Rating: 
Summary: Shallow
Review: It almost seems as if Hillerman is trying rush the Leaphorn/Chee serial to a happy ending for his readers so he can quit writing them. In true Hillerman form, the plot had great potential rooted in current events, but came up shallow. For me it was reminiscent of some of Hillerman's work in the 80s when he seemed obsessed with the professional killer who was in turn obsessed with his parents (which isn't necessarily bad, it worked very well in "People of Darkness"). There are some twists and surprises, but not enough to save it. Even a bad Hillerman Leaphorn/Chee story is a good read for me, but I was spoiled by "Sacred Clowns" and "Hunting Badger"!!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I regretfully must agree with those who were disappointed in The Sinister Pig. Yes, it put some light on a subject that needs to be addessed ("missing" funds")....but, it was not up to the usual Hillerman standard. Has he run out of ideas for Chee and Leaphorn? I probably will not read this book a second time...something I've done with all of his previous works. It lacked the heart, soul and depth of prior novels....as if he were tired of the Chee/Leaphorn/Navajo country plot. Please, Mr. Hillerman, go back to the winning formula of your previous books....so good that your policemen appear "real" to the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it just fine
Review: There is something immensely satisfying, comfortable, and compelling about a Tony Hillerman mystery. None of those is quite the right word, but they will have to do. Other readers have reviewed the plot, so I'll skip that. Perhaps the characters are what are so electric. One just has to like Jim Chee, the patient Navajo policeman, and his lieutenant emeritus, Joe Leaphorn. By now they are old friends to Hillerman's many readers. In the book just previous to this, we are introduced to Janet Pete's replacement--Ms. Pete went off to the city and left Jim Chee brokenhearted. Chee's new love interest (most obliquely) reprises here and is even more charming than last time.Still, it may not be the characters that drive a Hillerman mystery. Perhaps it is the very land itself, the Four Corners high desert of New Mexico, the Navajo people, their culture, the sacred mountains, the dusty, rutted roads, the hogans, the ceremonies and shamans and fears and prejudices. All I know is that I eagerly await Hillerman's novels, and I'm a bit sorry I read this one already, since the wait for the next one will be even longer.
Rating: 
Summary: Should stick to writing about the Southwest
Review: This is not his best work. Hillerman writes beautifully about the Southwest, but knows nothing at all about Washington, DC. The parts of this book that deal with New Mexico are up to his usual high standards - although as another reviewer points out, one character's transfer into the Border Patrol is less than realistic. However, Hillerman's Washington section and characters are straight out of a comic book. Part of the charm of his other novels has been the realism of the setting and the complexity of his characters. The DC-related people would be comfortable in any number of shallow thrillers. They sharply lower the quality of this book. Hillerman should stick to writing about areas he knows. This could have been a fascinating book dealing with the looting of Native American trust accounts if he had limited his scope.
Rating:
Summary: Hillerman's mailing it in
Review: Disappointing. Hillerman tries to include the whole gang -- not just Joe, Jim and Bernie, but Cowboy Dashee and Professor Bourbonette -- as well as stock baddies from Washington, a psychopathic hit man and allusions to the oil/gas royalty scandal. But he loses interest in too many of his red herrings, and the story limps along. Still, Hillerman fans will buy it, and read it. But for the third time running ("Wailing Wind," "Hunting Badger") he's really not making the effort. He should have stopped with "Fallen Man," one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: "The Sinister Pig" lacks heart and depth.
Review: I have enjoyed most of Hillerman's novels for many years but "The Sinister Pig" I found to be a shallow novel written without heart or depth. It almost seems the author let his computer write the book. Possibly he is tired of these characters and needs a new format. I read the entire book hoping the author's wonderful writing style would be found, but alas it was not to be.
Rating: 
Summary: A hyper-speed read with new direction
Review: After reading Sinister Pig, you might think the plot too improbable, however, I enjoyed the change of direction. At least once in awhile. The setting still takes place in the deserts of the Southwest, however Navajo lore is not the focus. A new villian appears in the form of a Washington, D.C. powerbroker. The villian is somewhat simplistic but one of his henchmen is not and that makes up for it. It was a very fast read and I found myself satisfied at the end. Hillerman is Hillerman! And he is still damn good at what he does.
Rating:
Summary: Certainly not worth paying for hardcover
Review: As appealing as Jim Chee is, as sweet and naive as his Border Patrol almost girlfriend may be, this is a bad plot. The villans are too obvious and tiresome.
I have real trouble with the ex-CIA pilot turned hero; the crowd would boo this one in a movie. It's just too way-out-there.
Maybe Mr. Hillerman has nothing left to say.
Rating:
Summary: NOT KOSHER or even NAVAJO but a tasty luau
Review: Great book and lots of fun but absolutely no Indian or Southwest anthropology or cultural flavor. It could have taken place in Manhatten or Miami or anywhere and the characters could be anyone. The legendary Leaphorn plays Nero Wolf or Spencer and Che is his legman or HAWK. This is the happiest of all his stories but is the only one that you do not learn anything except the meanings of "Sinister Pig".All the new and old loose ends with some surprises, but you close the book happy. For the first time in a dozen books, you don't find yourself hoarse yelling at CHE to say the right thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I am a big Hillerman fan but found this book sadly lacking in the normal quality that I would expect from Mr. Hillerman. The story line as noted in other reviews was weak and thin to say the least. Character development was left at the sketch level, and the plot was not supported by the narrative. Several examples of this include the plot line between Chee and Officer Bernadette Manuelito. It was simplified to the point where all we read about was his yearning for her, and her for him. The level of which was dime store at best. Secondly, in trying to tie all the lead character's in, we find ourselves jumping from one simple story line connection to another. Chee to Leaphorn to Bernadette Manuelito, to an unknown power broker in Washington, etc. The resolution of the story lines would have better off in a typical weekly tv show. Since when did we see in a Hillerman book, the paid killer letting his feelings get the better of him and saving both Bernadette Manuelito and the Senator's girlfriend. If someone wanted to read Hillerman I would send them back to any of the previous books and tell them to stay away from this one.
|
