Rating: 
Summary: A fine novel
Review: Hillerman has three great virtues:
He understands the rhythm and concerns of the Navajo and Hopi people in the southwest;
He tells very good stories about people you rapidly come to care about;
His "mysteries" are genuinely mysterious.
These capacities make Hillerman one of the most consistently interesting and enjoyable detective writers of our time.
Wailing Wind is another example of excellence in story telling. The humanity of the characters (including a retired policeman from earlier novels who was a young man when Hillerman started writing, a young police man and woman who are falling for each other, and the people involved in the murder and the tragedy of their lives) is well expressed. The result is a world and cast that you genuinely come to care about.
The simplicity and the tragedy of the story as it finally unfolds will remind you that doing evil often has side effects and consequences unimaginable when the act is first contemplated.
This is a fine novel.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant but not Hillerman's Best
Review: As a reader of many of Hillerman's mysteries, though none within the past several years, I was glad to read once more of Joe Leaphorn, now retired, Jim Chee, and Officer Manuelito. The novel begins simply with Officer Manuelito dispatched to an abandoned car in a remote location where she finds a murder victim. From there the plot evolves into the search for a lost gold mine, an old murder case, a wife who has disappeared a number of years ago, and, of course, various references and ties into ancient Navajo and Zuni cultural practices. The book is short and I missed the detail into the New Mexican environment--of storms, of wind, and other descriptive lore that evokes the area--that Hillerman usually brings to his novels. Also, here and there the novel seemed a bit jumpy and not the smoothest plotting, as if Hillerman, now well into his 70s, is writing more from instinct, on autopilot, rather than from any great creative rush. Even so, a so-so Hillerman book is more satisfying than many of his contemporaries, and it is a relief to get away from the violence, nastiness, and loveless sex scenes all too often featured in other mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Well Crafted Page Turner
Review: So my review title isn't too captivating, but the same goes for picking up a mystery that is part of an ongoing series. No offense, but sometimes you feel that if you read one, you read them all. I have read 3-4 Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn mysteries and while I remember liking them, nothing stands out in memory other than a lot of American Indian cultural tidbits. If this is the first Hillerman book you ever pick up, don't be turned off by all the American Indian philosophy that is presented here. Luckily, there isn't as much in this story as previous Hillerman novels I have read and it's not as integral to the plot. What I really like about Leaphorn and Chee together is their relationship and how they are not the stereotypical drunks, down-on-his-luck PI or cop. Rather, they are polite and, well, rather soft as far as cops are concerned. Let's call it compassion. In fact, it's this compassion that awakens an unsolved mystery that drives retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn to find a killer. Hillerman uses a technique that keeps the pages turning: Chee and Leaphorn are working separately to solve the case, each working a different angle. Nothing is over-the-top and the end is satisfying. I highly recommend what may stand to be one of Hillerman's best.
Rating:
Summary: Hillerman's back in the swing...
Review: Tony Hillerman is back in form with The Wailing Wind. As with most Hillerman mysteries, this book follows the same formula. First, a crime has occurred on Native American lands due to the exploitation of Native American resources. Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn again work together to solve a crime, although they seem to be less adversarial with each book. Both characters have budding romantic interests, although things are still unresolved at the end. Ineffective FBI agents still try to wrestle control of criminal investigations from the Tribal Police. And the Tribal Police still try to do their jobs within the parameters of their Indian (mostly Navajo) beliefs. Hillerman's mysteries are fascinating in that they educate the reader about Native American cultures, lands, life on the reservation, religious beliefs and a host of other topics. However, I would recommend that a reader new to Hillerman skip this book for now, and start with his earliest mysteries which give more background into Native American beliefs and vocabulary. It will also be helpful in that the personal lives of his characters continue to develop in each novel. Still, The Wailing Wind is an entertaining mystery for Hillerman fans and I found it much better than his last effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Yep, a five.
Review: I enjoy the way Tony Hillerman brings out the atmosphere of the four-corners west. I've read just about all of his novels. The Wailing Wind is right up there in quality with his best. Three protagonists, and I could relate to them all. Mystery, sure. The story bounces right along, traveling down the country dirt roads until all is revealed. But more than that, it's a fun ride in a vast, open land among warm, human friends.
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