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Talking God
  
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Talking God (Hardcover)

by Tony Hillerman (Author) "Through the doorway which led from her receptionist-secretary's office into her own, Catherine Morris Perry instantly noticed the box on her desk ..." (more)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Hillerman's latest is not quite up to his best standards, but it's still a wonderfully readable, involving mystery. Here he sets Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee in Washington, D.C., as each uses vacation time to follow separate cases that will connect in a clash of violence at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History. Chee has come at the request of Janet Pete, a Navajo lawyer with a case that involves a ceremonial mask of Yeibichai, or Talking God, maternal grandfather of all the other Navajo gods, and a museum curator named Henry Highhawk, who claims Navajo ancestry and wants to be included on tribal rolls. Leaphorn's interest rises from a puzzling homicide case--an unidentified corpse found near Gallup, N.M., with a note mentioning a pending Yeibichai ceremony. Just as Leaphorn's tenacity reveals the dead man was a leftist Chilean terrorist, Highhawk is killed (in a spooky late-night scene in the Museum) and the pivotal role of the Talking God mask comes into play. Leaphorn's grief over the recent death of his wife, Chee's sorrow at the end of an impossible love affair, both men's sense of alienation in the capital city's urban sophistication suffuse this slim, somewhat contrived, tale with palpable melancholy. 150,000 copy first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Mysterious Book Club dual main selection; BOMC and QPBC alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Library Journal

There are three things one can expect from a Hillerman mystery: a story that would make no sense without its rock-solid base of Navaho culture; a tale that moves within the rhythms of real time; and an intricate plot that calls for the particular skills of his two detectives, Jim Chee, shaman and officer of the Navaho Tribal Police, and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, older, slower, and wiser. Talking God has all of these things in a plot that absolutely defies summary. Leaphorn and Chee track different paths for different crimes and both end up in the wilds of Washington, D.C., ostensibly on vacation. Instead of the sweet scent of the Southwest, Hillerman has a good time pitting his detectives against the "City of Navy Blue Suits." Welcome as a returning presence is winsome Navaho attorney Janet Pete, who contributes both to the structure of the mystery and to Chee's emotional disharmony. In 1970, LJ 's reviewer described Hillerman's The Blessing Way as "a mystery with literary value; one you can recommend to people who don't like mysteries." Indeed; enjoy. For more on Hillerman, see "Contributing Factors" in this issue, p. 00.
- Ed. -- GraceAnne A. DeCandido, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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"Through the doorway which led from her receptionist-secretary's office into her own, Catherine Morris Perry instantly noticed the box on her desk." Read the first page
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13 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but too cruel, Feb 25 2003
This review is from: Talking God Mm (Paperback)
I am a great fan of Tony Hillerman's, and I think this book is as well-written as his others. The plotting is good, the characters are well-drawn, and the world he creates seems accurate (I'm a former resident of the DC suburbs). My only problem with the book is that, at times, it becomes too cruel. There's not really any unnecessary violence, or excessive gore. But there are some painful moments.

Even so, it's a Hillerman, which means that it has a solid plot and good character development. Not the best place to start reading the series, perhaps. But worth a look if you like Hillerman.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Leaphorn and Mr. Chee go to Washington, Jan 20 2003
This review is from: Talking God Mm (Paperback)
This is the ninth -- and one of the best -- of the outstanding Navajo Detective series. Hillerman first wrote three books with detective Joe Leaphorn as the hero, then three more featuring Jim Chee, and now he has written three more with both Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as characters.

The first chapter of "Talking God" will hook you immediately. Unlike most Hillerman books, which take place in the broad horizons of the Navajo Reservation, "Talking God" has the slightly amusing spectacle of the two Navajo policeman wandering around Washington D.C. One of them (Leaphorn) is uncomfortably attired in a three piece suit and the other (Chee) wears cowboy boots, blue jeans, bolo tie, and leather jacket -- a bizarre apparition indeed among the paper warriors of the governing tribe.

The novel features a look at Navajo ceremonials, a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Smithsonian, some insights into the bones-and-stones argument between anthropologists and Indians, a villainous villain, lots of good old fashioned murder and mayhem, a bit of international intrigue, and a riproaring climax as the two Navajos solve the mystery while the FBI, as usual, stands around in a fog.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Start Here (If You've Never Read Hillerman, That Is), Sep 11 2002
This review is from: Talking God Mm (Paperback)
Hillerman has carved out his own niche in the American mystery genre, that of the Southwestern Navajo reservation, and it is one I return to again and again with the confidence of receiving pleasure and edification (Hillerman, not an American Indian himself, nevertheless qualifies as a world class expert on the ways and folklore of these people and he renders them beautifully and cogently for his readers). He is no literary mystery novelist on the order of a James Lee Burke or P.D. James or Joseph Hansen, but he is a more than solid storyteller who creates a world unlike that most of us have ever visited. He has his weaknesses - stilted dialogue and often one dimensional characterizations - but they are more than compensated for by Hillerman's uncanny sense of place and pace.

With that said, let me warn you not to start with TALKING GOD if you have never read Hillerman, first of all because he uproots his famed protagonists Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee from their normal bailiwick and transplants them in Washington, D.C., as they attempt to unravel more than one mystery that all seem to lead back to Indian burial rituals and illegally unearthed remains and conflict with foreign governments. It's a good book, solid and compelling for the most part and it features a truly frightening villain, maybe Hillerman's best bad guy up to that point, but we miss the "Res" and the natural mystery of its landscape and the wonderful way Hillerman makes it come alive.

So wait on this one and start with DANCE HALL OF THE DEAD or THE BLESSING WAY. TALKING GOD will come as a later treat once you have properly acquainted yourself with the mystery and magic of Hillerman's peculiar world.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Same Old Stuff
This is just more of the same old stuff. I've read several of Hillerman's past books, but it's been a while and I had hoped that things may have improved, but it's not so. Read more
Published on April 23 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book!!
This book was one of the best mysteries I've ever read! Hillerman is a great author, and this book would have to be one of his best. Read more
Published on Sep 3 2001 by Thomas Ginn

5.0 out of 5 stars Talking G-d Will Leave You Talking
This book will keep you reading through the night, as two police officers join together to solve an international crisis before it erupts. Read more
Published on Jan 8 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaphorn and Chee triumph again!
In this, the ninth Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee mystery, Tony Hillerman moves some of his action outside his favored Navajo nation to the streets and museums of Washington DC. Read more
Published on Nov 1 2000 by Billy J. Hobbs

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting mystery
If you are a fan of Lt. Leaphorn and Detective Chee you will enjoy this story. When reading Hillerman's books, I look forward to learning more about the beautiful land and... Read more
Published on Sep 9 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars This book accurately depicts geographical Navajoland.
For five years I lived in the area depicted by Mr.Hellerman, and found that his descriptions of the Navajo reservation land were so accurate that, in my mind, I could re-drive... Read more
Published on Jun 23 1999 by mss@ualberta.ca

3.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery.
This is a very good mystery, even if it is a little slow moving. It is really cool the way the bad guy kills the other guy. Read more
Published on Feb 23 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars It was a creative plot with some poor writting techniques
It was ok but I liked some of his other books better.
Published on Jun 6 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars A Clever Use of Multiple Story Lines
Only recently have I discovered Tony Hillerman's series dealing with Navajo Tribal Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Read more
Published on Feb 14 1998

1.0 out of 5 stars don't like the ending of the book
The ending are too obvious because every bad guy turned out to get caught by the good guy. I think the author should make it more realistic. Read more
Published on Nov 5 1997

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