Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York, Harper Paperbacks, 1990
Description
Fiction. Literature. Mystery. For Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police, the case begins when he finds a pair of boots in the rabbit brush beside a wilderness trail. The boots' owner lies nearby, his palms and soles "scalped" in what appears to be a witch's scavenging. The federal investigators tell Chee to mind his own business. But a series of disturbing events draws Chee into a dangerous web of intrigue spun by Navajo sorcery and white greed.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ffortsa
The second Jim Chee mystery, when he is transferred to Captain Largo's team at Window Rock. He has to work differently, as a stranger in the area, and the difference shows. This episode explores the Hopi more than the Navajo, a nice contrast. The basic story centers on what appears to be drug
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smuggling in the Painted Desert, but too many things go wrong, and Chee has to figure out how to harmonize the disparate factors of Navajo, Hopi and white cultural values to properly sort out the puzzle. As always, a compelling tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member AuntieClio
The typical Hillerman mystery involves Navajo culture; either an action meant to look Navajo or something which disturbs the Navajo Way of harmony with the universe.
There’s always conflict between the White people (men) who have strict rules and believe they know what’s best for everyone,
Sometimes, there’s conflict between two Indian tribes, which is usually resolved by being respectful.
In The Dark Wind, Jim Chee is handed three cases, which all become entwined with a fourth. The fourth is a small plane crash right in front of Chee while he’s on stakeout waiting for the vandal of the windmill, part of a complicated political gesture by the BLM towards the Hopi Nation.
The plane crash is most decidedly not assigned to Chee, the white FBI, and his captain, make that clear. He is to stay away from it. So as he goes about his days driving long distances to chase down clues, he does his best to not get involved in the crash and what turns out to be missing cocaine worth about $15M.
It becomes obvious that the federal agents are up to no good and keep trying to set Chee up for the fall over the missing drugs. The brutality of these thugs made me wince as they tossed Chee’s small travel trailer he calls home and smack him around. At first, I thought they were just stupid, prejudiced white men. Later, it’s revealed that’s only part of their makeup.
While trying to identify a Navajo John Doe discovered by some Hopi men gathering sacred spruce for a ceremonial, Chee encounters the trading post’s owner, Jake West. West performs magic tricks, which Chee mulls over throughout the book, trying to solve how they’re done. This proves to be a crucial key to the solution of the missing drugs and the dead bodies which keep piling up.
What keeps me re-reading Hillerman’s mysteries (this is at least my second time through) is the use of Navajo culture and sensibilities to solve the crimes which are jurisdictionally complex. I read them to re-visit a part of my life in which I was surrounded by Native Americans of several nations, and maybe for a better understanding of my own life.
I also read them because they expose me to other ways of thinking, relating and solving problems. The Navajo Way is explained as keeping in harmony with the universe, and making course adjustments as necessary.
There’s always conflict between the White people (men) who have strict rules and believe they know what’s best for everyone,
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especially the Native Americans. They are usually portrayed as arrogant buffoons who know absolutely nothing about the case or the people against whom the crime was committed.Sometimes, there’s conflict between two Indian tribes, which is usually resolved by being respectful.
In The Dark Wind, Jim Chee is handed three cases, which all become entwined with a fourth. The fourth is a small plane crash right in front of Chee while he’s on stakeout waiting for the vandal of the windmill, part of a complicated political gesture by the BLM towards the Hopi Nation.
The plane crash is most decidedly not assigned to Chee, the white FBI, and his captain, make that clear. He is to stay away from it. So as he goes about his days driving long distances to chase down clues, he does his best to not get involved in the crash and what turns out to be missing cocaine worth about $15M.
It becomes obvious that the federal agents are up to no good and keep trying to set Chee up for the fall over the missing drugs. The brutality of these thugs made me wince as they tossed Chee’s small travel trailer he calls home and smack him around. At first, I thought they were just stupid, prejudiced white men. Later, it’s revealed that’s only part of their makeup.
While trying to identify a Navajo John Doe discovered by some Hopi men gathering sacred spruce for a ceremonial, Chee encounters the trading post’s owner, Jake West. West performs magic tricks, which Chee mulls over throughout the book, trying to solve how they’re done. This proves to be a crucial key to the solution of the missing drugs and the dead bodies which keep piling up.
