Review of "Lost Birds: A Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito Novel" by Anne Hillerman

Anne Hillerman is following in her father - Tony Hillerman's - footsteps, carrying on with his Navajo Tribal Police series.

In this 27th book in the 'Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito' series, 'The Legendary Lieutenant' Joe Leaphorn is retired from the police and working as a private investigator.



In his personal life, Joe is sharing his home in Window Rock, Arizona with anthropologist Louisa Bourebonette, who studies customs of indigenous people.



This novel follows three storylines that don't intersect (for the most part). I'll provide a brief summary of each one.

▶▶ Joe Leaphorn is doing an investigation for a woman named Stella Brown.



Stella is an adoptee who grew up with White parents, but suspects she has Navajo heritage. Now that Stella's adoptive parents have died, she feels free to look into her background.

Observing photos of Stella, Leaphorn notes that she looks like an artist's rendition of the classic Navajo woman - 'silky hair as dark as a raven's wing; large, clear russet eyes; skin the color of light milk chocolate; and a tall, slim frame.'



As clues to her origins, Stella has two things from her birth mother: a photo of a young man and woman that includes a classic Navajo baby blanket, and a baby bracelet. Stella also has a birth certificate, but Leaphorn discovers that it's not the 'typical' document.





Leaphorn uses all this, and some help from Officer Jim Chee, to look into Stella's history.



[Note: Native American children taken from their parents and brought up in White homes are called 'Lost Birds'. In her acknowledgments, author Anne Hillerman writes, 'The idea for the book, Lost Birds, was born from the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act (1978), designed to protect Indian children against the possible removal from their tribal communities. In 2023, the court let the law stand.]



*****

▶▶ Joe Leaphorn gets a phone call from a man called Cecil Bowlegs, who works as a janitor at Eagle Roost School. Cecil says his wife has been missing for three weeks, and the police have given up the search. Leaphorn agrees to help, and the two men are talking when an explosion cuts off the call.



It turns out a building at Eagle Roost School - which contains classrooms, a music studio, a garage, and the janitor's office - blew up.



Bowlegs wasn't hurt by the blast, but thinks it was set to kill him, so he runs away. All this makes Cecil a suspect for either accidentally or purposely blowing up the edifice.

Officer Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelito, who's had explosives training, is assigned to help with the investigation.



This becomes a homicide case when a dead body is found in the burned garage.

*****

▶▶ Joe Leaphorn's housemate, Louisa Bourebonette, is expecting a visit from her son Kory. Growing up, Kory thought Louisa loved her work more than him, and they've been semi-estranged for years. So Louisa is happy when Kory says he's coming to Window Rock for a few days.



Leaphorn remains out of the way during Louisa and Kory's reunion, but later learns it didn't go well. Kory is dying from cancer and has anger issues, and he isn't cooperating with any of his treatment. All this leads to dramatic incidents that require interference by Leaphorn and his friend (and former boss) Captain Largo.



*****

Meanwhile, in their private lives, married couple Bernie Manuelito and Jim Chee are concerned.



Bernie's mother has dementia and lives with Bernie's sister Darleen - a nursing student with a drinking problem. When Darleen gets drunk one night, and Mrs. Manuelito almost burns the house down, Bernie and Jim know a change is needed. So Bernie tries to convince Darleen to get help, and Bernie and Jim think about future plans.



I enjoyed the book, but would have liked to see more police procedural features, and more elements of Navajo culture, which always enhanced Tony Hillerman's novels. Still, this novel would probably appeal to fans of the series.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Downfall: A Sheriff Joanna Brady Mystery" by J.A. Jance

In this 17h book in the 'Sheriff Joanna Brady' series, Joanna investigates the death of two women while dealing with tragedy in her personal life. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Background: Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona became a law enforcement officer almost a decade ago, when her husband Andy Brady - who was sheriff at the time - was killed.



A lot has changed since then, and Joanna is now married to a supportive man named Butch; is sending her daughter Jenny off to college; has a 5-year-old son named Denny; and is pregnant.

As the story opens, Joanna is at Higgins Funeral Chapel, planning services for her mother Eleanor and stepfather George, both of whom died after a sniper shot their vehicle on the highway. Joanna had a difficult relationship with her mother, and is grieving and sad because she won't get a chance to make amends.



Just as Joanna is completing the funeral arrangements, Chief Deputy Tom Hadlock calls to report two dead women at the base of a twin limestone peak called Geronimo, just east of Bisbee. Tom says the women either jumped or were pushed, and Joanna hurries to the scene to investigate.





It turns out the incident was a double homicide, and the victims are Desirée Wilburton - a teaching assistant and Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona;



and Susan Nelson - an instructor and debate team coach at the Sierra Vista School For Scholastic Excellence.



