ISBN: 1-55690-194-1 Order from: Recorded Books
A steady, lyrical narration is a suitable foundation for this occasionally dragging mystery plot contrasting the Navajo country with the white civilization.
Reviewed by David on June 16, 2001
Genre: Mystery (Police Procedural, Amerind)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of The Ghostway.
A shootout between two crooks in the Navajo Tribal Police jurisdiction leaves one man dead, and one injured, fleeing into the stark canyon country. Sergeant Jim Chee of the NTP is trying to unravel the mystery. Soon a Navajo burial with some irregularities, a memory of a snapshot, and a missing teenage girl add to the confusion.
Jim Chee has to investigate a band of criminals stretching to Los Angelos—while being hampered by the FBI, and burdened by the conflict between his Navajo culture and his modern education.
Full Review: Hillerman's style suits well the spare and beautiful world of dry, rocky canyons and mesas that's always present in his stories. His protagonist, Chee, is a thoughtful, understated vehicle for the plot. To illustrate, one of his most common responses in a dialogue is "Chee said nothing."
The character is impressive in his investigative skills not by flashes of intuition, but by slow, careful sifting of clues, evidence and possible explanations, which eventually leads Chee to the "only possible explanation." Chee is not very good at the rare violent scenes, which is appropriate for the solitary, persistent, and not very aggressive character, but occasionally frustrating.
Chee's reflective nature, in this case burdened with hard decision about his future and considering the differences between his Navajo way of life and the teeming Los Angelos civilization, provides suitable intermissions without overwhelming angst.
One of the best parts of mystery plots is discovering the truth at the same pace as the fictional investigator, avoiding both unsupported inspiration which leaves the reader shaking his head, or the appearance of slow denseness on the part of the character,
In this case, the solution occurred to the reader before Chee, which is somewhat disappointing.
The naration in this audio recording is very well suited to the plot, and the sharply pictured world, and solid, believable characters combine in an enjoyable mystery.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 6.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1984, Recorded Books, 1990, Audio cassette, 5 cassettes
ISBN: 1-55690-194-1 Order from: Recorded Books