The Shape Shifter

by Tony Hillerman

2006

Status

Available

Publication

Harper Collins (2007), 322 pages

Description

Retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is called upon once again to solve a crime. This time it's Joe's last case, a case that remains unsolved and contines to haunt him.

User reviews

LibraryThing member eduscapes
I've read all of Hillerman's mysteries. Unfortunately, the last few books have been less and less interesting. This one was filled with dialog and lacking in action.
LibraryThing member PatriciaUttaro
I said this about his last effort, too -- Hillerman needs to find new material. He needs to let go of Joe Leaphorn and focus more on the characters of Jim and Bernie Chee. Leaphorn is tired and dull, and so is Shape Shifter. Very disappointing.
LibraryThing member effacina
you always get a decent "mysery" from Hillerman but that is just the excuse to spend some time with Leaphorn and/or Chee. As an amateur cultural anthropologist, I have several books on Native American culture which fail to enlighten. I have learned more from Hillerman's "novels". While Shape
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shifter did not add much to my understanding of Navajo beliefs, it did remind me how the human psyche plays out the same numistic themes across various cultures by the lovely comparison with the Hmong belief system. I can't rate this among his best work but it was readable and better than the telly.
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LibraryThing member volvomom
I just read this on vacation, but was pretty sure I gave it a quick read before. It was a good vacation novel, but didn't give me the same suspense and history that other Hillerman novels have.
LibraryThing member trickbooks
A folksy performance by the narrator as well as aspects of the story that strain credibility prove very distracting. Overall, however, the story is sufficiently interesting to make this a worthwhile listen.
LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
The latest Joe Leaphorn mystery from Tony Hillerman finds the legendary police lieutenant in restless retirement. Into that retirement comes hints of a legendary rug, supposedly burned in a fire years before, where an elusive murderer on the FBI's most wanted list died.

The rug tells the tale of the
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Long Walk, and was cursed by the shamans because it embodied all the anger and sorrow and hatred of that time, and was out of balance with the Navajo way. And if you recall the earlier novel "Skinwalker" you know that a shape-shifter is another name for the Navajo witches that commit the worst evils and are the hardest to stop.

Of course, the rug and the murders and the fire remind Leaphorn that they interrupted one of his very first unfinished cases, two missing buckets of pinion sap. So, in his boredom he sets out to question a cadre of fellow retired or nearly retired police officers to scratch the itch and stave off the boredom of retirement.

The story that unfolds is a compelling and interesting one. Unfortunately it is also about 75 pages too long. By about 1/2 way through I had a pretty good idea what the answer to the mystery was, and by 2/3 of the way through I was sure. Unfortunately Leaphorn seemed to catch on much more slowly. I was also frustrated by stupid and recklessly dangerous things the Legendary Lieutenant did, belying his past history and an incisive and careful thinker.

I was also frustrated by a number of problems with the writing itself. At several points one of the characters won't be able to remember some piece of information, and then a few pages later recalls it clearly. These are even memory lapses in service of the plot - it just seems as though Hillerman forgot that they forgot. At other points there are inexplicable leaps in time and place, such as when Leaphorn is driving, talking to another character about where they are going, how they will get there, and clearly indicating that they are still quite some distance and time from their destination. Literally two sentences later in in the same conversation, they arrive.

