Song of the Lion
Anne Hillerman
2017, 384 pages
Fiction/mystery
Navajo Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito responds to a bombing at the Shiprock High School. Someone has set off a fire bomb and destroyed a car. Bernadette must deal with crowd control and maintaining the crime scene. Her arrogant rookie co-worker and the crowds aren’t making it easy. And then they find the body in the car.
The intended victim may have been the mediator for a proposed huge multimillion-dollar development plan for the Grand Canyon, a man who has made some enemies.
Bernadette and her husband, Jim Chee (also a police officer), work to bring together all of the threads in this complex story. Jim has been assigned to protect the mediator, but the independent man is making Jim’s job nearly impossible. Bernadette also works with her mentor, retired lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, to try to find missing pieces of the puzzle. Someone is trying to pit the tribes of the Hopi and Diné against each other. But there are indications that the murderer’s plan was formed long ago.
Anne Hillerman’s mysteries are rooted in the Southwest, and she includes the customs, rituals and stories from different tribes. The characters are wonderful and there is a definite sense of place. She continues to build on the treasured stories of her father, author Tony Hillerman.
I don’t want to give too much away, but the ending is very exciting! Oh, and in case you were wondering, there just might be a mountain lion involved!
Robbin Bailey Concord Public Library
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