A Thief of Time

Topping even his highly praised The Blessing Way and Skinwalkers, Hillerman's new novel seamlessly unites drama, pathos and naturally humorous incidents in the continuing story of Navajo life set in the American Southwest. Tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee head a big and skillfully realized cast involved in the disappearance of anthropologist Eleanor Friedman-Bernal. Near Dr. Friedman-Bernal's secret dig, Chee finds the bodies of men who have been stealing the Anasazi cultural relics the anthropologist is dedicated to protecting. Leaphorn makes his way to this dangerous, almost inaccessible site after consulting with Chee and questioning the missing woman's friends, Maxie Davis and her colleague, Randall Elliott. They are also, the detective feels, prickly scientific rivals, a factor that deepens the mystery as does each step on the trail that ends when Leaphorn's mission seems accomplished in an eerie meeting with a mad hermit. But there is a twist in circumstances so suspenseful it stops the reader's breath. Once more, Hillerman's artistry ensures that his latest cannot be easily classified as murder mystery or thrilleror anything except a fine novel. 75,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo, BOMC, QPBC, Detective Book Club and Mysterious Book Club alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

YA-- Hillerman's fans have another hit to celebrate, another surprising mysterious adventure. It may be a toss-up as to what draws them most strongly: varied, detailed, and fascinating revelations of contemporary culture; or compelling, complex, and original murder mysteries. Against the backdrop of the puzzle of the long-ago vanished Anasazi people, a complex mystery emerges in which Anglo culture and values pull against those of the Navajo, resulting in a bizarre series of murders solved by the Navajo Tribal Police. Fast, literate, absorbing reading with unique settings and characters, this title is for lovers of adventure as well as mystery.
- Annette Demeritt, Houston Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.