Customer Reviews

The First Eagle

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thought that the book was very boring and was really uninteresting. It started out o.k. I guess but after that it just started to drag on and wasn't interesting at all. I wouldn't recommend this book if you are looking for an exciting mystery, this isn't the book for you.

"The First Eagle", by Tony Hillerman, Audio Cassette version read by George Guidall, Harper Audio, 1998.

Another good Jim Chee/ Lt. Leaphorn mystery, well done and very easy to read. I was steered to this book by checking library listings on the Black Plague and other airborne illness, after I had read "The Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis. The so-called hanta virus had affected, in particular, the Navaho Nation in the American Southwest. The disease, spread by the droppings of small mice and other rodents, provided an opportunity for a cottage industry to grow up in the Southwest where many aspiring Ph.D. students were attempting to make a name for themselves.

In the midst of all this, Acting Lt. Jim Chee charges a Hopi Indian, caught while poaching eagles, with the murder of a Navaho Tribal Policeman. The Hopi was arrested red handed, literally!, and Jim Chee believes that he has an open and shut case. But, Chee's once and future fiancée, Janet Pete, returns from Washington, DC, as public defender, and, you guessed it, she is assigned to defend the Hopi

The plot is twisted and involved enough, when retired Lt. Leaphorn is hired as a "private investigator" to look into the disappearance of Cathy Pollard, a researcher, who vanished on the same day the Navajo policeman was killed. Both Chee and Leaphorn are then immersed in the academic scene as they seek to sought out the involved relationships of prairie dog colonies, fleas, the Black Plague, the disappearance of Ms. Pollard, and the deaths of some Indians from the plague. Hillerman continues to develop the characters of Leaphorn and Chee. For example, there is a poignant scene in the hospital, where Leaphorn's memories of watching his wife, Emma, being wheeled away on a gurney, never to be seen alive again, are described. Leaphorn's life as a widower, also shows up now and then, as in the shower scene in the motel and, later, when he is enjoying eating another person's cooking in the restaurant.

I have come to identify George Guidall's voice with Lt. Leaphorn, and, if I ever meet Tony Hillerman in person, I would expect him to sound like Mr. Guidall. Guidall does an excellent job of developing distinct vocal identities for each character, and his portrayal of FBI agents who have been hoodwinked by the "not-so-stupid" Tribal Policeman Lt Chee, is very appropriate. I enjoyed Guidall's reading of "The First Eagle" as I drove Interstate 495 around Boston. Hillerman has another winner.

Read the early ones -- "Blessing Way" and so forth. They are wonderful -- funny, suspenseful, warm, and very visual -- with interesting depictions of Navajo life.

The later ones attempt to deal with Big Issues and have somehow lost most of the warmth, humor, team interaction amongst the police -- and the local and cultural color.

...and this is definitely not one to read when eating!

By the time of "The First Eagle," Lt. Joe Leaphorn has become Mr. Leaphorn and Jim Chee is acting lieutenant of the Navajo police. But some things have not changed. Murder is still a problem on the reservation as is bubonic plague, carried by fleas from rodents, especially prairie dogs. The plague has brought investigators from different labs hoping to gain knoweldge of how the new, resistant strain can be combated.

The police investigation begins when one of their own, Officer Kinsman, is killed by a Hopi poaching eagles on the reservation. Chee catches the man red-handed (with blood) and arrests him. Meanwhile, Leaphorn has been asked to try and find Catherine Pollard, a young biologist who has been working for the health service on the plague problem. As the separate investigations progress, their paths begin to converge.

To complicate matters, Chee is surprised and guardedly optimistic to find his one-time fiance has returned from Washington, and she is working with the public defenders office and will be defending the Hopi. He agonizes over whether her feelings have changed and is noncomittal when the prosecutor and FBI agents ask about his relationship with her.

Much hinges on whether there were one or two eagles captured by the Hopi, and what has happened to the missing health services investigator. Is she alive? Did she kill Kinsman? Or is the Hopi guilty after all?

This is another of Hillerman's good, simple mysteries involving two of the favorite policemen in the southwest. Readers of Hillerman's mysteries might also enjoy those written by Dick Francis. Although taking place in England, for the most part, they are as clearly written and have heroes of the same caliber.

Because this is my first access to Tony Hillerman I can tell you of the worth of this story without having to compare to earlier works. This was a recording Preformed by George Guidall.

I was going for the story. That is why I buy book. However I understand that many people buy Hillerman for the ambiance. I found enough supporting information to make this story stand alone with out having to have a broad background from earlier books. I found the mystery well designed and the characters well rounded.

