Judith L. (JML) -
Helpful Score: 3
I haven't been as big a fan of Tony Hillerman since Skinwalkers. I think he's lost the feeling of being in the desert, his knack for tight desciption, and lately his mysteries have been dull and preachy. I still read him hoping he'll get back to his old style, and this one is encouraging. I still don't get the feeling of being there, the way I used to, but I liked his characters better and the plot was strictly good guys vs. bad guys.
Helpful Score: 1
This Native American author is excellent with characters and intriguing mysteries.
Dale V. (dvnashville) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I love all the Tony Hillerman books... fascinating insights into Native American culture, great scenic descriptions, characters you care about, interesting and captivating plots.
MaryLou C. (Bookworm42) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 54 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great story just like all of Tony Hillerman's work.
Helpful Score: 1
very, very good
Mary H. (LilCricket) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 23 more book reviews
Three armed men raid the Ute tribe's gambling casino, and then disappear in the maze of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. The FBI takes over the investigation and agents swarm in with helicopters and high-tech equipment. These experts devise a theory of the crime that makes a wounded deputy sheriff a suspect- which brings in Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee and his longtime colleague, retired Lt. Joe Leaphorn, to help. Best one of Tony Hillerman's good books that wwe've read so far.
Intrigue, deception and surprise. Good book.
Barbara M. (LadyExplicate) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 111 more book reviews
Another Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee adventure in Hillerman's beautiful Southwest Indian country. The two Navajo policemen, one young and the other supposedly retired, team up once more to solve not only a murder but a major casino heist. The always literate Hillerman always makes sure we learn something more of Navajo and Ute customs and their way of life. There's also the touch of romance for both men.
Jim Chee and the legendary Lt Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Ploice battle both the evil bad guys and the evil FBI agents. Leaphorn misses his wife Emma who died, and he is now involved with the local anthropologist Brof Bourebonette, while Che pursues Janet Burnedette. They solve another complex mystery on the reservation while the FBI runs in the wrong direction. Hillerman uses good anthropological information and tribal information giving a reallistic basis to his story.
Andrea W. (noc-shift) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 298 more book reviews
love how you feel like you are a part of the story and feel like you are right where the action is....
Another great Hillerman book.
Helen K. (Billie-K) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 459 more book reviews
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In 1998 three heavily armed "survivalists" came out of the Four Corners canyons in a stolen truck. They murdered a policeman, had a shootout with pursuers, and then vanished - eluding a manhunt that eventually involved hundreds of officers from more than twenty federal and state agencies. The crime and the bungled FBI investigation left behind a web of mysteries: Why did one of the bandits kill himself? How did the others escape? Why has no one in this impoverished area claimed the huge reward the government still offers? Most puzzling of all, what crime were they en route to commit when Officer Dale Claxton stopped them - and paid for his bravery with his life?" "Tony Hillerman assigns these real puzzles to his fictional Navajo Tribal Police officers - Sergeant Jim Chee and retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn. The time is now, and the memory of the mishandled manhunt of 1998 is still painfully fresh. Three men stage a predawn raid on the Ute tribe's gambling casino. They kill one policeman, wound another, and disappear in the maze of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. The FBI takes over the investigation, and agents swarm in with their helicopters, their high-tech equipment, and a theory of the crime that makes a wounded deputy sheriff a suspect. This development calls Chee in from his vacation, and a request for a favor draws in Leaphorn. Chee finds a fatal flaw in the federal theory, and Leaphorn sees an intriguing pattern connecting this crime with the exploits of a legendary Ute hero-bandit.
In 1998 three heavily armed "survivalists" came out of the Four Corners canyons in a stolen truck. They murdered a policeman, had a shootout with pursuers, and then vanished - eluding a manhunt that eventually involved hundreds of officers from more than twenty federal and state agencies. The crime and the bungled FBI investigation left behind a web of mysteries: Why did one of the bandits kill himself? How did the others escape? Why has no one in this impoverished area claimed the huge reward the government still offers? Most puzzling of all, what crime were they en route to commit when Officer Dale Claxton stopped them - and paid for his bravery with his life?" "Tony Hillerman assigns these real puzzles to his fictional Navajo Tribal Police officers - Sergeant Jim Chee and retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn. The time is now, and the memory of the mishandled manhunt of 1998 is still painfully fresh. Three men stage a predawn raid on the Ute tribe's gambling casino. They kill one policeman, wound another, and disappear in the maze of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. The FBI takes over the investigation, and agents swarm in with their helicopters, their high-tech equipment, and a theory of the crime that makes a wounded deputy sheriff a suspect. This development calls Chee in from his vacation, and a request for a favor draws in Leaphorn. Chee finds a fatal flaw in the federal theory, and Leaphorn sees an intriguing pattern connecting this crime with the exploits of a legendary Ute hero-bandit.
