"I asked around some in re your inquiry about witchcraft cases and it looks only moderately promising."
Luis Horeseman is a young Navajo who has just injured a man in a drunken knife fight. But he's worried he's killed his opponent, and so is living rough in an uninhabited canyon. Or so he thinks.
Joe Leaphorn is a detective with the Navajo police and he's pretty sure he knows where Horseman is, but rather than go hunting him, he drops hints among Horseman's relatives that young Luis won't be guilty of murder after all and should just turn himself in.
Bergen McKee is a professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico and he's interested in Navajo witch stories. He's also an old college chum of Joe Leaphorn, and that's from Leaphorn's letter to McKee above. Even though Leaphorn's not very encouraging about the research, he still would like McKee to come visit, and anyway there just happens to be one report of a witch, otherwise unexplained.
Then Horseman is found dead, far from where Leaphorn expected him to be hiding out. At first glance the death looks accidental, but Leaphorn sees through that right away.
There are three more deaths before it's done and a good thriller scene in backcountry Arizona.
It's the first entry (1970) in Hillerman's series of mysteries set in Navajo lands, and the series started well, I thought. I've read most of them (and maybe this one before? But it felt new.) As it's the first neither Jim Chee or Bernadette Manuelito are on the scene and it's all up to the (not yet) Legendary Joe Leaphorn.
Vintage Mystery, Silver, Any Other Animal: That's a wolf shadow on the cover. Unless it's a witch (Navajo witches are either gender and take the shape of animals, most commonly wolves). Or, just possibly, a murderer in a wolf mask...
That completes Silver Age Vintage Mystery challenge for me, though who knows? I could very well read another mystery or two yet this year written between 1960 and 1989...
It sounds really interesting. Why have I heard neither about this book nor the writer before? Will go and check if I can get an ebook copy!
ReplyDeleteHe's good!
DeleteI found out about him from my parents, and they heard about him only after they moved to Arizona when they retired.
New to me and set in a culture I know little about. I will search for it.
ReplyDeleteHe makes very good use of Native American culture. I gather he was pretty popular with the Navajo, who made him an honorary member of the tribe.
DeleteI remember liking this one, though I read it so long ago I couldn't tell you many details about it. But it's a good series. I love that four corners setting.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've read this one before, but it's also been a while since I read most of them. I've started with his daughter's continuation. I didn't think the first one was nearly as good, but I think they've gotten better. Have you tried them?
DeleteI haven't tried any of his daughter's books yet.
DeleteBoy, it really wants to make your comments spam these days. It's weird.
DeleteAnyway, I've enjoyed the ones I've read. (Except as I said the first one somewhat less.)