I have traveled in the locations mentioned in the book. However I only recognize a few of the place names. Probably if I was more familiar with the people of that regain I would have picked up on other things implied and described. I did however recognize the San Francisco Mountains and Shiprock. The big recognition shocker was the reference to the Navaho Taco. Last time I was at Mesa Verde they were five dollars.

In the audio edition the story is narrated by George Guidall. George almost sounds like Tony himself and adds a hand-me down story telling dimension to the novel.

This book stands alone and if you have not already makes you want to start the series.

Tony Hillerman has been writing detective novels about Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, Navajo policemen who fight crime on the reservation and deal with things that are often wrapped up in tribal justice, and sometimes possibly supernatural things, too. Each of these stories is strong, in its own way. This one is standard, middle-of-the-road Hillerman, with the difference that there's no supernatural element to the story.

Instead, we get a short crash course in infectious diseases, including the bubonic plague and hantavirus, among others. A Navajo dies of plague, and a Navajo policeman is murdered, apparently by a Hopi who's poaching eagles on the Navajo reservation. Chee (now an acting Lieutenant in the Navajo tribal police) catches the poacher leaning over the dead cop, makes the expected deduction, and arrests him. Things heat up a bit when he discovers that his old flame, Janet Pete, is back from Washington and coincidentally acting as the poacher's defense attorney.

I like Tony Hillerman, and I liked this book. It did lack some of the atmosphere of some of his earlier novel, as there isn't much of the tribal mysticism that made other books so interesting, but it is a good story and fun.

"First Eagle" is another great Tony Hillerman novel. I think this one deserves extra praise due to the continuing character development Hillerman provides us with. Joe Leaporn is still as "classic" as ever, but is starting to show another side especially as a civilian. Chee is starting to live up to his ancestral name by picking up more of Leaphorn's techniques. Some of the smaller characters are also being developed, not abandoned like some many authors do. The only character I dislike and do not see any development with his Janet Pete. The Black Plague part of the story is interesting and realistic. I remember driving through this area in the early 90s when this was hot subject.

Also, if you have never tried an audiobook before, try one where George Guidall is the speaker. I read the first few Hillerman books and then discovered the audiobook version. After listening to dozens of audiobooks, there is no doubt that George Guidall is the best male speaker I have heard. He does an unbelievable job with both the Leaphorn and Chee characters. He also has done the entire Patrick Robison submarine series which is worth looking at.

One last note, I had the opportunity this summer to visit Tuba City. It is really great when you can tie the Hillerman books to the geographic locations he discusses in his books.

Acting Lieutenant Jim Chee believes he has an open and shut murder case when he catches a known poacher standing over the dying body of a fellow policeman. What he doesn't know is that his former boss, the now-retired Joe Leaphorn, has been hired by an elderly woman to locate her missing niece, a specialist in infectious diseases who went missing on the same day and in the same area as the murder. Are the two instances related? Does this have anything to do with the death, from bubonic plague, of an Indian man? As leads narrow and evidence (or lack of it) accumulates, Chee and Leaphorn come together once again to solve another baffling case. Hillerman's greatest attribute seems to be his ability to make the Southwest come alive. As much as the characters, the terrain and landscape seem to dictate the tone and feel of the story. The Navajo reservation, with its sacred mountains and endless skies, provides most of the backdrop for the tale. After producing numerous books featuring the Chee and Leaphorn characters, Hillerman writes them as if they were his oldest friends, with a familiarity and ease that make the reader instantly get a sense of who they are and how they think and feel. Chee and Leaphorn go back a long way, and their relationship is as much father-son as anything else. The supporting characters are better than one would expect, though their development is minimal. Some of them seem to have been around for other books, so long-time readers may be more familiar with them than newcomers, but Hillerman works hard to make sure that the reader becomes acquainted with each one. Most interesting are the relationships between Chee and Leaphorn and their would-be or past love interests, who crop up in the story. Violence is minimal, as is rough language. No sexual content to speak of. Hillerman's familiarity with Navajo and Hopi traditions make for some good background material, and do help explain the motivations and beliefs of many of the characters-and play a part in the eventual resolution. The book unfolds at a leisurely pace, with occasional bursts of energy. There are a few plot holes, and the ultimate fate of the culprit is left hanging (though there is some irony in what does happen to him/her).

another Hillerman novel. This was an interesting story, but didn't provide the typical "Hillerman" narrative about the traditions of the native Indians. But, if you're a true fan, you'll probably enjoy it and hope for another like the first.

Not only the mystery was interesting, but the characters of Chee and Leaphorn really came alive. Am looking forward to the next one to pickup the story on these two men.