The Fallen Man

Rating:
Summary: A Who-Done-It with a twist
Review: This is a detective novel, with a cultural twist that I found entertaining. The addition of insights into the Navajo culture clearly enhanced this book and made it into something significantly better than the simple "who done it" it would otherwise have been.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but...
Review: Tony Hillerman is my favorite author, and for a long time I have been waiting for his new book to come out. Now that it's out, I must say I'm disappointed. The whole book moves pretty slowly, but is very informative. If you need something to read, read Fallen Man, but don't read it if you want a wonderful book, because it's not as good as most of Hillerman's books. It's still good, though. So, give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: A good read, but somewhat disapointing
Review: While a good story, and as usual set in the Southwest (I live in Santa Fe), this book was not up to the standards of plot complexity, suspense and adventure that captivated us in his earlier books. I was also surprised at the number of writing/editing mistakes in the book. For example: Page 43 talks bout Mrs. Breedlove's green eyes, while on the next page it refers to her light blue eyes. Page 96 refers to Hal Breedlove as Hal McDermott, using the last name of the Washington lawyer. Page 245 talks about the female officer standing by "his" vehicle. If this book was written by a top notch writer and edited/ published by a big name publishing house, how did such errors get into print? I found no such errors in Hillerman's earlier books. I do, however, look forward to his next book.

Rating:
Summary: A Major Disappointment
Review: Who would have thought that Hillerman could disappoint so greatly? The ending of this book is so murky that it is impossible to figure out what happened. Isn't that missing the point in a mystery? I am a great Hillerman fan, but this book needed more editing. Perhaps he has become like the proverbial 600 lb. gorilla and his editors are afraid to guide him. Its a shame. I no longer await the next Hillerman with anticipation.

Rating:
Summary: We've had better ones from Hillerman
Review: Yes, it is Hillerman we know and like and always wish for more, but ... But, it wasn't as thrilling as I expected and it certainly lacked that liking of own characters and deep devotion for subject that I felt in some of his earlier books. OK, I liked it, but I wished he had written it with more liking for what he was doing and not just to write it ..

Rating:
Summary: Finally, Hillerman Gets Back On-Track With Chee/Leaphorn
Review: _The Fallen Man_ is not one of Hillerman's best novels, but it's almost enough just to see Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn back in action again. The mystery revolves around the newly-discovered skeletal remains of a climber on Shiprock, a sacred site to the Navajo culture. From there, the mystery grows to include Washington lawyers, a suit regarding mineral rights on a Colorado ranch, and a subplot involving cattle rustling. Jim Chee, who has been promoted to replace the retired Joe Leaphorn, must deal with administrative and personnel problems, as well as his collapsing relationship with his girlfriend. Leaphorn, bored by retirement, comes into the case as an outside consultant (almost a private detective--this may be the only way for him to continue showing up in these books). I can't remember Hillerman playing so fairly in giving readers clues to his mysteries before. I had this one figured out about two-thirds of the way in. Still, I read Hillerman more for the settings and characters, and on these counts, _The Fallen Man_ doesn't disappoint. The only problem is that now we have to wait for the next one