I love Tony Hillerman's mysteries, but I wish he'd be a bit more careful editing them, so that inconsistencies don't jar you out of the story. And I wish he'd let Leaphorn finally retire and Jim Chee take on the mantle of detective.
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LibraryThing member co_coyote
This is a typical Tony Hillerman mystery novel. Nothing special. A great way to make the time go by on an airline flight. Hillerman specializes in writing about the Navajo Indian culture of northern Arizona and New Mexico. Most of his stories involve characters working for the Navajo Tribal Police.
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This story is about Joe Leaphorn, who is now retired, but still looking into interesting old cases. I've read all of the Hillerman books, so the characters are like old friends to me now. Even if the story isn't his best, it's fun to keep up with old friends.
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LibraryThing member EssFair
The center of this story is a man with a double life. Leaphorn gradually uncovers this life and the trail of bodies that are part of it. Leaphorn almost dies in the denouement but manages to survive with the help of an ex-con and a bad-guy who he is able to turn.
LibraryThing member atheist_goat
Hillerman's mysteries were never great literature, and they're getting almost silly by now, but it's still comfort reading for me like little else.
LibraryThing member wdwilson3
A predictable mystery with a large dose of Navajo lore. Hillerman often seems to dispense cultural anthropology a bit pointlessly. While it’s interesting, you later realize that it has darn little to do with the story itself. In this volume, we have a really, really bad guy who is the only
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suspect from the outset, and the only question is how to bring in a man so bad that he leaves no witnesses. The answer, of course, is to have the legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn approach him only half prepared and without backup. Very lucky, Joe.
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LibraryThing member devenish
Joe Leaphorn has retired from the Navajo Tribal Police. However he has one unsolved case that he still wants to tie-up and solve.This involves a ruthless killer who it seems can change his whole character and reappear in a new one at will,a Shape-Shifter in effect. A rare and unusual rug and two
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buckets of pinyon sap are also important aspects of this case.
Leaphorn has to make some of the most important decisions of his life before his investigation comes to an end.
As I understand it,this is the last book that Tony Hillerman wrote before he died,and he certainly went out on a high note.
I have enjoyed all of his books,but none more than this one.
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LibraryThing member clark.hallman
Well, Pat and I were relieved that our suspicion that Skeleton Man (2004) was the end of the series was not true. I really enjoyed this Joe Leaphorn novel by Tony Hillerman. In fact it may be my favorite Hillerman book and certainly is one of my favorites. Joe Leaphorn is now retired the Jim Chee
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and Bernie Manuelito have just returned from their honeymoon. Leaphorn receives a letter from a police officer he had worked a case with long ago when he was a new law officer. In the envelope is page from Luxury Living magazine containing a photograph of a tale-teller rug hanging on the wall of a fashionable home in Flagstaff. The rug appears to be a rug that had supposedly been burned in a fire at Totter's Trading Post that also killed one of the FBI's most wanted criminals at the time. Leaphorn's friend decides to check out the house where the rug was photographed and goes missing. Leaphorn also visits the house while trying to find his friend, and becomes involved with a very dangerous man (Jason Delos) and his Hmong servant (Tommy Vang). This story is all Leaphorn and it reveals him in a more personal way than do the other Leaphorn novels.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
There is a huge problem with internal chronology with this novel which is hard to read around - in this novel Leaphorn has only been retired for just a little while which would set this story back around the time of the 12th novel. BUT Chee & Bernie have just gotten married, which makes this a
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logical follow up to number 17. However, if you can put a little editor on your shoulder and adjust all the places where Leaphorn talks about just being retired, the rest of the novel is pretty good. The mystery revolves around a cold case that gets warmed up when the right person (Leaphorn) runs into a random situation that rings a bell. Since Mr. Hillerman has passed away, this is the last of the series, and I have to say that I will miss Leaphorn and Chee.
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LibraryThing member KApplebaum
Not Hillerman's best book, but still an entertaining read.
LibraryThing member andyray
Other than the interweaving of Navaho mythology, the plotting is weak, without interest, and is qhat one would expect for a novel written near the author's death and the umpteenth number of the Joe Leaphorn series.;
LibraryThing member Saisquoi
While I enjoyed the ending of this book and the linking of a criminal with various identities to shape-shifters in Navajo folklore, the book never really grabbed me. I wanted to like it...but found it to be kind of a "meh" story.

The book involves retired Navajo tribal police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn
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in a puzzle involving missing colleagues, a famous woven rug, and a pair of crimes he investigated long ago. As I said, the tale itself is not bad, but it meanders more than I generally like in a pulp mystery novel.

