Rating: 
Summary: lost gold mines, love and betrayal...and hope
Review: Tony Hillerman takes the startling beauty of the Southwest and combines it with the Navajo culture and uses this as his canvas as he paints a mysterious picture of lost gold mines, dead entrepreneurs, a missing wife, and a puzzle with many missing pieces and too many "detectives" in all the wrong places. Jim Chee, Bernadette Manuelito, Joe Leaphorn and Louisa Boubonette return in this novel that begins with Bernadette, a young Navajo Tribal Police Oficer, discovering a dead man in a pick-up truck. Suddenly what seems to be a simple death is found to be murder and is linked to a previous series of events involving gold, money, love and betrayal. Joe Leaphorn, retired investigator, is pulled into the picture to help discover the location of a missing wife and then things appear to spiral out of control.
The Navajo traditions are an intricate part of the novel, adding an element to the story that keeps you focused on a perfect delicate balance Hillerman achieves in his story telling.
The story is full of life and emotion and the mystery is well developed, concealing itself until the very end.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed with Wailing Wind
Review: Sadly, (for I think Tony Hillerman is great), I must agree with reviews from "Top Gun", Terry Matthews, Tom Young and others who did not think this book was up to Mr. Hillerman's usual standards. I waited for it to come to my local bookstore like a child waits for Christmas Day! I even read it twice (which I've done with all of his books), thinking that I may have just been in a bad mood the first time...my opinion didn't change much.I love his other books....as someone mentioned in a review, his characters feel absolutely real...like you may run into them at the local 7-11! They have also inspired me to learn alot more about the Navajo culture and the Southwest. I have visited New Mexico every Fall for the last 10 + years and absolutely love the "Land of Enchantment"...Mr. Hillerman's books only make me want to learn more about that area of the country. Thanks, Mr. Hillerman, for many hours of reading enjoyment..keep writing, please.
Rating: 
Summary: wailing wind myth has substance sadly
Review: Excellent story, you might almost guess some of the plot - there are surprises - it is very pleasant to solve the murders while driving to/from work, hear the character's develop new relationships - I don't want to spoil the surprise ending - you'll have to hear/read it for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing
Review: Another absorbing tale of the well-known Navajo policemen,
who combine detailed understanding of their local people
and environment, coupled with good police instincts.
This time, the story is spiced with tales of long-lost
gold mines, a wife who suddenly disappeared without a trace,
a couple murders that don't seem connected, but which keep
intersecting, along with a possible developing romantic
interest.
This series is especially interesting because the author is
so knowledgeable about Navajo traditions and history, and he
shares his fascination with us.
(The book's endpaper map is rather inadequate, and readers
interested in the geography of the region, or in following
the physical moves of the characters, will be well-served
by having their own map to follow the action. You can't do
better than the AAA auto map of the Indian Country, which
retired Lt. Leaphorn prefers.)
A fast-paced story with engaging characters, and it is highly
recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Another Mystery for Sgt Chee, Off. Bernie and Lt Leaphorn's
Review: I really enjoyed this latest chapter in Jim Chee's life. In this story Bernie comes upon a dead body as part of her job and in the process makes a mistake about how the FBI would want it handled as she protects herself from death the Navajo way. See how Lt. Chee helps her to take care of an issue that arises. You will uncover the mystery behind this death as well as solve a few other unsolved mysteries. This story also had Lt. Leaphorn who thinks this latest death may be related to an unsolved disappearance from years before. The narration is great on this story the narrator is able to pronounce everyone's name and in fact draws you into the story very quickly. As usual in Hillerman's books you also learn about the history of the Navajo and some of their as well as other Native American beliefs.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible
Review: I've never read a Hillerman book before, and I have to confess that I don't get what the fuss is all about. Are they all this bad? The plot, in as much as there is any, revolves around the revisiting of an old crime (presumably covered in a previous book?) in which two white men who were bent on swindling each other over a lost gold mine, and one ended up dead. Years later, Navaho policeman Sgt. Chee drags his old mentor Joe Leaphorn out of retirement to rethink the crime and how it relates to a modern murder and a missing woman from the old case. It's a pretty pathetic story, filled with lazy writing, poor grammar, continuity errors, a solution the reader can spot a third of the way into the book, zero character development, a tepid romance and very little Navaho culture. This is definitely not a book for newcomers-Hillerman clearly assumes that the reader is already invested in the characters and cares about them, 'cause he spends no time making them at all interesting or human. I can forgive a lot in a mystery as long as there's decent atmosphere and clever mystery, this has smidgens of the former, but none of the latter. It reminded me of nothing so much as an old Hardy Boys story. If you want a book about a lost gold mine in Indian lands that has excellent character development, great tension and suspense, and gritty social commentary, get a copy of B. Traven's classic Treasure of the Sierra Madre instead.
