Song of the Lion

By: Anne Hillerman

Narrated by: Christina Delaine

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

A deadly bombing takes Navajo Tribal cops Bernadette Manuelito, Jim Chee, and their mentor, the legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, back into the past to find a vengeful killer in this riveting Southwestern mystery from the best-selling author of Spider Woman's Daughter and Rock with Wings.

When a car bomb kills a young man in the Shiprock High School parking lot, Officer Bernadette Manuelito discovers that the intended victim was a mediator for a multimillion-dollar development planned at the Grand Canyon.

But what seems like an act of ecoterrorism turns out to be something far more nefarious and complex. Piecing together the clues, Bernadette and her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, uncover a scheme to disrupt the negotiations and inflame tensions between the Hopi and Dine tribes.

Retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn has seen just about everything in his long career. As the tribal police's investigation unfolds, he begins to suspect that the bombing may be linked to a cold case he handled years ago. As he, Bernadette, and Chee carefully pull away the layers behind the crime, they make a disturbing discovery: a meticulous and very patient killer with a long-simmering plan of revenge.

Writing with a clarity and grace that is all her own, Anne Hillerman depicts the beauty and mystery of Navajo Country and the rituals, myths, and customs of its people in a mystery that builds on and complements the beloved best-selling mysteries of her acclaimed father, Tony Hillerman.

©2017 Anne Hillerman (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Story yes; narrator NO!

Anne Hillerman is doing a fine job of continuing the Leaphorn/Chee/Manuelito books. This yarn was an easy read, with interesting twists. Once again the environment is richly described so that it almost becomes a character in the story. I admit to missing the in-depth discussion of Native American culture that her father had in the original books, but her stories work well, even without that added dimension. Sadly, I cannot commend - or recommend - the reader. Her use of horrendous and stereotypical ignorant southern accents was jarring and extremely distracting. It bore no resemblance to Native American accents or pacing as pronounced by other readers who have performed this series. I look forward to more books by Anne Hillerman, but have no interest in hearing this reader for any book in the future.

A Continuing Gift

Anne Hillerman indeed inherited the full measure of her father's talent, sensitivity, and love of the Four Corners area and its Indian population. This installment of the series her father started is such a gift from Anne. She is following her father in laying out the political and financial games the European invaders continue to perpetuate on that land and those people and it makes one feel so helpless. Many thank, Anne, for not letting things be forgotten while telling a good story. While we have been used to a different narrator for the series, I found Christina Delaine's narration excellent and her Navajo pronunciation reflected some very hard work on her part. I was well pleased with this book.

as always interesting and exciting

I love learning about Navajo culture through the eyes of the Navag police and tut he young people growing up on reservation today.

Great words!

The story takes you on quite an adventure! It was an easy tale to follow.

Song of the Lion

Great story, Anne Hillerman is doing well in continuing the stories of the Four Corners region that her father wrote about with the characters of the Navaho Tribal Police Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee and Manuealito Bernadette. Anne’s father went more in depth with the Navaho and Hopi cultures but over all the story is a five star performance. The narrator though was frightening with his/her attempts at giving the characters their own voices. Hopefully in future listens in this series she will have a more accomplished narrator.

The cougar

I loved the different voices the reader used to help the listener differentiate between the various characters.

Chee and Bernie do it again!!!!

I love Ms Hillerman's books. Her father is my favorite author , and she has the same story lines as her father. They are wonderful stories of the Native Americans way of life who are my ancestors.
And Ms Delaine is a fantastic narrator!!!

She's as good as her dad.

I really like these books. She's hitting her stride and I am so glad she decided to follow her father and keep the characters alive. I'm a fan. Kudos to the narrator, she brings the characters to life.

Grateful to have more Chee and Leaphorn stories.

The new stories are well written. The narration is sometimes annoying. I appreciate that she learned to pronounce First Nation words. It reminded me of studying The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. But the way the narrator distinguished young and old, male and female, white and Native speakers was sometimes reminiscent of high school plays. I missed the Narrator from the Tony Hillerman audio books.

Very Authentic

I enjoyed this story. Not really a cliff hanger, but solid. She does write a lot like her father.