sinisterpig

Carl Mankin knows that the job is not without its risks, but the money is too good to ignore. Hired to discover the hows and whys behind an oil scam, he plans to go undercover to Four Corners New Mexico, where he'll take a job and investigate the situation. All that he knows is that someone has managed to create a bypass that has cheated the Native American people out of billions of dollars worth of royalties. Whatever it is he learned, we'll never know, because it got him killed.

Cowboy Dashee, now in the Federal Bureau of Land Management, and Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police are at the scene, investigating Carl's death. The corpse provides few clues...and whatever clues that Carl Mankin's past could provide are soon buried by the FBI, who have inexplicably decided to take the investigation away from the local offices...and pretty much kicking Chee off the case. Of course, this isn't enough for Jim Chee, especially since Bernie Manuelito, who left the police for the Border Patrol, seems to be getting deeply involved. Bernie, trying to do her job, follows a truck with Mexican plates to a ranch filled with exotic animals, raised to be hunted. Her boss tells her that she has to avoid this place, that they have a deal...then takes her photo, a photo that someone tells her later is being passed around in some very dangerous places. Chee, no fool, soon gets the Legendary Joe Leaphorn in on the case, and the three of them try to figure out who the sinister pig is, and what his true interest in the pipelines is.

There is no one else who can write this kind of book...Hillerman's still on top of his game, providing us with an entertaining, suspenseful read. There are many things that make this book special. First of all, the characters are wonderful. He captures the nuances of the Navajo and Hopi, creating people that you'd love to share a cup off coffee with while giving you a great deal of respect for these beautiful cultures. Even though the action can be really exciting, you also have points where the companionship between reader and character is soothing. Watching Leaphorn work with his maps, or Chee carefully tracking down clues is like meeting old friends. Also, Jim Chee maundering over his feelings for Bernie...and Bernie's shy attempts to find out if he cares for her, are really sweet and endearing. Bernie's examinations of the letters he exchanges with her, and the words he uses, remind me of myself, or any single girl trying to learn the way to read a guy's mind. Also, the letters aren't just part of the subplot...they become part of the bigger plot, weaving the story together tightly.

I thought that the mystery was very well done. The main bad guy is the kind you love to hate...who wouldn't despise a corrupt politician? Yet, his henchman is an unusual and interesting character. Winsor's plans are sinister indeed, and it will take a lot of clever work by our guys to figure out his true intentions.

This is the sixteenth book in a line of books that have never failed to illuminate or satisfy, and it lives up to the standards of many of its brothers and sisters.

Written by Cindy Lynn Speer for Mostly Fiction