• Spider Woman's Daughter

  • A Leaphorn & Chee Novel
  • By: Anne Hillerman
  • Narrated by: Christina Delaine
  • Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,234 ratings)

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Spider Woman's Daughter  By  cover art

Spider Woman's Daughter

By: Anne Hillerman
Narrated by: Christina Delaine
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Publisher's summary

Anne Hillerman, the talented daughter of best-selling author Tony Hillerman, continues his popular Leaphorn and Chee series with Spider Woman's Daughter, a Navajo Country mystery, filled with captivating lore, startling suspense, bold new characters, vivid color, and rich Southwestern atmosphere.

Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette Manualito witnesses the cold-blooded shooting of someone very close to her. With the victim fighting for his life, the entire squad and the local FBI office are hell-bent on catching the gunman. Bernie, too, wants in on the investigation, despite regulations forbidding eyewitness involvement. But that doesn't mean she's going to sit idly by, especially when her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, is in charge of finding the shooter.

Bernie and Chee discover that a cold case involving his former boss and partner, retired Inspector Joe Leaphorn, may hold the key. Digging into the old investigation, husband and wife find themselves inching closer to the truth...and closer to a killer determined to prevent justice from taking its course.

©2013 Anne Hillerman (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Spider Woman's Daughter

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The slide continues

The later books in the Jim Chee/ Joe Leaphorn Navaho series saga were lacking in comparison with his earlier works. His daughter's work (at least I assume this is his daughter) doesn't greatly reverse this slide. Officer Bernadette Manuelito is too broadly drawn to be a strong main character. the only thing we know about her for sure is that she resents her husband Jim Chee giving her directions; much less orders. This despite the fact that he is her superior officer.
The culprit in the book is obvious before you reach the halfway point. Despite this, both professional police officers and the FBI are don't perceive it until the the last hour of the audiobook. The relationship between 'Bernie' and her family never rises above obvious cliches and her sister is so entirely unsympathetic her problems so obviously self induced it wasn't possible to care much for her troubles.
The biggest problem I had with the audiobook though; was the reader. Perhaps it would not have mattered who replaced George Guidall; it wouldn't have been the same. This reader certainly wasn't up to the task. Perhaps it was Guidall who mispronounced Navaho words for the first fifteen or so works; but I doubt it. Christina Delaine might improve over time but to those who've listened to the series read by George Guidall it won't be the same.
Certain elements of the mystery were well done. The story dovetailed nicely with a previous Hillerman work and the intricate murder plot was nicely done. If you appreciated the last few Tony Hillerman Navaho cop books this one will at least match those; particularly the last two. For those of you who were fans of the earlier books in the series; save your credit.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

Would you try another book from Anne Hillerman and/or Christina Delaine?

I would like to give Anne Hillerman another chance but not the narrator!

What was most disappointing about Anne Hillerman’s story?

I, like other reviewers, had the villian figured out half way through book!! Which left later part of book's supense dependent on Leaphorn's outcome & how all the involved agencies would finally figure out 'who dun it'!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Even taking into consideration my bias toward Geo Guidall as narrator of Tony Hillerman's books I absolutely could not get into Delaine's narration!! The navajo female voices all sounded the same and the males feminine. Ugh.

What character would you cut from Spider Woman's Daughter?

The sister was unredeemable as written and I was left hanging as to her outcome or how 'stooped boy' played into her character.

Any additional comments?

Prehaps I had too high of hope for this book. Those were mighty big shoes to fill and I really felt Tony himself was having difficulty filling his own shoes the last several books. They just weren't up to the first ones!

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

She's just not her father.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was awful. Her attempt at a Navajo 'dialect' was terrible. It made some characters just sound foolish. As a Native American who lives in New Mexico, it was bordering on offensive.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

So so story, wretched narrator

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not - I am only half way through the book and find the narrator more distracting that anything. Story isn't that strong either and I just want to shake Bernie and tell her to quite arguing. I understand the need to "do something"

Would you ever listen to anything by Anne Hillerman again?

