Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 7/19/2018 + 1031 more book reviews

11th in the series with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. Detective Leaphorn is now Chee's direct supervisor, and while he might get exasperated at Chee's propensity to go off on his own, he appreciates his intelligence and non-linear thinking. Chee is smarting over being assigned to talk to a runaway kid, the grandson of a Tribal Council member, instead of working on the murder of a popular teacher. While waiting at a Tano Pueblo religious ceremony for the young boy to show up, one of the Tano koshares is struck down and killed. The koshares, or "sacred clowns", are supposed to remind the community to be good people and not to break the laws of the tribe. The murdered koshare was a good man of his people, and the teacher was a good man also - who would want them dead? The only connection discovered was the runaway boy. As usual, lots of excellent imagery of the surroundings, information about various cultural practices of the Navajo and the Hopi, and an interesting mystery. Chee learns that sometimes it might be the right thing not to arrest a guilty man, and Leaphorn is coming out of the depression caused by his wife's death. A new reader could start here but would miss all the backstory about Leaphorn and Chee, which would be a shame.

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