What keeps me re-reading Hillerman’s mysteries (this is at least my second time through) is the use of Navajo culture and sensibilities to solve the crimes which are jurisdictionally complex. I read them to re-visit a part of my life in which I was surrounded by Native Americans of several nations, and maybe for a better understanding of my own life.
I also read them because they expose me to other ways of thinking, relating and solving problems. The Navajo Way is explained as keeping in harmony with the universe, and making course adjustments as necessary.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
Jim Chee is on his own to sort through difficult crimes such as windmill vandalizing, bootlegging, robbery and drug-runners who have been murdered. Oops scratch that last off the list. He is definitely NOT looking into that. How can he help it if his other investigations keep leading him right to
This may be my favorite solo Chee novel. No women to complicate issues, we get to see Chee at his best. A puzzle solver, seeking wholeness in answers. I missed Joe Leaphorn, but Chee was fine on his own.
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clues for the murder?This may be my favorite solo Chee novel. No women to complicate issues, we get to see Chee at his best. A puzzle solver, seeking wholeness in answers. I missed Joe Leaphorn, but Chee was fine on his own.
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
In The Dark Wind, Jim Chee is handed three cases, which all become entwined with a fourth. Jim Chee, Navajo cop engages others to help. The Hopi culture, well researched by Tony Hillerman, is preeminent here. The reader gains a cultural perspective, while enjoying a mystery (or three, or four). The
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bad guy characters aren't too developed, but that's not the point. All the threads came together at the end and the nefarious characters are collared. Show Less
LibraryThing member markatread
This is the second of the Jim Chee novels. It is a very solid mystery that has as it's background the shared land between the Navajos and the Hopis. The federal government split the land up between the two tribes and forced each of the two tribes to move off the land that had ben determined to
Note: There is a very bad movie based on this book. In the movie Joe Leaphorn appears but he is not in the book.
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belong to the other tribe. This was one of those decisions that ended up with a lot of angry folks on both sides and it would seem to be a perfect setting for a mystery. But the truth is that not much is made of this set up. The religious differences between the two tribes is delved into and the Navajo way of life is again used to some good advantage, but the use of a lot of upset peole hardly plays into the plot at all. There is no romantic angst this time for Jim Chee and it does unclutter the story some. Plot points are not hurried and each of them makes sense. Very solid story.Note: There is a very bad movie based on this book. In the movie Joe Leaphorn appears but he is not in the book.
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LibraryThing member iayork
good book: "The Dark Wind" is a very interesting book. It has a lot of suspense and Hillerman takes you into the book with his descriptions. This book is a murder mystery that keeps you thinking. It also keeps getting weirder as you read.
The book starts with three Hopi Indians walking up a trail
The book keeps going like this getting Chee mixed up in all of it. Chee knows he didn't do anything wrong, but he is the only one that thinks that he is innocent. Over all I would recommend this book to any body that likes mysteries or that just wants a book that makes you think and makes you feel like your right there with the characters
The book starts with three Hopi Indians walking up a trail
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and discovering a boot lying in the middle of it. They walk up the trail a little ways more and discover a dead body. The body was reported and picked up some time after the three Hopis discovered it. by the time it was recovered it couldn't be identified. Later in the book Jim Chee (the main character) is told to watch a windmill that has been vandalized two times before. in the middle of the night Chee hears a plane flying low, but cant see any lights from it. a short while later he hears a crash and goes to investigate. When he gets there he finds two people dead and one that is almost dead. He trys to find out what happened form the one that is alive, but he dies before he can say anything.The book keeps going like this getting Chee mixed up in all of it. Chee knows he didn't do anything wrong, but he is the only one that thinks that he is innocent. Over all I would recommend this book to any body that likes mysteries or that just wants a book that makes you think and makes you feel like your right there with the characters
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LibraryThing member bookswoman
Jim Chee has three cases on his hands. He is trying to identify a "John Doe", he is trying to find the former employee of one of the local Trading Posts who left with a fair amount of native jewelry, and he is trying to find out who is damaging a windmill - repeatedly.
While he is keeping watch over
This one was fun, not exactly complicated but with a few twists and turns that keep you reading. I enjoyed it, a fun, fast read.