Maybe by Anne Hillerman but not by Christina Delaine

What didn’t you like about Christina Delaine’s performance?

Annoying voice, bad accent, doesn't do gender differences well

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hurrah A new Hillerman to read!

I was skeptical about how well anyone could do with characters so recognizable as Chee and Leaphorn. But this author has captured her father's style and story-telling technique very nicely, The Navaho traditions appear as naturally as you would expect, and all the elements are as familiar as a favorite pair of slippers. All of this is wrapped around a mystery as prickly as the plants of the desert home of Chee and Leaphorn.

Bernie and Jim and the tribal police struggle as they try to solve this shooting without the insights of Leaphorn's years of experience. More than one mystery needs to be solved, adding to the confusion. Another great storyteller comes to the fore, and I would love to read more by Anne Hillerman.

My sole distraction was the reader. Years in the southwest has taught me that Navaho and most other Native peoples of this area, speak exactly as you and I do. Christina Delaine made nearly every native speaker sound if they were barely in touch with English. They sounded wooden, stilted and like they were acting in a badly directed and stereotyped play at a small-town production where Navaho characters would be exotic. If the story hadn't kept me involved I would have quit listening long before the end. Surely, someone must have heard how badly done this was performed. They should have caught this long before it went public. She did very poor service to the story, the characters and the author, who did a magnificent job of recreating the world of her father's stories.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

An extra star for keeping Leaphorn and Chee alive

Like all Tony Hillman fans I LOVE Leaphorn and Chee, I am very grateful Anne took the incredibly brave step in writing this book. No one should expect it to be on par with her father's books.I hope she continues with the series . With time and help from a good team she will develop her own following for the Chee's and their Uncle.

While the narrator is obviously very talented and did a good job with some of the Navajo patterns of speech I could not always tell which character was speaking and she just sounded silly trying to do some voices - especially men's voices. I would encourage the audio production team to keep looking for the "perfect" voice.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator was weak on dialects.

I would have enjoyed this more had I read the book ins taped of listening to the audio. The narrator did not sound like a Navajo person but rather more like a French-Canadian with the pronunciation of letter N's and R's.

The story was interesting but did not hold my intense interest as did the earlier Hillerman stories.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Looking forward to another book in the series

I was a big fan of Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn series. When I saw his daughter Anne Hillerman is going to try to revive the series I was nervous about her carrying it off. I thought it was smart of her to choose Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelita to carry the story forward. Joe Leaphorn is shot right in front of Bernie and she is determined to find out who did it. Her husband Jim Chee is put in charge of the investigation and to co-ordinate with the FBI. I loved the description of Navaho culture and of the county side. The description of Chaco canyon ruins was excellent. I enjoyed the description of the old blanket hanging in the museum. The last half of the book has lots of action and suspense as Bernie closes in on the shooter of Leaphorn and the murderer of the art appraiser. Christina Delaine did an acceptable job in reading the story. Thought Anne did a good job for her first try at the series. I am looking forward to more in the series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hard to listen to

Would you listen to Spider Woman's Daughter again? Why?

No - it was difficult enough the first time. Made a long drive more interesting, though, and the story was worth it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Spider Woman's Daughter?

The healing sing in the hospital at Santa Fe, and the change in Chee's feelings about Santa Fe.

What didn’t you like about Christina Delaine’s performance?

The Navajo men for the most part sounded like cliched Italian mobsters vaguely from New York city or New Jersey. Women were better, some pretty convincing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

She's a good enough cop, after all.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

This is a truly great story with a very talented narrator. Both capture what I believe to be a Navajo spirit and sensitivity in the heart of a young woman who strives to be the best she can be. She feels that she has failed to live up to her own standards at every turn yet she gives her heart selflessly to all she encounters. To me, her character shows what it means, to walk in beauty.
The talent of the narrator brings each character to life. Her dialect is as I recall from my friendships with the Navajo I went to school with a long time ago.
The author has carried Tony Hillerman's gift forward and brought her own insight into the development of the characters of Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito. She has done well.

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4 people found this helpful