Rating:
Summary: Another Fine Insallment of the Hillerman Series
Review: The Wailing Wind is the latest effort from Tony Hillerman. It's classic Hillerman: a fine story, well-conceived and carefully put together, with a fair share of suspense to keep the pages turning quickly. Hillerman fans will recognize their favorite cast of characters; this edition sees Jim Chee, Joe Leaphorn, fledgeling officer "Bernie" Manuelito, and relatively new character Louisa Bourbonette team up to unearth the connection between a new homicide victim and an old missing person case. The prose is well-written, and reads quickly. The story is quite good, but not his finest (I personally recommend A Thief of Time). In The Wailing Wind, we get to learn whether Jim Chee and Bernie will take a few fumbling steps toward a budding romance, or whether Hillerman keeps us on the hook for another year. If you're a Hillerman fan, or if you're not yet, I think you'll like this story a lot.
Rating:
Summary: HILLERMAN IN FINE FORM
Review: Tony Hillerman's latest novel, "The Wailing Wind", continues his 'winning streak', in my opinion. As always we have Hillerman's grand evocations of the American Southwest and his great knowledge and respect for the Navajo culture, as well as his easy, deft prose and nice plotting. Not quite up to his very best work (which in my opinion would be "The Fallen Man" and his just-previous novel, "Hunting Badger"), "The Wailing Wind" is still a very good book and a very satisfying read. My only real complaint is that it is TOO SHORT! I didn't want it to end! Hillerman is a master, and the fact that he is a fellow Okie only adds to his appeal to me. A grand writer.
Rating:
Summary: Three Distinct Protagonists were developed!
Review: 'The Wailing Wind' by Tony Hillerman, Copyright 2002, Harper Audio Books, 4 Cassettes, read by George Guidall. Tony Hillerman has reached a new pinnacle in his writing, as he deals with three distinct protagonists in this murder mystery. There is the 'old hand', the legendary Lieutant Leaphorn (sort of retired), the up and coming middle manager in Jim Chee and the 'rookie' in Officer Bernadette Manuelito. Each of them plays a significant part in the solving of the mystery of the missing wife, Linda Denton. The central mystery, however, is the missing 'Golden Calf' mine, sought for years by the gruff and somewhat eccentric millionaire, Wiley Denton. The book opens with Officer Manuelito discovering a dead body in the cab of a pick-up truck. It is obvious that the murder did not occur at the truck's location, and Officer Bernadette is in trouble with the FBI (it is a new agent this time) for disturbing the crime scene. Manuelito is 'suspended' and she spends that time tracking down the place where the crime actually took place ... which is probably the location of the 'Golden Calf'. Tony Hillerman has all three characters contributing to the solution of the murder, the 'Golden Calf' and to the discovery of the missing wife, Linda Denton. Early on, you get an inkling of what happened to Mrs. Denton, and as you progress through the book, your worst fears are confirmed. But, even as you go along, you say 'Oh no! Hillerman would never write that! It is too horrible.' Again, George Guidall displays excellent characterization, with his voice rising and falling as required by the wide range of characters. This book helped immensely as I commuted on I-495, the ring road around Boston.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was one of my favorite Hillerman books. Better than the last one and back up to his standards.
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