Library Journal - Audio
09/01/2022
In Hillerman's (Stargazer) seventh "Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Mystery," Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police hikes around Lake Powell. He is ostensibly on vacation but is really searching for a sacred cave that is rumored to contain valuable artifacts. While en route, Jim finds a corpse floating in the lake; the dead man turns out to be the murdered clan brother of his wife, Officer Bernadette "Bernie" Manuelito. While Jim has a wealth of motives and suspects to consider, Bernie is drawn into her own case, an investigation of an intentional hit-and-run accident. Listeners will be intrigued by the additional elements that Hillerman introduces into the story—the government, the cannabis industry, and the characters' personal development and growth. The vivid descriptions of the Southwestern landscape and Navajo culture are absorbing. Primary narrator and Cherokee actress DeLanna Studi provides a strong performance with effective characterizations. Listeners will especially appreciate the glossary of Navajo words, read by Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald Sr. VERDICT A solid addition to the series that will satisfy Hillerman's many fans.—Scott DiMarco
APRIL 2022 - AudioFile
It’s never a surprise to fans of the Leaphorn/Chee/Manuelito series when any one of the characters stumbles across a dead body—but this installment involves two characters and two bodies. Nonetheless, listeners won’t be confused by the dual plotlines. At the outset, Navajo Tribal Police detective Jim Chee’s vacation is interrupted by his discovery of a corpse while hiking. At home, his wife, Officer Bernie Manuelito, witnesses a hit-and-run. As two investigations ensue, narrator DeLanna Studi’s distinct characterizations keep the storylines clearly differentiated, allowing listeners to also absorb the depictions of the story’s physical setting and culture. A glossary of Navajo words narrated by WWII code talker Peter MacDonald provides an excellent reference. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
03/07/2022
In Hillerman’s captivating seventh Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito mystery (after 2021’s Stargazer), Sgt. Jim Chee of the Navajo Nation police, who’s reevaluating his career, takes time off from his job in Shiprock, N.Mex., and heads for Lake Powell to contemplate his future. He brings with him a map provided by his mentor, Lt. Joe Leaphorn, showing the location of what Leaphorn believes to be a sacred cave containing a trove of ancient sand paintings. On his hike, Chee discovers the body of a young man floating face down in the icy waters of the lake. A severe head injury indicates that the victim, a Navajo, was murdered. The local police ask Chee to join their investigation. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito, Chee’s police officer wife, witnesses an intentional hit-and-run, a crime that leads her to take on a dangerous undercover mission. Never mind that the murder investigation is a bit slow to start and the bad guys are pretty obvious. As usual, what matters are the Native American lore, dramatic descriptions of the western terrain, and the evolution in the personal lives of Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito. Series fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Liz Trupin-Pulli, JET Literary Assoc. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Captivating . . . Series fans will be well satisfied." — Publishers Weekly on The Sacred Bridge
"The Sacred Bridge is further proof that Anne Hillerman continues to produce top-notch mysteries that entertain, amuse, and move us." — New York Journal of Books
"A dual novel about Native American history and the challenges to preserve sacred sites and artifacts, and the battle between profiteering and protection... an exciting and informative tale." " — Bookreporter on The Sacred Bridge
“Anne Hillerman is a star.” — J. A. Jance, New York Times bestselling author
"Anne Hillerman’s taken familiar characters and locations and struck out on a literary legacy all her own.” — Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Series
“Anne Hillerman brilliantly continues the Hillerman legacy, expanding the mystery genre by making Bernadette Manuelito America’s most popular Native American female law enforcement officer.” — David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author
"I truly love the continuing series of novels by Anne Hillerman featuring Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito—who are, each in their own way, fictional characters for the ages." — Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author
"Gripping." — Bookreporter
“The Tale Teller is more than just a police procedural set in the Southwest; it’s a reading experience not to be missed. Anne Hillerman has reached a new level of storytelling in this one, and she deserves recognition as one of the finest mystery authors currently working in the genre.” — New York Journal of Books on The Tale Teller
“Tony Hillerman fans will appreciate her keeping his fictional creations, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, alive and thriving. The storytelling gene has been proudly passed on from father to daughter.” — Bookreporter on Stargazer
“Hillerman’s writing becomes stronger with every new installment in the series, deepening the development of each character. . . . The picturesque Southwest, as well as the history of the Navajo, come through on each page.” — Library Journal (starred review) on The Tale Teller
“Hillerman seamlessly blends tribal lore and custom into a well-directed plot, continuing in the spirit of her late father, Tony, by keeping his characters (like Chee) in the mix, but still establishing Manuelito as the main player in what has become a fine legacy series.” — Booklist on Song of the Lion
“The latest from Hillerman continues worldbuilding in a tale that will reward long-term readers.” — Kirkus Reviews on Song of the Lion
“Fans of Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito, characters created by the author’s father, Tony Hillerman, will savor this multilayered story of suspense, with its background of contemporary environmental vs. development issues.” — Library Journal on Song of the Lion
"Anne Hillerman has carried on the franchise of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee mysteries started by her father, Tony Hillerman, with great aplomb and a deft writing style . . . The characters are genuine, the story is compelling and complex, and the writing is gorgeous . . . Mystery lovers will love this one." — Portland Book Review
David Morrell
Anne Hillerman brilliantly continues the Hillerman legacy, expanding the mystery genre by making Bernadette Manuelito America’s most popular Native American female law enforcement officer.
