The Sinister Pig - Hardcover

Hillerman, Tony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002005263 ISBN 13: 9780002005265

Publisher: Harper, 2003

Synopsis

Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is troubled by the nameless corpse discovered just inside his jurisdiction, at the edge of the Jicarilla Apache natural gas field. More troubling still is the FBI's insistence that the Bureau take over the case, calling the unidentified victim's death a "hunting accident."

But if a hunter was involved, Chee knows the prey was intentionally human. This belief is shared by the "Legendary Lieutenant" Joe Leaphorn, who once again is pulled out of retirement by the possibility of serious wrongs being committed against the Navajo nation by the Washington bureaucracy. Yet it is former policewoman Bernadette Manuelito, recently relocated to the Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico line, who possibly holds the key to a fiendishly twisted conspiracy of greed, lies, and murder--and whose only hope for survival now rests in the hands of friends too far away for comfort.

About this title

Review

The Sinister Pig, Tony Hillerman's 16th novel to feature Navajo cops Joe Leaphorn and/or Jim Chee, isn't his best book, but it's still a pleasure from the first page to the last. Its plot is almost too complex to summarise, involving the mysterious shooting of an ex-CIA agent, financial shenanigans around oil and gas royalties, disappearing congressional interns, exotic pipeline technology, and the cross-border trade in both drugs and illegal aliens.

Officer Bernadette Manuelito has left the Navajo Tribal Police for the US Customs Service, patrolling the barren borderlands of southern New Mexico. There, her curiosity lands her in a growing peril that provides much of the book's suspense--and invokes the protective instincts of Sergeant Chee, who still hasn't quite been able to tell her how he feels about her.

It's impossible not to care about Hillerman's exquisitely drawn repertory characters, nor to overlook the pleasures of his beautifully crafted and relaxed-seeming prose. In the midst of these virtues are a few warts: several sections are a little flat or awkward, and the villainous plutocrat behind it all is short on plausibility (though lots of fun to hate). But even a lesser Hillerman is still a richer, more satisfying read than most authors' top stuff. --Nicholas H Allison, Amazon.com

About the Author

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0002005263
• ISBN 13: 9780002005265
• Binding: Hardcover