While he is keeping watch over
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the windmill one night he hears a plane flying low overhead and soon hears a crash. He is the first on the scene but is soon told that this case belongs to the FBI and the narcotics people. But, Jim, being Jim, can't completely stay out of it, especially once it starts involving his other three cases.This one was fun, not exactly complicated but with a few twists and turns that keep you reading. I enjoyed it, a fun, fast read.
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LibraryThing member pussreboots
The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman is is the fifth of the Navajo Mysteries. While Joe Leaphorn is tracking down missing jewelry from a local trading post, Jim Chee is on the stakeout for someone who is sabotaging a windmill.
Chee's primary case is put on back burner when he witnesses a plan crash.
As with every Hillerman mystery I've read, Chee's case and Leaphorn's case intersect. While Chee's investigation takes him into a juridictional mess of Federal, Navajo and Hopi lands — Leaphorn listens patiently to the stories around the Trading Post (which invariably seem to come down to witch craft being blamed).
An observant reader will be able to piece together the bits and pieces into a coherent story and the solution to the mysteries.
Chee's primary case is put on back burner when he witnesses a plan crash.
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While he believes it's a drug run gone awry but the drugs are missing from the plane. Meanwhile, the sabotaging continues.As with every Hillerman mystery I've read, Chee's case and Leaphorn's case intersect. While Chee's investigation takes him into a juridictional mess of Federal, Navajo and Hopi lands — Leaphorn listens patiently to the stories around the Trading Post (which invariably seem to come down to witch craft being blamed).
An observant reader will be able to piece together the bits and pieces into a coherent story and the solution to the mysteries.
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LibraryThing member antiquary
I read this a long time ago; y overall reaction was that the desert setting and Navajo culture were very interesting but the overall tone tended to be too grim for my taste, though it varied.
LibraryThing member -Eva-
A nighttime plane crash, a shipment of cocaine gone missing, and an attack on a windmill coincide with the finding of a mutilated body and Sergeant Jim Chee tries to figure out how it all ties together. The mysteries in this series are good, but what I really enjoy about them is the insight into
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the various Native American cultures that is presented and this installment has a lot of that, so it's one of my favorites. I especially liked how Hillerman, who knows a lot about Navajo culture, introduces a little bit of Hopi culture as well, via the "Cowboy" Dashee character, but doesn't make any claims on being an expert - it's a good storytelling device to have one character being educated on a topic so that the reader can find out at the same time. I loved this series the first time I read it and am finding it equally interesting the second time around. Show Less
LibraryThing member -Eva-
A nighttime plane crash, a shipment of cocaine gone missing, and an attack on a windmill coincide with the finding of a mutilated body and Sergeant Jim Chee tries to figure out how it all ties together. The mysteries in this series are good, but what I really enjoy about them is the insight into
Show More
the various Native American cultures that is presented and this installment has a lot of that, so it's one of my favorites. I especially liked how Hillerman, who knows a lot about Navajo culture, introduces a little bit of Hopi culture as well, via the "Cowboy" Dashee character, but doesn't make any claims on being an expert - it's a good storytelling device to have one character being educated on a topic so that the reader can find out at the same time. I loved this series the first time I read it and am finding it equally interesting the second time around. Show Less
LibraryThing member tzelman
Jim Chee investigating Coke, murder, and Hopi culture--all very successfully
LibraryThing member ecw0647
Admittedly, I listened to this book, which may have colored my response to it. On the other hand, I have difficulty with books where seemingly unrelated plot-lines all merge together in the end or never get tied up. On the other hand, the setting and cultural details of the Navajo and Hopi tribes,
I know there's a trend in some camps to denigrate writers who write about an ethnicity to which they do not belong. It seems to me Hillerman was diligent in his research, and to suggest that to write about something you must have experienced it yourself, would just about destroy all literature.
In the end, pretty good, but not one of my Hillerman favorites.
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not to mention the big-bad federal agents are always interesting. I know there's a trend in some camps to denigrate writers who write about an ethnicity to which they do not belong. It seems to me Hillerman was diligent in his research, and to suggest that to write about something you must have experienced it yourself, would just about destroy all literature.
In the end, pretty good, but not one of my Hillerman favorites.