Peter E. (pensign) -
Hillerman at his best
While I still love Hillerman's descriptions of the reservation, plus the characters of Leaphorn and Chee, I felt like this plot was very formulaic. I don't want that to be too much of a criticism; I'm reading this series about one book every 3 weeks, so I am noticing a lot of similarities that wouldn't catch my attention if I read them spaced apart as they were written. But we have Chee deciding to get involved in an investigation while he's off duty, and then add in Leaphorn becoming involved at the request of an acquaintance; this same structure has been used about 3 times before. I guess once Hillerman sent Leaphorn into retirement, there are limited options to introduce him into the puzzle. At any rate, I liked the story's pacing and setting. I enjoyed how Hillerman worked Louisa into the story. I especially liked how he wove the elements of the crimes in and out of the main plot - first they were related, then they weren't, but then they were again. An interesting bit is how he left one of the bad guys out there - a nod to one of the legends told to Louisa, I expect. And Jim Chee has a cat again. I thought he sent the cat to Mary whatsername a few books ago. I expect Hillerman's continuity checker missed that, but I think I like better that there's a new cat.
Cherryl M. (drummergirl) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 175 more book reviews
For Hillerman fans. This copy brother gave me is a bce 06196.
From Publishers Weekly
Picking up a new Hillerman book has the high comfort level of revisiting a favorite old Western hotel like the Bishop's Lodge in Santa Fe or the Ahwani at YosemiteAthe accommodations will always be first class and the scenery spectacular. Not that Hillerman ignores the passage of time: his two Navajo cops, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, age and change as we all do. There's a moment in the novel when Chee meets with his retired former boss at the Anasazi Inn dining room in Farmington, N. Mex. "He had looked right past the corner table and the stocky old duffer sitting there with a plump middle-aged woman without recognizing Joe Leaphorn.... He had seen the Legendary Lieutenant in civilian attire before, but the image he carried in his mind was of Leaphorn in uniform." As for the prickly Sergeant Chee, he has to contend with physical problems as well as with the end of one romance and the beginning of anotherAnot to mention the very real possibility of being picked off by a sniper during the search for the men who robbed a casino owned by the Ute tribe. In a rare author's note, Hillerman talks about an actual 1998 case in which the FBI turned the killing of a Colorado police officer into a gigantic fiasco. The shadow of that failed investigation hangs over the search in this book, leading to many anti-FBI jibes ("If the Federal Bureau of Ineptitude says it, it must be true," another retired cop tells Leaphorn). As usual in recent Hillerman books, the action goes on mostly inside the minds of his two lead characters. But there is one splendid helicopter ride into Gothic Creek Canyon that should speed up the calmest heart, several new insights into the mysteries of Navajo culture and a story with enough twists and surprises to make readers glad they checked in. Major ad/promo; 15-city TV satellite tour; simultaneous HarperAudio. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Picking up a new Hillerman book has the high comfort level of revisiting a favorite old Western hotel like the Bishop's Lodge in Santa Fe or the Ahwani at YosemiteAthe accommodations will always be first class and the scenery spectacular. Not that Hillerman ignores the passage of time: his two Navajo cops, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, age and change as we all do. There's a moment in the novel when Chee meets with his retired former boss at the Anasazi Inn dining room in Farmington, N. Mex. "He had looked right past the corner table and the stocky old duffer sitting there with a plump middle-aged woman without recognizing Joe Leaphorn.... He had seen the Legendary Lieutenant in civilian attire before, but the image he carried in his mind was of Leaphorn in uniform." As for the prickly Sergeant Chee, he has to contend with physical problems as well as with the end of one romance and the beginning of anotherAnot to mention the very real possibility of being picked off by a sniper during the search for the men who robbed a casino owned by the Ute tribe. In a rare author's note, Hillerman talks about an actual 1998 case in which the FBI turned the killing of a Colorado police officer into a gigantic fiasco. The shadow of that failed investigation hangs over the search in this book, leading to many anti-FBI jibes ("If the Federal Bureau of Ineptitude says it, it must be true," another retired cop tells Leaphorn). As usual in recent Hillerman books, the action goes on mostly inside the minds of his two lead characters. But there is one splendid helicopter ride into Gothic Creek Canyon that should speed up the calmest heart, several new insights into the mysteries of Navajo culture and a story with enough twists and surprises to make readers glad they checked in. Major ad/promo; 15-city TV satellite tour; simultaneous HarperAudio. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Geraldine Z. (gerrielady1) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 102 more book reviews
Chee and Leaphorn are together again.
Outsmarting the FBI.
Outsmarting the FBI.
"All is well in Navajo country. . . .
Hilllerman builds a fine thriller from his traditional ingredients: Navajo lore, stunning natural landscape, and the compelling personalities of his two tribalcop heroes, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee." Booklist
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Put this book at the top, of your list for anybody who likes Hillerman...it's his best." Rocky Mountain News
A fine example of a talented writer delivering the kind of tightly written, entertaining whodunit that his millions of readers expect. . . . One of the best Leaphorn/Chee whodunits yet!
Hilllerman builds a fine thriller from his traditional ingredients: Navajo lore, stunning natural landscape, and the compelling personalities of his two tribalcop heroes, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee." Booklist
.
Put this book at the top, of your list for anybody who likes Hillerman...it's his best." Rocky Mountain News
A fine example of a talented writer delivering the kind of tightly written, entertaining whodunit that his millions of readers expect. . . . One of the best Leaphorn/Chee whodunits yet!
Julianne B. (timekeeper) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 39 more book reviews
Great condition book. Mystery from the robbing of a casino. Police Sargent Jim Chee must solve what the FBI are missing.
Carolyn R. (MsDirect) reviewed Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee, Bk 8) on + 12 more book reviews
I haven't read this book but my husband, his mother, and a good friend all swear by the Hillerman books.
