| This is probably one of the most suspenseful of the Chee/Leaphorn mysteries. In it we encounter a melancholy and downbeat Joe Leaphorn who, after the sad death of his wife Emma, decides to retire from his job with the Navajo Tribal Police. But then a young anthropologist specializing in ancient Anasazi pottery goes missing, and Leaphorn decides that he must solve the case because Emma would have wanted him to.
When several murders are committed all involving illegal grave-digging at the sites of the Anasazi ruins, the case becomes more complicated, and Leaphorn teams up with Officer Jim Chee. At least one of the murders was committed with the missing anthropologist's gun. Is she a killer who just faked her own disappearance? If so, what was her motive? The investigation leads Leaphorn into his past as a young police officer when an old acquaintance is murdered whose mentally ill son's life he had once saved. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60% Special suspect? - chronically deranged person Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - West Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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