Spider Woman's Daughter (Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito Series #1)

by Anne Hillerman

Overview

Legendary tribal sleuths Leaphorn and Chee are back!

The supremely talented daughter of New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman continues his popular series with this fresh, new mystery—her debut novel—filled with captivating lore, startling suspense, bold new characters, vivid color, and rich atmosphere.

It happened in an instant: After a breakfast with colleagues, Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito sees a sedan career into the parking lot and hears a crack of gunfire. When the dust clears, someone very close to her is lying on the asphalt in a pool of blood.

With the victim in the hospital fighting for his life, every person in the squad and the local FBI office is hell-bent on catching the gunman. Bernie, too, wants in on the investigation, despite regulations strictly forbidding eyewitness involvement. Her superior may have ordered her to take some leave, but that doesn't mean she's going to sit idly by, especially when her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, is put in charge of finding the shooter.

Pooling their skills, Bernie and Chee discover that a cold case involving Chee's former boss and partner, retired lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, may hold the key to the shooting. Digging into the old investigation with discriminating eyes and a fervent urgency, husband and wife find themselves inching closer to the truth with every clue . . . and closer to a killer who will do anything to prevent justice from taking its course.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062270504
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Series:	Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito Series , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	624
File size:	697 KB

About the Author

Anne Hillerman is an award-winning reporter, the author of several nonfiction books and the New York Times bestselling novel Spider Woman's Daughter, and the daughter of New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

Tony Hillerman's 18 mysteries followed the investigations of Navajo cops Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Fans mourned when Hillerman died in 2008. Now the late author's beloved characters return in this series relaunch by his daughter, Anne. The book opens with an act of unexpected violence against a dear friend, witnessed by police officer Bernadette Manualito. She and her husband, Jim Chee, begin to piece together clues and determine who would commit this crime, even questioning the motives of the unaccounted-for Louisa Bourbonnette, Leaphorn's friend and housemate. Interspersed throughout the tale, yet important to character development and emphasizing the role of Navajo culture and beliefs (a highlight of the previous series), are vignettes of Bernadette's troubled sister and Jim's past studies to become a Navajo healer and descriptions of Navajo creation stories. Characters from 1988's Thief of Time play a dominant role in the unfolding of the plot. Pot hunters, archaeologists, controversy over the museum display of tribal objects, and insurance fraud culminate in a heart-stopping, action-packed conclusion as Bernadette and Jim risk their lives to bring a would-be assassin to justice. VERDICT Fans of Southwestern mysteries will cheer this return of Leaphorn and Chee. [See Prepub Alert, 4/29/13; also highlighted at LJ's Day of Dialog Editors' Picks panel.—Ed.]—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

Library Journal

In her first novel, reporter Hillerman successfully revives Navajo policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, last seen in The Shape Shifter (2006), the final book from her father, MWA Grand Master Tony Hillerman (1925–2008). Officer Bernadette Manuelito, who married Chee in 2004’s Skeleton Man, sees a gunman shoot Leaphorn in a restaurant parking lot, but isn’t close enough to stop the shooter from driving off. With Leaphorn comatose, Chee is named head investigator, while Manuelito is officially removed from the case because she’s a witness. Leaphorn’s current job evaluating a collection that the American Indian Resource Center is acquiring may provide a clue to his attacker. The much used getaway car and the odd disappearance of Leaphorn’s anthropologist lady friend, Louisa Bourebonette, may offer other clues. Chee may lead, but Manuelito forcefully injects herself into the case as a desperate killer threatens to strike again. Like her father, Hillerman has a gift for combining history and mystery. Agent: Elizabeth Trupin-Pulli, JET Literary Associates. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Spider Woman’s Daughter is an intricately plotted, suspenseful, colorful, and unforgettable journey. Readers will fall in love with Bernie Manuelito and look forward to Anne Hillerman’s next effort in what should be a long, enjoyable, successful series. Her depiction of the Navajo Nation is spot on. I loved this book.

Jo-Ann Mapson

Chip off the literary block-there are a lot of things Tony taught is daughter, Anne, and one of them was how to tell a good story. Spider Woman’s Daughter is a proud addition to the legacy, capturing the beauty and breath of the Southwest as only a Hillerman can.

Craig Johnson

Difficult to put down...If you love mysteries, this book is for you.

Examiner.com on SPIDER WOMAN'S DAUGHTER

A daughter takes on her famous father's legacy in resuming a series focused on Navajo culture. Bernadette Manuelito is at the helm of a mystery that involves all of Shiprock's Navajo Tribal Police force when one of her longtime colleagues is gunned down after a breakfast with co-workers. Bernie is on hand when a hooded figure shoots her colleague, Lt. Joe Leaphorn, and she'll do anything it takes to find his assailant while his life hangs in the balance. Unfortunately, as witness to the crime, Bernie is forced to take a back seat in the case. Luckily, her husband, Sgt Jim Chee, is leading the inquiry, so she's still a party to insider information. In the time she has open from investigating, Bernie connects with the American Indian Resource Center, trying to finish a job Joe had contracted to help with. The AIRC houses an unbelievable collection of Indian art and artifacts, and Bernie soon finds herself drawn not only to the beauty of what she sees, but also to the connections of the staff to Jim's and Joe's pasts. At the same time, she's forced to shift some attention to her little sister Darleen's care of their mother when it becomes apparent that Darleen's drinking is affecting her caretaking abilities. With big shoes to fill, Hillerman does her best to copy the style of her father Tony's beloved series (The Shape Shifter, 2006, etc.), maintaining the integrity of Navajo culture throughout. Fans will spot the guilty party a mile off.

Kirkus Reviews