The Dark Wind

By: Tony Hillerman

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

For Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police, the case begins when he finds a pair of boots in the rabbit brush beside a wilderness trail. The boots' owner lies nearby, his palms and soles "scalped" in what appears to be a witch's scavenging. The federal investigators tell Chee to mind his own business. But a series of disturbing events draws Chee into a dangerous web of intrigue spun by Navajo sorcery and white greed.

©1992 Tony Hillerman (P)1991 Recorded Books, LLC

Excellent complicated mystery

Even though I guessed the villain well before the end, I really appreciated the way the various story lines interwove. Also, I appreciate the more formal character interactions than we find in other mystery/crime novels these days. I don't need to hear about the emotional life of the characters from potty training to passionate young love in order to understand and solve the mystery being detailed. I sometimes wonder whether all the cultural details are accurate, but I understand that Hillerman was well grounded in those matters, and doubt he'd feel the need to invent much. Such a pleasure. I have the entire series, tough not all are audio, and some of the audios are only available on CD. I hope Audible will eventually produce more of them.

Hillerman's stuck on the flypaper of his storyline

The author creates a great dichotomy between indigenous mythology and detective work. His Native American heroes face the challenge of policing autonomous nations within overlapping police jurisdictions. Normally, this just adds to the interest. But in "The Dark Wind," Hillerman paints himself into a corner. Unable to write a happy ending, he forces his hero to act irrationally in order to stay true to the constraints he has forced upon the storyline.

This Review Needs a Title...So, I gave it one

Jim Chee is a strong character in this novel....a Navajo Tribal Policeman assigned to solve small crimes on the reservation. His duties are to investigate the repeated sabotage of a windmill, solve the killing of a man by a witch and to solve a robbery case. When a drug-running plane crashes and several people are killed, things get more bizarre. He uses Navajo culture and sensibilities to solve the crimes which are jurisdictionally complex.

The dark wind

Great book,the way the Navajo thinks about everything as per white people enjoyed the reading by George Guidall

Enjoyable

I always enjoy listening to this series and this narrator. It is a great listen.

Great story. Narrator not.

Would prefer a better narrator. The story deserves a re-do. I’d buy it again if so.

The dark wind

Love the whole sreries. One of my favorite authors. Setting and characters are old friends. George This all is my favorite among Audible readers

Pretty good

Interesting twists and characters. The Ending a bit awkward though, with too many threads left hanging.

Amazing as usual

Tony Hillerman keeps you on your toes till the end! George Guidall is the best reader!

Another great Hillerman novel

Plot was a bit over-complicated in this one, with too many characters, some of whom played multiple roles. Hard to figure why some were even in the book. Still a great story that seemed to come together in the end, with excellent narration.