Spider Woman's Daughter

A Leaphorn & Chee Novel

By: Anne Hillerman

Narrated by: Christina Delaine

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

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

Continuation of a legacy

Riveting retelling of the final end to characters we've grown to love in Tony Hillerman's books.

Great plot, like dad’s

But I found the narrator extremely irritating. The women were good but the men were slow and dumb sounding. Don’t know if I can listen to more of her reading. The plot was excellent but there were some extra famine touches that seemed gratuitous And I’m a feminist.

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.

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.

Apple and Tree

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

No

Would you recommend Spider Woman's Daughter to your friends? Why or why not?

In this case, the apple falls too far from the tree. Tony Hillerman's daughter is just not as good as he was--not even close. The writing is like a sledge hammer, the characters one-dimensional and the story violent without nuance.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I did not like the narration--choppy, abrupt, but it could be the writing.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

good book out of the gate

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

yes, the story was interesting enough to give it another listen, yes it is so

What did you like best about this story?

that Leaphorn made it through, yes it is so

What about Christina Delaine’s performance did you like?

she did a great job

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

Bernie & Chee its the way it should be

Indian Crime Mystery

The riveting stories of Police Officer Bernedette Manuelito is fantastic! The reader's performance with her different voices for the characters is great! Very entertaining!

Same feel and flavor as Dad's stories.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I was a little concerned that I would again just move right into the Arizona countryside, but there I was. My familiar folk doing what I expected of them in many ways, and some expanding in unexpected ways, but lively and lifelike. Oh Yeah-h-h-h. Hope to see more of Leaphorn yet, but this was an outstanding adventure that helped support a 12 hour drive!

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

I really enjoyed *Mama's* talk of blanket making/design, and descriptions of pottery patterns. I'm a archeo- and mythology enthusiast so continuing that tradition in the writings is rewarding to me.

What does Christina Delaine bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This was my first female reader for Hillerman, but with a female-focus in this adventure it was most accommodating. Think that if we focus on Chee & Leaphorn action more, I like to hear a male voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Just really needed to embellish the miles....

True to the characters and engaging story

What made the experience of listening to Spider Woman's Daughter the most enjoyable?

The characters were believable extensions from the originals - it was like hearing from old friends; the narrator did a great job.

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

The plot was great, but the ending slightly rushed. I would have liked to see Chee a little stronger at the end -- Bernie doesn't have to be superwoman after all. But, that's just nit picking. The story was engaging and suspenseful. The indian imagery and back stories were very interesting.

Have you listened to any of Christina Delaine’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No -- this is my first time to listen to Christina Delaine and I was impressed. She did a great job with a lot of different characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but I didn't put it down until it was finished.

Any additional comments?

I'm looking forward to reading (listening to) more of Anne Hillerman's books.

Spiderwomans Daughter

couldn't wait to find out the killer,supenseful,kept you thinking along with story,loved it & was glad Leap horn survived.