A Thief of Time (1988)

NA

A THIEF OF TIME shows Tony Hillman's mastery of Navaho time, mystery, and place while developing a plot that encompasses
Anasazi pottery, anatomy, and possible migration routes.

For those of us who have no liking for gruesome murder details, he holds this to a minimum.
Instead, he concentrates on the interweaving of the main characters, Leaphorn and Chee, as they resolve conflicts with people, the river, and the ruins.

Hillerman's descriptions of the changing seasons and the environment are truly memorable
and as addictive as his plots. The opening of TALKING GOD is unforgettable!

I just hope that Leaphorn went back to free the dying tethered frogs and to convince the man to find a new hobby. ( )

Jim Chee & Joe Leaphorn work together on base of missing archeologist and stolen back hoe

2020 reread: I am increasing my rating from 3 to 3.5*

I either remembered or figured out one of the 'twists' fairly early on but that didn't prevent me from finding this entry in the Leaphorn & Chee series a good mystery. I had forgotten that both Chee & Leaphorn are personally in transition in this book - Leaphorn grieving from the death of his beloved wife Emma and Chee adjusting to the fact that Mary Langdon will never want to spend her life on the reservation. ( )

Easily figured out plot. The writing was simple (think high school level) and poorly strung together. ( )