Synopses & Reviews
Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is troubled by the nameless corpse discovered just inside his jurisdiction, at the edge of the Jicarilla Apache natural gas field. More troubling still is the FBI's insistence that the Bureau take over the case, calling the unidentified victim's death a "hunting accident."
But if a hunter was involved, Chee knows the prey was intentionally human. This belief is shared by the "Legendary Lieutenant" Joe Leaphorn, who once again is pulled out of retirement by the possibility of serious wrongs being committed against the Navajo nation by the Washington bureaucracy. Yet it is former policewoman Bernadette Manuelito, recently relocated to Customs Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border, who possibly holds the key to a fiendishly twisted conspiracy of greed, lies, and murder and whose only hope for survival now rests in the hands of friends too far away for comfort.
Review
"As always with Hillerman, an intricate pattern of ingenious detective work, comic romance, tribal custom, and desert atmosphere provide multifaceted reading pleasure." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"[O]ffers deeper intrigue and a tighter plot than his previous entry...in this enduring series....Hillerman delivers a masterful tale that both entertains and educates." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Everything falls fluidly into place, as graceful as a ballet dancer taking her final bows....This is one of Hillerman's finest efforts, as stories breed other stories, and each reveals other layers of mystery and deceit." Providence Journal
Review
"Hillerman orchestrates the chaos brilliantly in The Sinister Pig....[A]n extraordinary display of sheer plotting craftsmanship." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
Review
"Hillerman Lite, with little mystery about who killed Carl Mankin, or, unless you think Hillerman's gotten a lot less warmhearted, about what's going to happen to imperiled Bernie Manuelito." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A strong addition to a body of work that has entertained and enlightened readers....With his consistently deft plotting, Hillerman spins the threads along before tying them up in a satisfying knot." Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
"The Sinister Pig is less a mystery than a collection of atmospheric set pieces....In refusing to rely so much on the allure of Native American culture, Hillerman has, truly, ventured off the reservation. It remains to be seen if his fans will follow." The Washington Post Book World
Review
"The Sinister Pig might make a good movie, for it contains taut plotting and vivid action that would translate well to the screen, especially the hair-raising climax. It's not great, but good enough." Chicago Sun-Times
Review
"Romance as well as mystery is part of the plot of The Sinister Pig, and readers will be as caught up in the tension between Chee and Bernie as they are in how Chee and Leaphorn get the bad guys." Denver Post
Review
"Hillerman skillfully brings the forces of good and evil together for a suspenseful climax in which Bernie learns firsthand of a portentous piglet that provides the book's title." Dallas-Ft. Worth Star Telegram
Review
"Unfortunately, the mystery is not very interesting: there is a ton of dry details about pipelines and very little Navajo lore to add magic to the story, and the villain is a standard cardboard figure." Library Journal
Review
"Hillerman masterfully juggles the pieces of a puzzle....This outing ventures beyond the Navajo landscape that Hillerman's fans expect, but they and general readers should enjoy the broader geographical and social canvas just as well..." School Library Journal
Review
"This Pig flies." People
Synopsis
Hillerman's blockbuster New York Times bestseller brings back Sergeant Jim Chee and the legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, who battle the feds and a clever killer in a case that takes them from the tribe's Four Corners all the way to the Mexican border and the Sonoran Desert.
About the Author
Tony Hillerman is past president of Mystery Writers of America and has received their Edgar and Grand Master Awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award, the National Media Award from the American Anthropological Association, the Public Service Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Nero Wolfe Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book, an honorary life membership in the Western Literature Association, and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policiére. In addition to his election to Phi Beta Kappa, Tony Hillerman has been named Doctor of Humane Letters at Arizona State University and at Oregon's Portland State University. He lives with his wife, Marie, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.