Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 10/10/2018 + 1032 more book reviews

Sixteenth in the Leaphorn/Chee series. Chee is called to the scene of a dead man found shot in a ditch near a gas field. But the FBI take the case, and soon it looks like some sort of cover-up is going on. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito is now with the Border Patrol and runs into some suspicious activity at a ranch, but her boss tries to deflect her.
This is a departure from Hillerman's usual format, as we get the POV from a few of the bad guys, so we know up front who's the villain and what they're doing. The drug-running (this is not a spoiler) and the involvement of the drug cartel is also a crime on a larger stage than Hillerman usually plots. Hillerman also has quite a lot in there about the billions of dollars of oil and gas revenues that were supposed to go to the reservations but are mysteriously missing, but it wasn't really germane to the drug plot.
I also thought the beginning was a little awkward, with the briefing of the soon-to-be-murdered investigator - it's one of those "As you know, Bob" kind of lectures. And I was disappointed that Bernie turns into a stereotypical weeping female at the end. I liked Chee still going his own way and investigating what he thinks needs doing, convincing Cowboy Dashee to go along with him. I also liked that Hillerman is showing that Leaphorn's involvement with the job is getting more remote after his retirement, as you'd expect...he still gets calls, but he has fewer sources. A good book in the series, but not as evocative as the best.

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