Navajo Police series featuring Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn; the latter is a year into retirement, the former potentially filling his old slot on an acting basis and neither adjusting well. One of Chee’s men calls for backup at a typically remote location but by the time he arrives Officer Kinsman is dead. Meanwhile Leaphorn is recruited by a wealthy old woman to look into the disappearance of her niece in the same vicinity but isn’t sure if she’s kidnapped, dead or hiding to avoid becoming a suspect in the policeman’s murder.
This is a well-told tale, the author really knows his characters, their culture and the territory they live in. If I wasn’t aware, from Garret’s mentions, that bubonic plague is fairly common in the desert areas of New Mexico and Arizona and that a handful of people die from it each year then its use here might have been shocking. But I am and so it wasn’t a big surprise, though perhaps Hillerman expected most readers to see it that way. No matter.
recommended
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