Magpie Speaks

Navajo Nation Series, Book 5

By: R. Allen Chappell

Narrated by: Kaipo Schwab

Dreams tell old man Paul T'Sosi he's dying. So why is Navajo trickster Magpie trying to tell him a far more terrifying secret?

Hungry for revenge, Ma'iitsoh Dine', the Navajo Wolf, is out for blood. Summoning his darkest powers, the Witch of Ganado circles tribal investigator Charlie Yazzie's young son and close friends. Some may survive the witch's evil vendetta, but others will die to settle an old score.

Critics describe R. Allen Chappell's writing as "embedded and close to the ground", with an intuitive knowledge of the Navajo people and their land. Magpie Speaks, the follow-up to the widely acclaimed thriller Mojado, cements Chappell's legacy and puts him at the forefront of modern-day Navajo mystery storytellers.

©2016 R. Allen Chappell (P)2016 Tantor

Must read!

Another great read by R. Allen Chapell. I cannot wait to start the next!

The detailed research!

Sometimes the narrator had a different emphasis on certain phrases than I would have but all in all he did a fantastic job!! It was so easy to tell the distinctions between the characters. So well done. The description in this authors writing is wonderful!

Description of the rez

I like the book. I always manage the learn something new about the Dina culture. I am half Navajo. Reminds me of my grandmother and great grandmother.

Not Quite Hillerman But Promising

Would you listen to Magpie Speaks again? Why?

Probably not for a while.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. Edwards' evil was palpable and pervasive theme. In contrast, Alices emergance and eventual redemption was an unforseen wild card.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Unfortunately, if you grew up on Guidells' pronunciation and inflection, Schwabs' seems a bit shallow. However, I'm no judge of which is more correct.

If you could take any character from Magpie Speaks out to dinner, who would it be and why?

???

Any additional comments?

Having been thru all Tony H several times, one is left with a void. Anne H. will hopefully continue her series but here we have a new family of characters to enjoy as they grow and develop under the authors pen.

love the characters

I really enjoy this series of books. the author incorporates Navajo cultural traditions and beliefs into compelling story lines. I also appreciate the well developed characters that the reader feels they begin to "know" and we get to see them as they deal with eachother in the storyline. I am especially intrigued by the internal dialog of the characters, especially with respect to how they view traditional beliefs versus "the beligana" world and the difficulties of incorporating themselves and these beliefs into the wider American southwest society as a whole.