The Fallen Man

Investigating the discovery of a skeleton at one of the holiest places in Navajo religion, Jim Chee and the newly retired Joe Leaphorn realize that the body is that of a missing person from one of Joe's long-unsolved past cases. 350,000 first printing. $300,000 ad/promo. Tour.

YA. The latest Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn mystery has vivid descriptions of Native American mythology and traditions but lacks the suspense and tightly woven plot of the earlier titles in this popular series. A skeleton is found on a high ledge of Ship Rock mountain, a place sacred to the Navahos. Tribal Police Lieutenant Chee and the now retired Leaphorn suspect correctly that it belongs to a wealthy rancher missing for 11 years, and Chee tries to discover if it is murder or an accidental death. Meanwhile, Leaphorn is hired by a lawyer to look into the investigation for the rancher's Eastern family, who want to own his land legally so they can accept a lucrative bid for the mining rights. The obvious suspects, if there was foul play, are the young woman who inherited the ranch and her brother who manages it. In addition to uncovering the cause of death, Chee must determine if the rancher died before or after his 30th birthday when he legally inherited the ranch from a family trust. The continuing rocky romance between Chee and tribal lawyer Janet Pete brings an interesting love angle to the story. Environmentalism and the survival of Native American culture are strong themes.?Penny Stevens, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Legendary Lt. Joe Leaphorn has finally retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, but that doesn't keep him away when a skeleton is found on a remote ledge of the spectacular 1700-foot- high Shiprock, a mountain sacred to the Navajo. Leaphorn tells Acting Lt. Jim Chee that the skeleton could be the remains of Harold Breedlove, the ranching heir who went missing during a trip he and his wife Elisa were taking in the area 11 years ago, days after the 30th birthday that brought him into the proceeds of his family trust fund. It's not easy for Chee to focus on the case, since his boss, under pressure from New Mexico brand inspector Dick Pfaff to catch the cattle rustler Pfaff calls Zorro, is more interested in Chee's checking the Breedlove spread--now run by Elisa's tree-hugging brother Eldon DeWitt--for stolen livestock. But the shooting of elderly Amos Nez, the Breedloves' guide on their fatal trip, convinces Leaphorn and Chee that the old case has suddenly roared to life--a hunch that's confirmed when Leaphorn is hired by Breedlove family attorney John McDermott (who just happens to be the treacherous former mentor and lover of Chee's fianc‚e Janet Pete) to investigate Breedlove's death, and the owner of the land around Shiprock is gunned down before Chee can talk to him. It'll take the combined ingenuity of irascible Leaphorn and contemplative Chee to spot the clue Leaphorn missed a decade ago--and their combined wisdom to figure out what to do with their knowledge. The autumnal 12th entry in this distinguished series is less complex and energetic than Sacred Clowns (1993), but Hillerman's legion of fans, impatient for a return to the reservation ever since the author's Vietnam novel, Finding Moon (1995), will likely find it irresistible. ($300,000 ad/promo budget; author tour; TV satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Whether their favorite Navajo cop is Jim Chee or Joe Leaphorn, Hillerman devotees will welcome this mystery, in which both men do what they do best. When the skeleton of Hal Breedlove, gone missing 11 years earlier, turns up on Skip Rock Mountain, Leaphorn, retired but ever the cop, gets a second chance at a puzzle he had failed to solve years before. His Navajo Tribal Police contact is, of course, Jim Chee, who has his own reasons for wanting to solve the riddle of the Fallen Man. Chee and Leaphorn are true to character: the younger, steeped in the ways of his people; the older, being deliberate, careful, and smart. As usual, Hillerman masterfully sets the scene, conveying contemporary culture and weaving in intriguing side plots to add depth to characters and scene: one, about Chee's rocky relationship with Janet Pete, is filled with cultural commentary; the other, about cattle rustling, actually has a comical twist. The ending is rather unremarkable, but as with all Hillerman's stories, it's the oblique way of getting there--and the splendid characters guiding the way--that pull us along. Stephanie Zvirin

Having explored the Vietnam War in Finding Moon (LJ 11/1/95), Hillerman returns to the desert Southwest in his newest work. On Halloween a human skeleton is discovered near the peak of the 1700-foot-high Ship Rock, a favorite of climbers and a holy site to the Navajos. Could it be the body of Hal Breedlove, a rancher who went missing 11 years ago? Retired tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn, who had investigated the case, approaches newly promoted Lieutenant Jim Chee with his theory. But before they can close the case, an old Navajo guide who was the last man to see Breedlove alive is seriously wounded by a sniper, raising the possibility that Breedlove's death was murder. While fans may rejoice at the return of Leaphorn and Chee, they may also be disappointed. The trouble with series like Hillerman's is that with each succeeding book the fresh and unique qualities that made them so popular become ever more stale and tired. While Hillerman still evokes the exotic beauty of Navajo land and its traditions, his mystery is not very mysterious nor interesting. Stick with his earlier better books like The People of Darkness (1978) or try the Santa Fe mysteries of Jake Page (The Stolen Gods, LJ 2/1/93; The Lethal Partner, LJ 11/15/95).?Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.