When Joanna's team interviews people acquainted with the victims, they learn Desirée was a dedicated researcher camping in the area to study hedgehog cacti;



and Susan was a preacher's wife who had a reputation for philandering.



For this case, Joanna gets assistance from her former deputy Frank Montoya, who's now Chief of Police in Bisbee;



and FBI Agent Robin Watkins, who makes a discovery that helps breaks the case open.



Joanna's life is endangered before things are resolved, but as fans know, Joanna is clever and resourceful.




Against the backdrop of the murder investigation, Joanna must write eulogies for her mother and stepfather; prepare for the upcoming sheriff's election; be a mom to 18-year-old Jenny and 5-year-old Denny; maintain a healthy pregnancy; navigate resentment about Bob Brundage, whom she just recently learned was her out-of-wedlock brother; and deal with her long-time nemesis Marliss Shackleford, a journalist who goes out of her way to write critical articles about Sheriff Brady.



Luckily, Joanna has her solicitous husband Butch as backup...and he's even a great cook!





I like strong women characters, and Joanna Brady certainly fits the bill. 😊

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "A Delicate Truth" by John le Carré

 

Author John le Carré

Unlike John le Carré's many espionage novels, this thriller is about an enterprise planned by a British MP and an American business magnate; a plan that goes terribly wrong and requires a cover-up.

*****

In 2008, a rising civil servant named Toby Bell is the private secretary to Fergus Quinn, an MP in the foreign office.





Bell has the usual secretarial duties: checking Quinn's diary; monitoring visitors; making phone calls; scheduling meetings; taking notes; writing letters; and so on.



Then Toby hears talk of someone called Jay Crispin traipsing through the halls of government, after which Quinn becomes VERY furtive. Quinn locks away his diary; has clandestine liaisons; schedules secret meetings; and keeps Toby at arm's length.



When Quinn orders that surveillance be shut down for certain visitors, Bell becomes EXTREMELY suspicious, and sets up a tape recorder to monitor the proceedings. Toby is very nervous about this since it's potentially treasonous.



The recording device captures a discussion about a secret mission called Operation Wildlife, which is being planned by Fergus Quinn and Jay Crispin. Crispin is an American right-wing zealot who heads a company that deploys mercenaries.



The goal of Operation Wildlife is to abduct an Arab arms-buyer and question him. Presumably, this will forestall terrorist attacks on Britain.

Toby is terribly alarmed about this sub-rosa plan, and consults his mentor, a high-level politician called Giles Oakley. Oakley tells Toby to forget about it, so Toby makes copies of the recording and hides them away.



Shortly afterwards, Operation Wildlife is launched in Gibraltar. A mid-level British civil servant, code-named Paul Anderson, is sent to monitor the activities and 'be the eyes and ears' of Fergus Quinn....who'll be watching from afar.



In the midst of Operation Wildlife, Jeb Owens, the military commander on the ground, senses something is wrong and wants to call if off.



However, Quinn - who's on the phone - STRONGLY suggests the operation continue.



So troops go in, there's a commotion, shots are fired, and the mission is called a success.

*****

Skip to 2011 and the British civil servant who was code-named Paul Anderson is revealed to be Sir Christopher (Kit) Probyn. After Operation Wildlife, Probyn was awarded a knighthood and a cushy job in the Caribbean. Now retired, Sir Kit and his wife Suki live in Cornwall, where they're popular members of the rural community.

 

During a town fair, Sir Kit is shocked to come across the former military commander Jeb Owens, who's now living in his van and selling leather goods. Jeb tells Sir Kit that Operation Wildlife was a failure; no arms dealer was caught; and an innocent Arab woman and her child were killed. Quinn and Crispin then engineered a cover-up.



Sir Kit refuses to believe it, but Jeb eventually convinces him. After this, the two men arrange to meet, write a detailed report, and present it to the Ministry of Defense. But Jeb never shows up for the meeting.

Concerned about Jeb, Sir Kit contacts Toby Bell, who at this point is unaware that Operation Wildlife was a spectacular failure.



Sir Kit fills Toby in, and Toby goes to search for Jeb. Sadly, it turns out Jeb came to a bad end in suspicious circumstances.



Sir Kit and Toby now decide that THEY will find proof and expose the murders of the Arab woman and her child. Sir Kit's daughter Emily, a doctor, takes an interest as well, and she and Toby join efforts along the way.



The organizers of Operation Wildlife, Fergus Quinn and Jay Crispin, are determined to keep their wrongdoing secret. To accomplish this, they'll do just about anything, from surveillance to murder.



This is the bare bones of the plot, which is complex, contains a wide array of characters, and has a thought-provoking conclusion.

John le Carré does an excellent job probing into government overreach; narcissistic politicians; money-grubbing business moguls; and the inevitable cover-up of unlawful activities.

If you decide to read this book, please note that the slow start is misleading. Once the story gets in gear, things zip right along

Rating: 4 stars