The First Eagle: A Leaphorn and Chee Novel

“Tony Hillerman is a wonderful storyteller...Surrendering to Hillerman’s strong narrative voice and supple storytelling techniques, we come to see that ancient cultures and modern sciences are simply different mythologies for the same reality.” It seems like July 8 is going to be a bad day for Acting Lieutenant Jim Chee. He's got a stack of overdue paperwork on his desk. Anderson Nez has died of plague, but the circumstances around the death are murky. His ex-fiancée, Janet Pete, is returning from Washington, D.C., and Chee doesn't know what to think about her last letter. (Will they be getting married this time?) And Officer Benny Kinsman's unwanted advances have enraged Catherine Pollard (among others), one of the scientists studying this newest outbreak of the black death. Now, the hot-headed Kinsman's gone off to nab a Hopi man who's poaching eagles. When Chee is called to back Kinsman up at Yells Back Butte, the bad day turns worse. He finds the young Hopi, Robert Jano, standing over Benny's mortally wounded body. Jano insists that he did not kill the police officer. Add to all this Joe Leaphorn's separate investigation, also involving July 8. Joe's got a new role as consulting detective to the wealthy--investigating the July 8 disappearance at Yells Back Butte of the same Catherine Pollard who was dogged by Kinsman. This one bad day and the ensuing days of investigation bring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee together once again as they uncover the secret of Yells Back Butte, plague fleas, and skinwalkers. As usual, Hilllerman's ear for dialogue is remarkable. One does not read Leaphorn and Chee's words and thoughts as much as hear them. While the book invites new readers (little knowledge of the previous books in the series is presumed), one has the sense of entering an old neighborhood where friends and relations are established and emotions run deep. Jim Chee's pain is vivid as he struggles under the shadow of Leaphorn and questions the "rusty trailer" lifestyle that has driven him apart from Janet. Nothing is contrived in his mixture of fear and elation when he and Janet meet again. Hillerman has written an engaging novel that once again evokes the land and people of the Southwest while also confronting the cultural separateness of the region from the power centers of the East. Already honored for his previous work ( Dance Hall of the Dead received the Edgar), The First Eagle is a welcome addition to the beloved Chee-Leaphorn series that began in 1971 with The Blessing Way . --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist Joe Leaphorn didn't believe in coincidences when he was a police officer, and he doesn't believe in them now that he's retired and working as a private investigator. So he's suspicious when his inquiry into the disappearance of a "flea catcher," a young woman working for the Arizona Health Department, leads him to the vicinity of the murder of a member of the Navajo Tribal Police. Acting Tribal Police Lieutenant Jim Chee isn't convinced there's a connection, but he knows there's something amiss about the story told by the accused cop killer, Robert Jano. Jano had motive and opportunity to kill the officer, and Chee actually nabbed him at the scene of the crime. But Jano has an alibi of sorts. Unfortunately, it hinges on the capture of an eagle. The two puzzles dovetail nicely, with Hillerman once again fusing mystery with an astute view of contemporary Navajo culture. Readers may notice a few loose ends in the plot this time around, but Hillerman is faithful to the personalities of the characters he's so fully developed over the course of his many books, and relationships between them continue to evolve--some blossoming, and some, sadly, seeming to draw to a close. Through it all runs Hillerman's respect and deep affection for his creations and their community. Stephanie Zvirin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. They very plague that decimated Europe in the fourteenth century lurks today in the high, dry land of the American Southwest. But Navajo Tribal policeman Jim Chee and his mentor, Joe Leaphorn, discover an even deadlier killer stalking the reservation in the most chilling and beautifully crafted novel yet from the beloved and bestselling master of Southwestern suspense. When Acting Lt. Chee catches a Hopi eagle poacher literally red-handed--huddled over the bloody body of a young Navajo Tribal police officer--he has an open-and-shut case. Even the Feds--usually at odds with Chee'agree, and it seems the Hopi is headed for the gas chamber. Until Joe Leaphorn shows up to blow Chee's case wide open. Leaphorn, now retired form the Navajo Tribal Police, has been hired to find Cathy Pollard, a hot-headed biologist who disappeared from the same remote area on the same day the Navajo cop was murdered. Is she a suspect? A victim? And what are Chee and Leaphorn to make of the report that a skinwalker--a Navajo witch--was seen in the same area at the same time? To answer these questions, Leaphorn and Chee must immerse themselves in the enigmatic web of scientists hunting the key to the most virulent form of bubonic plague since the Middle Ages. In addition to its finely wrought plot, The First Eagle offers a wealth of Tony Hillerman's signature gifts--glorious evocations of the high desert, delicately drawn characters, and eloquent insights into the foibles and wisdom of the Southwest's native people. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From The Washington Post The First Eagle displays all the strengths of Hillerman's writing: a vivid sense of place, nuanced characters, and a complex, engrossing plot. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal YA-Acting Lieutenant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is investigating the murder of a fellow officer-apparently committed by a young Hopi poaching eagles for ceremonial purposes. Chee's former mentor, Joe Leaphorn, is now retired and on his first case as a private detective, looking for a missing biologist who has been studying the spread of infectious diseases on the reservation. The men's destinies intersect once more in this case in which clues, like eagles, can only be found and understood by those who belong to the world of the reservation. Hillerman communicates a sense of the great space, beauty, and physical hardship of the desert landscape, and of the character of the people who live there. The mystery is set against a cultural backdrop of conflicts between Navajo and Hopi, Tribal and FBI law enforcement, sheep camp and city Navajo, and government and academic scientists studying disease outbreaks. The solution to the murder mystery comes stunningly into focus once the clues are all present and understood-but sadly (and true to life), the larger question of justice on the reservation, like the fate of the first eagle, is left unresolved. A disturbing but fascinating story. Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From the Inside Flap For acting Lieutenant Jim Chee, the murder of a Navajo Tribal Police officer seems like an open-and-shut case when he discovers a Hopi poacher huddled over the victim's butchered corpse. However, Chee's newly retired predecessor, Joe Leaphorn, believes otherwise. Hired to find a missing biologist who was searching for the key to a virulent hidden plague--and who vanished in the same area and on the same day the policeman was slain--Leaphorn suspects both events are somehow connected. And the reported sighting of a skinwalker--a Navajo witch--has Leaphorn and Chee seeking answers to a deadly riddle in a dark place where superstition and science collide. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From AudioFile Tony Hillerman pleases followers of his Navajo Tribal Police stories by neatly involving both Lt. Jim Chee, now a supervisor, and the "legendary lieutenant" Joe Leaphorn, now retired, in another case. Investigations of the murder of a Navajo policeman and the disappearance of a biologist doing research on plague-carrying fleas preoccupy the law officers. After having narrated 11 of Hillerman's mysteries, Guidall picks up the story like an old friend. His narration is smooth and polished as he eloquently delivers Hillerman's appealing mix of the traditional and modern worlds of the Southwest. This story is particularly slow moving, even for Hillerman, and seems to signal more changes to come in the characters' lives and relationships. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal After a less than successful attempt at writing a detective novel based in Vietnam (Finding Moon, Audio Reviews, LJ 1/96), Hillerman returns to his two unforgettable characters?Navajo tribal police lieutenant Jim Chee and his mentor/partner Joe Leaphorn?who have enchanted mystery lovers and literati through over a dozen novels (e.g., The Fallen Man, Audio Reviews, LJ 3/15/97). Leaphorn, retired a year, takes on a private investigation, searching for the vanished niece of a wealthy and somewhat eccentric woman. Cathy Pollard was, until her disappearance, a medical researcher investigating a terrifying outbreak of bubonic plague. For the uninitiated listener, the complex web of characters and their past relationships can sometimes seem like tuning into the middle of a soap opera. This reviewer found herself playing and replaying sections to get everything straight. But by the third tape, it no longer matters; we know every protagonist and can almost anticipate their actions. George Guidall, reading Hillerman for the first time, gives a delightful performance.?Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New YorkCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Tony Hillerman (1925–2008), an Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident since 1963, was the author of 29 books, including the popular 18-book mystery series featuring Navajo police officers Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, two non-series novels, two children’s books, and nonfiction works. He had received every major honor for mystery fiction; awards ranging from the Navajo Tribal Council's commendation to France 's esteemed Grand prix de litterature policiere. Western Writers of America honored him with the Wister Award for Lifetime achievement in 2008. He served as president of the prestigious Mystery Writers of America, and was honored with that group’s Edgar Award and as one of mystery fiction’s Grand Masters. In 2001, his memoir, Seldom Disappointed, won both the Anthony and Agatha Awards for best nonfiction. George Guidall is one of the foremost narrators in the audiobook industry, having recorded over 500 unabridged books ranging from classics to contemporary bestsellers. He is the recipient of the 1999 Audie Award presented by the Audio Publishers Association for the best narration of unabridged fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly The modern resurgence of the black death animates Hillerman's 14th tale featuring retired widower Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Acting Lieutenant Jim Chee. Bubonic plague has survived for centuries in the prairie-dog villages of the Southwest, where its continuing adaptation to modern antibiotics has increased its potential for mass destruction. Leaphorn is hired by a wealthy Santa Fe woman to search for her granddaughter, biologist Catherine Pollard, who has disappeared during her field work as a "flea catcher," collecting plague-carrying specimens from desert rodents. At the same time, Jim Chee arrests Robert Jano, a young Hopi man and known poacher of eagles, in the bludgeoning death of another Navajo Police officer at a site where the biologist was seen working. As Leaphorn learns more about Pollard's work from her boss in the Indian Health Service and an epidemiologist with ties to a pharmaceutical company, the U.S. Attorney's office decides to seek the death penalty against Jano, who is being represented by Chee's former fiancee, Janet Pete, recently returned from Washington, D.C. Hillerman's trademark melding of Navajo tradition and modern culture is captured with crystal clarity in this tale of an ancient scourge's resurgence in today's world. The uneasy mix of old ways and new is articulated with resonant depth as Chee, an aspiring shaman, is driven to choose between his career and his commitment to the ways of his people, and Leaphorn moves into a deeper friendship with ethnology professor, Louisa Bourebonette. Author tour. (Aug.) FYI: Simultaneous release by HarperAudio in abridged ($25 ISBN 0-694-52011-X) and unabridged ($34.95 ISBN 0-694-52051-9) editions.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Read more