This is my first Tony Hillerman book. I wonder if it would be more meaningful or more enjoyable if I read some of his earlier works. Who knows?
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LibraryThing member jrtanworth
Still contains some of the Hillerman spark but this book is not up to par for the series. There is too much talk about Navajo mythology and Leaphorn figures out the mystery very early in the book.
LibraryThing member leestayton
as always a great read
LibraryThing member Carl_Alves
In Shape Shifter, Lieutenant Joe Leephorn is recently retired and following up on a cold case of his. A friend of his had been murdered following up on the lead which Leephorn has now undertaken. The novel is a bit slow moving at times. Towards the end of the book, it became more interesting. The
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weaving in of Navajo culture worked well. There was nothing terribly wrong with the book, but there was also nothing that really stood out as well.
the Shape Shifter is a solid, but unspectacular read.
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity
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LibraryThing member ritaer
Joe Leaphorn is retired, and getting bored, when a former colleague asks his advice on a case. The case is long and convoluted, involving a long ago trading post fire, a serial killer who was believed to have died in the fire, a Hmong man brought to the US by a renegade CIA officer and two buckets
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of pinon pine sap stolen from a Navaho weaver. The identity of the killer becomes obvious some time before the climax, but the exposition and the descriptions of the landscapes, people and Navaho legend are intriguing.

I did however, wonder why Leaphorn would keep questioning why he is pursuing the case after it becomes clear that the suspect had killed his detective acquaintance and tried to kill him. Even if tying the man to the long ago murders would have been impossible, the recent deaths would surely have been taken to trial.
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LibraryThing member pussreboots
The Shape Shifter is the last of the Navajo mysteries written by by Tony Hillerman. His daughter is now restarting the series — the first of the new books being Spider Woman's Daughter in which Bernie Manuelito (now Mrs. Chee) will play a greater role.

My one complaint with Hillerman's novels is
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the sheer number of times witches / skinwalkers / shape shifters are initially blamed for a crime. Usually it's only taken as a piece of rumor, but it's still rather tedious.

Now while the Chees are enjoying being newlyweds, Leaphorn, retired, takes on a curious case involving a rug with ties to the Long Walk. The rug (rumored to possibly be cursed) surfaces in a magazine spread years after it was presumed lost to fire.

Tied up with the rug is the shape shifter in question. Here it's not a Navajo witch, but identity theft. Leaphorn uses the traditional stories to rationalize the thought process behind the crime.

When I first read the book it felt like a winding-up of the series. To me, Leaphorn felt like Hillerman's authorial stand-in. Although Hillerman wasn't a Navajo, I think he was of the same generation as Leaphorn. I think the future books, by Hillerman's daughter, it would be fitting to say a quiet goodbye to Leaphorn and let Jim and Bernie take center stage. I also have to wonder if Bernie will be Anne Hillerman's authorial stand in.
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LibraryThing member MorrisE.Graham
This was one of my favorite books. True, it seems that the bad guy was pointed out early and there wasn't much to wonder about. What I liked the most was the history and cultural similarities between the Hmong and Navajos, and how LT Leaphorn and Tommy hit is off, There was the usual history lesson
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about the Navajos, focusing on the Long Walk from Bosque Redondo, and a "Woven Sorrow" rug, supposedly burned in a gallery fire but winds up in a magazine photo. The "Shapeshifter" is actually a criminal who seems to continually be reinventing himself. One of the most evil antagonists Leaphorn has faced
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LibraryThing member antiquary
One of the later ones in the series --Joe Leaphorn is retired, Jim CHee is happily married to Bernie Manuelito (ending some very frustrating earlier romances); Chee is led nback to an unsolved case involving a really nasty villain
LibraryThing member kimberwolf
The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman
4 ½ stars
Joe Leaphorn, now retired from the tribal police, is restless in his retirement and isn’t ready to let go of the world of crime-solving. He receives a page from a recent glossy magazine in the mail, sent by a fellow former policeman named Mel Bork,
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which shows the interior of a fancy home, including a rare rug hanging on the wall, a rug that Leaphorn had believed to be destroyed. Mel and Leaphorn had discussed the cold case in which the rug had been destroyed in a fire at a trading post. Mel—now a private investigator—has decided to do some research on the old case and try to find out more about the rug pictured in the magazine.

