Listening Woman

There are few things as satisfying in the modern mystery novel as looking into the methodical mind of Detective Joe Leaphorn. While many people read Tony Hillerman for his insights into Navajo culture, I most enjoy his depiction of the always thoughtful Leaphorn.In Listening Woman, Leaphorn faces his usual intertangled mess of events: being nearly run over by a maniac, the theft of a helicopter, and two unsolved deaths in a remote corner of the reservation. The joy of this book is its window into Leaphorn's mind as he tries to make sense of seemingly random events.Hillerman's myteries are enjoyable because he keeps the details in front of the reader. His detectives express bafflement, hold erroneous assumptions, and are very much prone to mistaken judgement. As such, they are real and believable.Listening Woman features a remarkable and intense closing sequence, which I have no intention of ruining. This is one of Hillerman's best novels and I heartily recommend it.

Navajo Detective Joe Leaphorn works on several cases: the murder of an old Navajo man and a young girl, a missing helicopter, and a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses who tried to run over him. The search for answers takes him to the remote canyon country along the Arizona-Utah border. This is the third novel in Hillerman's masterpiece series. The star of the show, Joe Leaphorn, is a likeable, honest, methodical man with a compulsion to find out the truth. Hillerman's strengths are authenticity and atmosphere. Navajo culture, religion, and folkways are woven into the fabric of his novels. His landscapes are harsh and spectacular. Nature is magnificent, but also menacing. In this exotic setting, the supernatural seems almost possible and little chilly fingers tickle your spine. Leaphorn, something of a passive investigator in the first two novels of the series, is an action figure in "Listening Woman," confronting several ultra-violent killers. Hillerman allows his characters to grow and adds and subtracts characters as he goes along in the series. Captain Largo, Leaphorn's sardonic boss, makes his first appearance in this book. "Listening Woman" suffers slightly from an ending drawn from action movies rather than real life, but it's a top quality mystery/western nevertheless. Anybody who is drawn to wide-open country and American Indian culture will love Tony Hillerman's books.

If you are looking for an exciting read, stop right here because the Listening Woman is it! From the opening chapter to the astounding ending, each page is entertaining. More than a mystery where the reader can gage the facts in order to learn the many answers, one must become involved in the heart and customs of the Navajo if you are to hope to solve this tale before the end.In The Listening Woman the reader becomes a part of the action. This is largely due to the awesome descriptions of the land and the people, along with the situations which keep you on the edge of your seat! The characters come to life and the empathetic reader will cry and laugh with them. You will also feel the fear of being pursued by an unbelivable beast and the dark terror of being trapped with little hope of escape. A word of warning - you may need to set aside a few hours to read this book because it will be difficult to put down!

I am an 8th grader and this book was a very quick read. It was very gripping and well written! I never got bored with it, and I finished it in two days. I reccomend this book to anyone 5th grade and up who likes mystery or action books!

"Listening Woman" is typical Tony Hillerman: a thrilling adventure in Navajo country, told from a Navajo's point of view and written by one who knows the lingo. The book begins with the totally impossible and progresses to a satisfying grand finale that couldn't be topped by a hot celebration on the 4th of July! The characters are so true to life, one is certain that some of them must surely be neighbors or their neighbors' children. The action never ceases, and the reader never stops loving Joe Leaphorn.