I read Anne Hillerman's latest Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito novel, The Tale Teller (#829) while on vacation in the Southwest. The vast expanses, unique rock formations and emptiness of the landscape there made me feel I was in the middle of Manuelito and Chee's world, right down to driving past a Tribal Courthouse.
In The Tale Teller, Manuelito stumbles across a body while out jogging in a popular park. The fact that the body's hands are bound makes it certain that this was no natural death. Chee is off in Chinle, helping their Navajo Police with a rash of burglaries targeting the elderly, so he can't help his wife with this crime.
In the meantime, a retired Leaphorn is pulled into investigating an anonymous museum donation for his friend Louisa. A valuable Navajo textile and a unique bracelet, both listed on the donation invoice, are missing from the mailed package. How can the donor be traced to ascertain whether the items in question ever made it into the box? No pressure, but the museum director is anxious to clear things up before she retires in a week. When her young assistant unexpectedly dies, matters are made even more complicated.
Though seemingly on different cases, the threads of this mystery pull Chee, Manuelito and Leaphorn ever closer to the central plot.
I love this series because of the glimpses it gives of a unique culture and place; enough so that it feels familiar when you actually encounter it. What could be better?
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