New York Journal of Books on The Tale Teller
The Tale Teller is more than just a police procedural set in the Southwest; it’s a reading experience not to be missed. Anne Hillerman has reached a new level of storytelling in this one, and she deserves recognition as one of the finest mystery authors currently working in the genre.
Booklist on Song of the Lion
Hillerman seamlessly blends tribal lore and custom into a well-directed plot, continuing in the spirit of her late father, Tony, by keeping his characters (like Chee) in the mix, but still establishing Manuelito as the main player in what has become a fine legacy series.
Douglas Preston
"I truly love the continuing series of novels by Anne Hillerman featuring Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito—who are, each in their own way, fictional characters for the ages."
Bookreporter
"Gripping."
Bookreporter on Stargazer
Tony Hillerman fans will appreciate her keeping his fictional creations, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, alive and thriving. The storytelling gene has been proudly passed on from father to daughter.
Booklist on SONG OF THE LION
Hillerman seamlessly blends tribal lore and custom into a well-directed plot, continuing in the spirit of her late father, Tony, by keeping his characters (like Chee) in the mix, but still establishing Manuelito as the main player in what has become a fine legacy series.
Bookreporter on STARGAZER
Tony Hillerman fans will appreciate her keeping his fictional creations, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, alive and thriving. The storytelling gene has been proudly passed on from father to daughter.
New York Journal of Books on THE TALE TELLER
The Tale Teller is more than just a police procedural set in the Southwest; it’s a reading experience not to be missed. Anne Hillerman has reached a new level of storytelling in this one, and she deserves recognition as one of the finest mystery authors currently working in the genre.
Providence Journal on THE TALE TELLER
Anne Hillerman weaves a wonderful dark tapestry of intrigue.”
APRIL 2022 - AudioFile
It’s never a surprise to fans of the Leaphorn/Chee/Manuelito series when any one of the characters stumbles across a dead body—but this installment involves two characters and two bodies. Nonetheless, listeners won’t be confused by the dual plotlines. At the outset, Navajo Tribal Police detective Jim Chee’s vacation is interrupted by his discovery of a corpse while hiking. At home, his wife, Officer Bernie Manuelito, witnesses a hit-and-run. As two investigations ensue, narrator DeLanna Studi’s distinct characterizations keep the storylines clearly differentiated, allowing listeners to also absorb the depictions of the story’s physical setting and culture. A glossary of Navajo words narrated by WWII code talker Peter MacDonald provides an excellent reference. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-04-13
Even though he sorely needs a break from his job with the Navajo Nation police, Sgt. Jim Chee, hiking the area around Lake Powell alone, really misses his wife, Officer Bernadette Manuelito. Little does he know that their separation is about to get much more fraught.
A fresh corpse Jim finds in the lake turns out to be that of Curtis Walker, the younger brother of Bernie’s clan brother, Doug Walker. At first glance Curtis appears to have drowned, and no wonder, since he couldn’t swim. But he’s actually died from head injuries inflicted before he tumbled into the lake. Deputized by Park Service chief ranger Ted Morris to put a sympathetic face on the questions that must be put to Doug’s Navajo connections, Jim finds himself with an embarrassment of riches, since Doug’s work with Laguna Blue Watercraft Sales and Rental, his brother’s Antelope Canyon Tours, and aging archaeologist Dr. Peter Hendrix provide possible motives for his murder ranging from bad romance to ecopolitics. While Jim is talking to a bevy of interested parties, Bernie is plopped into a case of her own when a hitchhiker who’s pleaded for her help is run over repeatedly by a Mercedes that speeds away before she can identify the driver. Because of persistent rumors of skulduggery at Dino Begay Perez’s K’é Hemp Farm, a task force is assembled to investigate possible links between KHF and the dead man, and Bernie’s asked to go undercover as a casual worker at the farm to gather information. What, as even she wonders explicitly, could go wrong?
An overcrowded, overplotted, and depressingly timely mashup of personal and systemic crimes.
