| The Sinister Pig
Tony Hillerman Harper Torch, 2003, 318 PP ISBN: 0-06-109878-7 The Department of the Interior is unable to account for forty or more billion dollars worth of royalties that should have been paid to the Native American tribes from whose lands oil, gas and coal have been extracted. This is but one of many Washington scandals that keeps accountants, lawyers and Congressmen busy but, with no resolution in sight, is not a burning issue to the members of the tribes in northern New Mexico and Arizona who should have been the recipients of these royalties. But when the murdered body of an unidentified, middle aged white male is found in a remote area of the Navajo reservation near the Jicarilla Apache natural gas field, Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police suspects there might be a connection. His suspicion that the murder is connected to something very big and sensitive is confirmed when FBI headquarters in Washington takes charge of the case and refuses to involve any local law enforcement including its own resident agent in northern New Mexico. But Sergeant Chee continues to investigate the murder along with his former boss and friend, retired Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, who becomes involved when a reporter from U.S. News contacts him to discuss a possible connection between the murder and the missing royalty funds. Meanwhile in the southern part of New Mexico, Border Patrol Officer Bernadette Manuelito, a former Navajo Tribal Police officer and girlfriend of Sergeant Chee, has uncovered some suspicious activities in the desert near the Mexican border which may be related to the murder and missing royalty funds. Crime and high level official corruption, along with competition and turf battles among the numerous competing law enforcement agencies – FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs, Homeland Security, BLM enforcement division, Navajo Tribal Police, New Mexico State Police and local county sheriff – provide non-stop action up to the surprising conclusion. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Kind of investigator Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - West Desert? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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