Leaphorn calls Mel after receiving the photo and learns from Mel’s distressed wife that he has been missing for a couple of days, and that he’d received a threatening phone message telling him to leave the old case alone. Leaphorn decides to investigate. The original cold case revolves around the death of an FBI most-wanted criminal, Ray Shewnack, who burned to ashes in a fire at a local trading post, along with a very rare hand-made rug called the Woven Sorrow Rug, which was hanging in a case on the wall at the trading post. The rug would have been nearly impossible to duplicate because it was woven in part during the forced march of the Navajo people in the 1860s from their reservation in Arizona into eastern New Mexico, and it incorporated bits of root and feathers, along with dyes made from plants along the route. The rug was also rare because it was a representation of sorrow and greed, not things the Navajo people normally accentuated in their crafts and art. Some people thought the rug was cursed.

As Leaphorn retraces missing Mel’s path, we’re introduced to potential suspects in the cold case in which Shewnack died, and we learn the story of the manipulative Shewnack, who double-crossed his accomplices in an even earlier case, a robbery and double-homicide, which landed all of his accomplices in jail while he went free. The cold case becomes hot again as more tragic crimes occur in present day and the truth is revealed.

This is the 18th and final book in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series by Hillerman, published in 2006, two years before his death. We catch just a glimpse of Jim Chee in this book, as Leaphorn visits Jim and Bernadette, both tribal officers who are newlyweds and have just returned from their honeymoon. I thought it was interesting that the rug was called a “story-telling rug” and that Leaphorn is also “story-telling” as he unfolds the story of this case (or a version of it that won’t get them in trouble) for Jim and Bernadette.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read any of Hillerman’s mysteries—I read many of them when I was in my 20s and then moved away from mysteries in general and started reading other types of fiction and a lot more in the fantasy genre. But I still love his writing style, which is very clean and calm and straightforward. I also enjoy reading about the Navajo culture, history, and mythology, which Hillerman weaves in to his stories so well. I’m tempted now to go back and read the earlier books again, and whatever ones I may have missed along the way.
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LibraryThing member rosalita
And so we come to the end of the road for the Leaphorn/Chee reading adventure. This is the last book written by the original author, and while I've heard good reviews of the series continuation by his daughter Anne, I don't intend to continue reading after this. So you can imagine how happy I am
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that this final book went such a long way toward restoring all of my original good feelings about the series.

The main reason, of course, is that it is entirely focused on Joe Leaphorn, the now-retired Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant on whom Hillerman first focused the series. The case, involving an ancient Navajo rug depicting the tragedies inflicted upon the tribe during its forced relocation known as The Long Walk, has callbacks to a case that Leaphorn worked when he was a brand-new policeman, many years ago. In the original investigation, the rug was thought to have burned in an arson fire. But when a photo of a rug that looks identical shows up in a glossy lifestyle magazine in Falstaff, one of Leaphorn's former colleagues ropes him in to investigate.

Leaphorn is very nearly his old self here, barring the incessant carping on his supposedly retired state. I wonder if Hillerman realized toward the end that he had made a mistake by putting Leaphorn out to pasture and pushing Jim Chee to the forefront of the series? And I wonder, too, if Hillerman realized this would be his last book, prompting the return to its roots? Regardless of the answer to either of those questions, this is an absorbing mystery and once again contains plenty of Navajo culture and history to make reading it a pleasure. All in all, a satisfying way to end a series read.
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Awards

Spur Award (Winner — 2007)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2006

Physical description

322 p.; 4.19 inches

ISBN

9780060563479

Barcode

1602309
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