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LibraryThing member Nodosaurus
Jim Chee has been transferred to a team commanded by Captain Largo. His duties are to investigate the repeated sabotage of a windmill, solve the killing of a man by a witch and to solve a robbery case. When a drug-running plane crashes and several people are killed, things get more bizarre. The
The story takes the reader into the Navajo and Hopi cultures as Chee tries to sort things out. Even the cultures are tied into the crimes.
When the solution unravels, Hillerman has intertwined everything into a fully satisfying solution.
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crash and related murders are outside of Chee's jurisdiction, but all the events seem interrelated. The story takes the reader into the Navajo and Hopi cultures as Chee tries to sort things out. Even the cultures are tied into the crimes.
When the solution unravels, Hillerman has intertwined everything into a fully satisfying solution.
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LibraryThing member ritaer
A drug deal gone sour confuses Jim Chee until he realizes that the motive for murder is revenge, not money
LibraryThing member buffalogr
Jim Chee is a strong character in this novel....a Navajo Tribal Policeman assigned to solve small crimes on the reservation. His duties are to investigate the repeated sabotage of a windmill, solve the killing of a man by a witch and to solve a robbery case. When a drug-running plane crashes and
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several people are killed, things get more bizarre. He uses Navajo culture and sensibilities to solve the crimes which are jurisdictionally complex. Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
While I enjoyed this mystery thriller featuring Jim Chee, I found the solution fairly easy to figure out long before Chee did.
LibraryThing member Carmenere
Like most of Hillerman's reads this was also enjoyable to me simply because he captures the southwest in prose so succinctly making his novels a quick read yet perfectly escapist. He gives Sgt. Jim Chee a profound insight into native american traditions and culture as well as a keen knowledge of
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his natural world and a sharp sense of humor. These are just a few reasons why I return to Jim Chee and Tony Hillerman again and again. Show Less
LibraryThing member -Eva-
A nighttime plane crash, a shipment of cocaine gone missing, and an attack on a windmill coincide with the finding of a mutilated body and Sergeant Jim Chee tries to figure out how it all ties together. The mysteries in this series are good, but what I really enjoy about them is the insight into
Show More
the various Native American cultures that is presented and this installment has a lot of that, so it's one of my favorites. I especially liked how Hillerman, who knows a lot about Navajo culture, introduces a little bit of Hopi culture as well, via the "Cowboy" Dashee character, but doesn't make any claims on being an expert - it's a good storytelling device to have one character being educated on a topic so that the reader can find out at the same time. I loved this series the first time I read it and am finding it equally interesting the second time around. Show Less
LibraryThing member fuzzi
Good story, with enough twists so I wasn't able to guess who really "dun it" until close to the end. I appreciate that this author doesn't give really graphic descriptions, too.
LibraryThing member lbswiener
The Dark Wind is an excellent suspenseful story. Jim Chee's slow, but thorough investigation once again pays off in discovering who was murdered and who did it. The setting is well described. The characters are all believable. This book is highly recommended and deserves the four stars in this
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review. Show Less
LibraryThing member creighley
Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Teibal Police finds a pair of boots in the rabbit bush beside a wilderness trail. The boots’ owner lies nearby, his palms and feet “scalped.” The federal investigators tell Chee to mind his own business. However, a dangerous web of intrigue spun by Navajo
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sorcery and white greed. Show Less
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
One of the best for plot development and the mysterious method of the crime. Jim Chee is a strong character in this novel. Lost a star due to a serious flaw at the end. [Spoiler alert]: a glaring omission in the dénouement when two dealers turn up at a rendezvous, and one sneaks off presumably to
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cover eventualities as the heayweight. Except that's all that we ever hear of this character. He never reappears when the bust happens. The final scene was very Tony Hillerman, though, which always pleases me in its irony. Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
No follow up to some of the personal issues of Jim Chee (like the FBI question)! But really good mystery. I enjoyed how all the disparate threads that Chee was working on came together at the end. No mention at all of Leaphorn, but a lot of interaction with Capt. Largo and Cowboy Dashee was
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introduced. Interesting information about the Hopi-Navajo joint use issue, as well as an outsiders peek into the Hopi culture. Very enjoyable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
While I enjoyed this mystery thriller featuring Jim Chee, I found the solution fairly easy to figure out long before Chee did.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1982
ISBN
0061000035 / 9780061000034